- SAM
"Hey bunny, wake up"
I gently caressed Mon's face after taking off her seatbelt. The chopper just landed here on T's resort. It's almost 2PM already and we're back from Mt. Pinatubo. Everyone was sleeping during the ride because of tiredness.
I looked at Mon again when she refused to wake up so I sighed. I have no choice.
"Sam, okay lang kayo jan? Do you need help?"
Captain Sid asked me after he got out from the cockpit. I shook my head to answer him before I gently put Mon's hands to my nape and carried her from her seat through bridal style. She's not that heavy and this is also not the first time that I carried her this way so it's not really hard.
"Thank you for today, Cap. I'll see you tomorrow po"
"You're welcome, Sam. See you guys"
I started walking away from the chopper while carrying Mon. T and Kate stopped outside to wait for me and Mon so I asked T a favor.
"T, kindly get my bag for me please"
"You sure don't want some help with Mon?"
I shook my head, I'll carry Mon. I don't want anyone carrying her except me. She just nodded and went back to the chopper to get my bag.
I felt Mon tightened her grip around my neck. She probably felt that we're walking so I looked at her. She's still sleeping soundly, the sun is up since it's afternoon already so it's hitting her face. I decided to stop for a moment.
"Kate, can you please adjust Mon's cap? Natatamaan ng araw ang mata niya"
Kate went to us and did what I asked her.
"Thank you"
She smiled at me. Jamie and the others are already inside the hotel lobby. It's not that far from the helipad though. We continued walking when Taylor arrived while carrying my hiking bag.
"Ang swerte talaga ni Mon sa'yo grumpy"
Kate said. I glanced at Mon who's still sleeping. No, I am the one who's lucky because of Monica. She made everything bearable for me. You know, being the only child in a very powerful family has put a lot of pressure on me since I was young. I still remember what I heard from my Dad before when he was talking with Tito Patrick about the family's business.
"Pinili kong maging doktor lang sa ospital Pat kasi ayokong magpatakbo ng napakalaking kompanya and become a failure. Call me a coward Pat pero ayokong sayangin lahat ng pinaghirapan ng mga magulang ko. I still remember Dad's disappointment when I told him about it, muntik niya na nga akong itakwil kung hindi lang nabuntis si Lourdes kay Sam at kung hindi lang nangako si Lourdes na tutulong siya sa kompanya. Since then he never failed to make me feel that my wife has more balls than I am. "
Growing up, I saw how Lolo rejected my Dad. I saw how he doesn't like my father's choice of doing what he loves. He went against him a lot of times and he even did not acknowledge him during family gatherings or special occasions. It was just until I told him that I will be the one to take over the company. Even if my course is aviation, during summer and breaks I took special classes about business. It was something that I needed to do to save my Dad. It was very painful for me to see his sadness everytime my Lolo rejects him because I can really see that he's trying his best to reach out. That's why I needed to step in.
And that's when all the pressure started to weigh down on me. Especially when Lolo started introducing me to people in his world as the one who will took over his position. I started to have anxieties and random breakdowns because of pushing myself too much since I was 12. No one knew about it except for my friends and Mon. I did not even dare to tell my parents because I know they'll feel bad and I don't want them to sacrifice what they love just to take over the company in behalf of me. Especially my Dad.
