What If...

8: Devoted Sons

Upon leaving the suite, Tristan hurriedly chased us. Once he caught us, he gently held my hands and sincerely looked into my eyes, as if he would like to say something.

"Yola, on behalf of Papa, please accept our heartfelt apology. This moment is very difficult for both of us. You are black-and-blue due to your injuries, while Papa is still unconscious. Mama has been crying every night, worrying about him for she dearly loves Papa. She can't imagine living without him. Casper and I are always praying for him to wake up. We miss our bonding moments while he drives us to school and back home. We miss the instances where we would open up to him about anything and would look forward to his words of wisdom. We truly miss our moments as a family. We should have savored every occasion we were with him and regret not doing that."

Hearing my son's anguish was really heartrending. How I wish I can try to comfort him, but I can't. I'm in the body of Yola/Alex, so I have to restrain the pain I'm feeling while seeing my son in his agonizing state.

Seeing that I was speechless during that time, Tristan started to kneel and bow his head in grief while holding on to my feet.

"Yola, please forgive Papa! I beg of you. I heard that you will file a case against him once he recovers. Please have mercy on him, he never intended to let this mishap happen to you. I can't bear seeing Mama and Casper grieving if Papa is away from us. Please, Yola....Have mercy on Papa..."

Tristan's voice started to shake during this time and I can feel tears starting to drop in my feet.

At this moment, I can't endure seeing him suffer for my wrongdoing. I made this accident to happen, and now it affected both my family and Alex's. I have also seen how much he loved 'me' by personally approaching 'me' so that he can ask for mercy for his Papa. So, I gently lifted his head and tried to look into his face. Once I've seen it, my heart instantly melted. My son's face was red in grief, his eyes swollen with continuous tears dropping from his cheeks, and his face clearly shows pain coming straight from the heart.

I remember this exact scenario when I was young...

---

I was 10, and I checked my older brother in his room.

He's eight years my senior and I look at him as my role model. He's always been there to protect me during fights and when my classmates tried to bully me. He usually helps me with my homework, and even provides tutorials for difficult subjects during exams. He also inspired me to explore other hobbies, such as swimming and calligraphy, which are also his interests. He always keep my spirits high, especially at times when Papa compares me to him for he is a consistent honor student and an ace swimmer in Montrose. I looked up to him highly that I wanted to be like him when I grow up.

When I arrived in his room, I saw him and Mama having a heart-to-heart discussion. What's even more unusual is that my brother is packing a lot of his clothes in his sports bag.

"Raymund, you don't have to do this. You can still talk to your Papa. Maybe he will listen to you this time," Mama said as she is trying to convince my brother to stop packing.
"Mama, I have to do this. He resents me because I don't want to follow in his footsteps," my brother replied in a firm yet respectful manner.
"Is there no other way to resolve this? Please don't go, not like this!" Mama uttered while holding his arms.
"What's going on? Why are you packing your sports bag?" I butted in their conversation while clueless at the situation.
"Buddy, I'm leaving and might not be back for a long time," my brother answered.
"Where are you going? Why are you leaving us?" I apprehensively asked back.
"How do I explain this? Hmm... remember that I wanted to pursue Fine Arts in college? Well, Papa didn't like the idea and pushes me to take up Business instead. We had this heated exchange of words, that ended up with Papa detesting me. Because of that, I decided to go to Military School, which he hates even more," my brother clearly expounded.
"But why do such a thing? Please try talking to Papa. He might understand you this time. Just don't leave," I pleaded.
"You know Papa, Buddy. Talking won't do any good, unless it is in his favor," he flung back. "I wanted to do something that I enjoy, but Papa's always in the way. I want to do something for myself this time."
"Please don't go, Bro. I will try to convince Papa to be nice to you so that you don't have to leave us!" I loudly said while getting emotional at that moment. "Just wait and see!"