Baby, Yours Truly

Prologue

Hindi ko na lubos na maalala kung kailan ulit ako naging masaya. 

As I think through now, I guess the last time was when I graduated college which was about a year ago. Iyon din yata ang huling araw na naging malaya ako. Taliwas sa iba na pagkatapos makapag-aral ay magsisimula nang tuparin ang mga pinapangarap nila sa buhay nang mag-isa, sa akin ay naiiba. 

I traded my teen years' freedom to become my parents' last bullet to success. Hence, my college graduation was not only my farewell to my youth but also my liberty. Ang hirap lumaking tinuturing na prinsesa para lamang gamiting pain sa huli. Ngunit hindi ko kayang ibunton ang sisi sa aking mga magulang dahil ang tanging hangad lang naman nila'y mapabuti ang aking buhay. Wala rin naman akong nagugustuhang lalaki kaya hindi rin siguro malaking kawala sa akin ang matali sa isang walang saysay na pangakong pang habang buhay. 

Besides, it was a convenient marriage for both him and I. 

I met him when I was just 18 and he was 23. Sa Cebu kami naninirahan noon at nagmamay-ari ang pamilya namin ng mga exclusibong pulo sa Visayas. My family's business was into island resorts and we owned beautiful scenic locations in Bohol, Leyte and Cebu to name a few. However, our business hit rock bottom when the 2020 pandemic happened. It impaired tourism and employment. The long ungracious lockdown of cities made it hard for us to bounce back and do business as usual. It was a period of crisis and sadly, my parents were unable to save most of the resorts we owned that they opened the gates to sell them off.

Ang hindi ko matanggap noon, parte pala ako sa mga naibenta. Apparently, his parents were one of the country's best hoteliers and it was to their advantage that our resorts were on the market for sale. I was the last deal made. Literally the last before my parents passed away. 

They wanted to marry us after he finished his education but I begged for my college years to be spent free from the chains they want to bound me for life.

And now, the inevitable has happened.  I am Mrs. Monteiro.

But until when will I be? When his world is unwelcoming and certainly beyond my reach.

Author's Note: This is a short story! I plan for this to run at most 10-15 chapters only and hopefully I'd be able to do just that. It's been my first time writing again. This quarantine is taking a toll on me and so I'm reliving my summers way back 2013 where I spend most of my time in Wattpad. Since most of our days are spent at home, might as well bring back the good old memories. 

Let's chat about life in the comments section! :)