Chasing Happiness

Chapter 2

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our initial descent into Mactan-Cebu International Airport. The local time is 1:30 in the afternoon, and the weather is sunny with a temperature of eighty degrees. We expect to be on the ground in approximately twenty minutes.”

I turned toward the window.

I was really here.

Cebu.

Since there were no direct flights, I had taken a connecting flight from NAIA. After nearly a full day of traveling, I had finally arrived. Around me, most of the passengers in business class barely paid attention to the announcement. Some continued chatting while others remained absorbed in their phones.

A sudden curse from the seat beside me made me glance over. The young woman sitting there immediately looked embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” she said with an awkward smile. “I wasn’t cursing at you.”

I smiled back. “It’s okay.”

Not long afterward, the plane touched down.

While waiting at baggage claim, I called the friend I had met years ago when I was working as an electrical helper at a refinery. Even after I permanently moved to California a year later, we had stayed in touch.

My phone rang before I could dial.

I already knew who it was.

“Hello?”

“Hello! Where are you? I’ve been waiting forever! I think I’ve checked every single person who’s come out of the terminal, but I still haven’t seen you. My neck is starting to hurt from looking around!”

I laughed under my breath as I struggled to pull my third suitcase onto the luggage cart.

“I’m still getting my luggage. I’m almost done.”

“My goodness! How many suitcases did you bring? Why is it taking you so long? And how many weeks are you staying? You never even told me! All you said was that you were coming to visit and spend your vacation with me!”

“I’m done. I’m heading out now.”

Before she could continue complaining, I ended the call.

I placed my Louis Vuitton bag on top of the three suitcases and pushed the luggage cart toward the exit. The moment I stepped outside the arrival terminal, I spotted a familiar woman standing among the waiting crowd.

She looked irritated.

Very irritated.

Then she saw me.

Her entire face lit up.

“Sofia Dominguez!”

Her voice was loud enough to make several people turn their heads.

I burst into laughter and pushed the cart toward her, but Brandy didn’t even wait for me to reach her. She ran straight at me and wrapped both arms around me in a crushing hug.

“You little brat! If I didn’t love you so much, I would’ve left after waiting this long! Ugh! I missed you so much! I seriously thought you were just joking when you said you were coming back to the Philippines and staying with me!”

She practically bounced while hugging me.

I laughed and hugged her back.

“Alright, alright. I missed you too.” I struggled to catch my breath. “Now let me go before you accidentally strangle me.”

She laughed and finally released me.

“I’ll push the cart.”

“I can do it.”

“No.”

“Brandy…”

“You have so much to tell me!”

She reached for the cart again, but I gently pulled it back before she could take it. Instead of arguing, she began looking around as though she was searching for someone.

“Who came with you?” I asked. “Did you bring your driver?”

“No.” She continued scanning the road. “Kanor works for my dad, but Grandma just got back from France and needed a driver today, so Dad lent him to her.”

She frowned.

“So Dad told Kenji to drive me here to pick you up. Just for today.”

She placed a hand on her forehead and looked around once more.

“Where is he? Don’t tell me he got tired of waiting and left us here.”

I couldn’t help laughing.

She immediately looked at me, frowning.

“Hey, don’t laugh. He’s completely different from everyone else who works for Dad. I can barely get him to listen to me. Honestly, I think Dad’s the only person he actually listens to.”

Suddenly, she raised her hand.

“There he is! Right here!”

I followed her gaze.

A white Ford Raptor pulled over to the curb.

The driver’s door opened.

A man stepped out.

For some reason…

I stopped moving.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and sun-kissed, dressed so simply there should have been nothing remarkable about him. He wore nothing more than a plain white T-shirt, ripped blue jeans, and a pair of worn slippers—nothing expensive, nothing carefully put together, nothing like the polished men I had grown accustomed to seeing in California.

Yet…

I couldn’t stop staring.

I had always thought men like him existed only in movies—the quiet ranch worker with broad shoulders, bronze skin, and rugged features, completely unaware of how effortlessly attractive he was.

His thick brows were slightly drawn together as he walked toward us. He had a sharp nose, a strong jawline, and the kind of face that would probably look even better if he smiled.

Except…

He wasn’t smiling.

Not even a little.

Oddly enough, that was the first thing about him that annoyed me.

There was nothing particularly impressive about the way he dressed, yet I couldn’t seem to look away. Maybe it was the quiet confidence with which he carried himself.

Or maybe…

It was because he hadn’t looked impressed by me even once.

Without saying a word, he walked straight past us and began lifting my suitcases into the truck as though they weighed almost nothing.

I blinked.

Was he really one of Brandy’s employees?

I should probably mention that Brandy was an heiress. Her family owned ranches, plantations, and more land than I could even imagine, so naturally I assumed this man worked for them.

“I’ll load these in the truck bed,” he finally said. “If I put your friend’s luggage inside the cabin, neither of you will have anywhere to sit.”

His voice was low, calm, and unhurried. As he lifted another suitcase, his eyes briefly met mine before dropping to the luggage. Then he quietly shook his head.

My eyebrows immediately drew together.

Excuse me?

He turned away and continued loading my belongings.

I stared at his back.

What exactly was that supposed to mean?

Did he just judge me?

My gaze dropped to my outfit.

I was wearing a white fitted top over a strapless bra, a black skirt that showed my thighs, and a pair of low black heels comfortable enough for walking.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with what I was wearing.

So what the hell was his problem?

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he didn’t even bother to look back. For reasons I couldn’t explain, that only irritated me more.

I turned to Brandy.

“Who exactly is he?”

Before she could answer, the man slammed the tailgate shut.

He finally looked directly at me.

Our eyes met.

Neither of us knew it then, but that single, irritating glance would become the beginning of everything.