Chapter 7: The Chao Pho MansionKanya:The huge iron gates to the mansion were pulled open by two professional guards and Kaya found her hands tightening on her dress as the Sedan entered the gated compound and the gates closed behind them.“Was your friend always this rich?” Kit muttered from beside her, seeming more annoyed as he narrowed his eyes outside the window.There were several lights that lined either side of the path leading to the main house, which was more like a humongous, luxurious mansion. Since night had already fallen, they couldn’t exactly see the surroundings all that well, but Kanya could already tell that it was going to be a magnificent view.In reality, she had never been to Kim’s house before. Since his family dealt with several illegal affairs, Kim had never brought her over when his father was still alive, but now that he was the head of the family, she felt a lot a ease coming to The Chao Pho Mansion of Bangkok.The car came to a stop a little further away
Chapter 8: A Shocking DiscoveryKit:Kit didn’t know how long he slept for but as he slowly came to consciousness…it felt like someone was watching him. As he opened his eyes, feeling panic rise in the pit of his stomach, the first thing he noticed was dark brown orbs staring right back into his…a very familiar pair of dark brown eyes.Was I…dreaming?The panic begun to subside almost immediately when Kit started to connect those eyes to his memories of last night…and then the panic returned full force.“P’Kimhan?” Kit rose from the bed, surprised to see the covers drawn up to his waist. How long had he been sleeping?“Yes,” Kim looked at the boy’s tired wide eyes with a soft smile. “I thought you were going to sleep through the night.”“Phi…what? How?” Kit looked around the room in confusion, noticing that he was still inside the room that he had entered earlier. He was at the house of his sister’s friend…P’Kim…And that was when it clicked.Kimhan…Kim…It didn’t take a genius to fig
Chapter 9: The Ayutthaya FamilyKit:The humongous chandelier hanging from the ceiling made the entire room look like a fairy tale. The golden light reached every corner, illuminating the room in a soft sunset glow, but if it wasn’t enough, several other chandelier stands were also placed all around the room to provide more lighting.Kit followed silently behind P’Kim down the spiral staircase to the dining hall were the other members were already waiting for them to arrive. He saw P’Kanya talking to a girl about his age, who had the same dark hair as P’Kim but her eyes were a more golden shade of brown that he had hardly seen on anyone before.“Hia!” The girl called out as soon as she saw Kim, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “P’Kaya was just telling me about how you were in University!”“Really now?” Kim gave Kaya a secret smile that she returned as he made his way to the head of the table and took his seat, but not before placing a kiss on top of the girl’s head. “And don’t ca
Chapter 10: Uncertainty Kanya: Kaya paced around her room in silence. She didn’t think that a stranger could make her rethink all of her life-choices at once. When another waiter, who she had been an acquaintance with at the restaurant she worked night shifts at, had told her that she could earn big money by becoming a surrogate…Kaya had been stunned. She hadn't thought the decision through before registering because she knew that the entire process would be done by doctors and she could always give birth by C-section if a normal birth became complicated. After all, if she never saw the face of the child…she wouldn’t feel attached to it…right? And it was a lot better option than becoming a whore because that’s what the debt collectors had been threatening her with. They wanted her to work for them in return and they would forget about the debt. Kaya could only think of it as a fate worse than death. However, now that she had met P’Kla…she felt like he had made her realize some ve
Chapter 11: His Knight Kit:Kit stopped in front of the old apartment complex, looking up at the tall building with disdainful eyes.Although he and his sister had grown up in this very place, there were more unpleasant memories of them here than good ones and somehow, Kit felt that their apartment might even be cursed. It wasn’t located at a very friendly neighborhood either and that prompted the debt collectors to think of his sister as a call girl more than once, hence they kept on giving her degrading offers every time they came to take back their money.And why was it that their debt never seemed to lessen?It had been years and with his mother having worked so hard to pay off so much of the debt; shouldn’t it be a lot less by now?But that wasn’t what was concerning him at that moment. What was concerning him was how much more would he and his sister have to give in order to get an ounce of peace in this world?P’Kim…the man he spent his first night with, the mysterious strange
Chapter 12: Close CallKim:Kim got out of the car and immediately brushed off his bodyguards who had come running to help carry Kit to the infirmary. However, they all stood stunned as Kim picked the boy up in his arms instead before rushing into the main house.Aawut had already called the family doctor to remain on standby at Kim’s command and the commotion had already drawn quiet a lot of spectators as the maids and other servants looked on in bewilderment as Kim brought the boy to his room instead of the infirmary and asked the doctor to shift location so Kit could be more comfortable.Kim’s sexuality had never been a reason of gossip around the main house, especially since Kim himself was so open about it that it was considered normal. However, despite the many lovers that had visited Kim’s house, Kit was the only one that Kim ever taken into his room. He was the only boy that Kim had been this concerned about.Especially when the doctor took longer to shift location and arrived
Chapter 13: Staying or Running Away…Kit:Kit opened his eyes to the bright morning light streaming in through the large glass windows at the end of the room.He tried to raise his hand to his eyes, feeling exhausted like he had never felt before. His entire body was aching and there was a dull throb in his head that threatened to turn into a migraine at any moment.A low groan left his throat. He wanted that light gone…it was too much. But he didn’t have the strength to go over and pull the curtains.As if someone had heard his thoughts, the curtains in that direction were pulled shut, cutting off the light and providing him with instant relief as the room was shrouded in darkness. Actually, it wasn’t really that dark, but the sudden change made the room seem darker than usual.“How are you feeling?” A familiar deep voice washed over his senses as a cool hand landed on his forehead. He recognized the voice…but he was having trouble matching it to a face.The hand slowly began to retr
Chapter 14: Moving OutKim:“Is that truly the reason why you want to move out, Nong Kit? Or are you just finding an excuse to run away from your problems?”Kim’s own question plagued his mind from time to time as he sat in his chair in his office, looking out at the Bangkok high rises through the clear glass window that stretched the entire length of the wall.The truth was…Nong Kit wasn’t just running away from his problems…he was running away from Kim.Of course Kim knew about it. How could he not when the boy’s crystal clear hazel eyes spoke volumes about what was really going on in his heart? If eyes were the windows to one’s soul, the Kit’s were wide open and with full clarity.He was still far too innocent…far too naïve for this world that Kim lived in.The best solution would have been to let him go; to let him live his life however he wanted and to never see him again. But it was already a little too late for that. It had been since the day he had decided to take him to his c
Chapter 80: Above All ElseKit:It seemed that his pleas had the opposite of his intended effect, because instead of sympathizing with him, it was clear that P’Kla was getting frustrated, if the way his brows met in the middle was any indication.“Stop talking in riddles,” he snapped. “If you want me to help you, then give it to me straight. Tell me directly what’s wrong and what you’re hiding.”If only P’Kla knew just how much Kit wanted to tell the whole world about the problems he was currently facing.“You have to promise me first,” he bargained, insistent. “You cannot tell anyone what you have seen.” He gestured to his neck. “Neither can you broadcast what I tell you to anyone else—anyone at all.”P’Kla was still obviously annoyed by these cryptic responses, but Kit knew that he had to be careful above all else.When P’Kla realized that such a thing was non-negotiable to Kit, he sighed, calming down a bit. “You came to me for help,” he reminded the younger man. “And so, I am doin
Chapter 79: I Fear For Those I LoveKit:It took quite some time before P’Kla finally headed downstairs after his guards informed him that Kit was there, demanding an audience. He didn’t really interact with Kit that much, mostly because there was no need for him to do so. Kit was Kim’s lover, and the man was very possessive about Kit, so Kla didn’t want to bother much about socializing.In fact, he wasn’t a people person. Moreover, he still had some leftover grudge on Kit that didn’t really go away—he had been sort of bitter about Kit being the apple of Kim’s eye, instead of Kanya, who was carrying his child, and even though that matter had already been resolved, it seemed that there was still some reluctance on Kla’s part.But since Kit had told the guards that he had something urgent to discuss with the cold and firm lawyer, the man in question managed to force himself out of his room to see what this “urgent matter” was all about.When Kla came down, he saw Kit huddled by himself
Chapter 78: Left with No Other ChoiceKit:As soon as P’Kim departed, shutting his door with a firm hand behind him, Kit was quick to spring up from his bed and lock the door.When he fell back on the bed, he proceeded to bury himself under the covers, fear and guilt churning in his gut for what he had just done. He hadn't meant to expose Ben’s secret to P’Kim, in fact, he had wanted to take that secret to the grave if possible. But circumstances hadn't left him with much of a choice.The only relief he felt was at the fact that talking to P’Kim about Ben had somehow lessened the guilt that he felt towards his friend for not realizing his feelings sooner. But the most prominent guilt remained, and it gnawed at him until he pulled the covers over his head, cowering away from the rest of world in hopes that if he hid away, somehow, everything would be alright.Unintentionally but also quite expected, he soon dozed off and only startled awake when a knock sounded at his door.He was sayi
Chapter 77: Mine AloneKim:Kim called David to his office as soon as he settled into his chair. He could not shake the feeling that something had happened at the restaurant to make Kit severely upset. But seeing as his first move was to go to his sister for comfort, it must have been something really serious, perhaps even something he was afraid of telling Kim.What was it? As Kim waited in the room, he racked his brain of all the possibilities. Did he get attacked while he was out? No, it didn’t seem like he was physically hurt, and if he did, David would have informed him immediately.Did he have a fight with his friends? Maybe. But that would mean that the Chiang Mai trip was off, right? And he doubted Kit would do something to ruin the plans that they had carefully crafted to catch the shooter.Did he just have a flashback of their mom for some reason? Maybe that was making him miss her? Perhaps. But if that had happened, that means something must have triggered his memories of h
Chapter 76: The Plight of Two SiblingsKit:David raced along the hallway, his heart in his throat as he took out his gun, trying his best to keep it from plain sight as he raced towards the washroom.He had been waiting for some time now, for N’Kit to come out of the restaurant, but when he didn’t do so, even after sending him the message that he was done, he couldn’t help but worry that something had happened to the Master’s lover.Reaching the washroom, he didn’t waste any time in kicking the door open, not waiting to check if the door was locked or not. But instead of finding N’Kit in any peril, he found him by the sink, throwing water onto his face.“Is everything alright?” He asked worriedly, out of breath. “What took you so long?”Kit mustered a smile and a nod. “Yes, everything’s fine, P’David.” He tried to look reassuring. “I just came to the toilet..for urgent business..”“Ah, I see.” P’David’s face colored, but he still looked around the room for anything suspicious, but fo
Chapter 75: Long Time No SeeKitKit froze in place, not knowing what to do or how to react. His heart was beating so fast in his chest that for an instant, all he could hear was the sound of his heartbeat as his entire body went numb. His mind couldn’t even come up with anything, it too seemed to have gone numb.He looked up into the mirror in front of him, because turning back wasn’t an option. And almost in slow motion, as if time itself had slowed down to a crawl, he saw the reflection of a man standing behind him, in dark hoodie with the hood covering his face…one of the telltale signs of suspicion that P’First and P’Kim had drilled into him and Ben, but both had failed to notice.And then the man, who was almost the same height as Kit, reached out with his free hand to remove the hood from his head, to reveal the face of his own father—the very same man whom everyone had thought had died a long time ago.Well…everyone had thought he was dead, most of all P’Kanya…but thanks to P’
Chapter 74: A Terrible FriendKit:Earth had guessed it right—Kit was having a hard time with this revelation. He couldn't believe that what he was hearing was real!Surely, it was impossible. Earth didn't know what he was talking about. He was mistaken!“Are you sure about this?” Kit asked again. “Are you sure you’re not making this shit up for keeping secrets from you about the Chiang Mai trip? Because it isn't funny.”Earth’s frown deepened as he looked at Kit. “Does this look like a prank to you, Kit? Do you think I would stoop so low as to make fun of such a thing at Ben’s expense? Everyone, even Prem could tell that Ben liked you.”Kit couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All his life, he thought that Ben was his closest friend, but now it was starting to hit him that Ben had had feelings for him this whole time.And that was quite challenging to accept—Ben was one of his best friends, after all. It was like the ground was being pulled from beneath his feet, making him trip and
Chapter 73: All This TimeKit:It was a while more before Kit and Earth were left alone to enjoy dessert. Ben had left when a car came to collect him for his doctor’s check-up, Kit’s eyes following as his friend disappeared behind the tinted windows of P’First’s familiar car and drove off.One of P’First’s men had actually entered the restaurant to look around as well, while they had come to collect Ben, and after a quick sweep, that man had told Kit that everything seemed to be alright so he could stay a bit longer if he wanted to.Earth followed Kit’s eyes with a sigh. “Ben has really changed a lot in the past few months, hasn't he?”“Hmm?” Kit belatedly returned his gaze to Earth. “Arai na? What exactly do you mean?’“Well, for starters, he’s gotten himself involved with a mafia don,” Earth pointed out with a scoff. “ And that said don just send his car to fetch his boy. They probably have the same relationship that you have with P’Kim. Don't you think so, too?”Kit considered it,
Chapter 72: Extended InvitationKit:Coming Thursday, Kit, Ben and Earth decided to meet up at a fancy café instead of their usual roadside Pa’s restaurant. Not that anything was wrong with the restaurant, but Kit and Ben had discussed that a less crowded place would be a better choice for them at the time. P’David drove Ben and Kit there together, while Earth told them he’d meet with them at the location.They were certain that whoever was spying on them would be there as well, not wanting to pass up the opportunity to observe them “unaware”.P’Kim and P’First had already oriented them on what to do, with P’Kim fretting more than the latter. “Do not engage,” he had said. “Again, you are simply there to observe and take note of anyone who could possibly be spying on you. If anything happens, P’David will be on standby, so just run. Got it?”“Yes, P’Kim, you said that more than five times already,” Kit had said, his patience wearing thin. He knew P’Kim just wanted to ensure their safet