Chapter 5

“Then why didn’t he fight for you?”     

The words hit Siri in the heart like a sharp knife and he involuntarily took a shocked step back. This woman in front of him was one of the three people Siri respected in the whole world. He had not expected his grandma to say this. This is why he was confused when his grandma started insulting his lover. This was absolutely out of the blue and it angered Siri to no end. What did this woman expect Pai to do? With who Siri is, Pai had done the only thing he could do, right? Right?

Siri was glaring hard at the woman, whose eyes were nothing but challenging.

Siri was seething from within, “That’s not fair..”

Mrs. Thanawat tilted her head to the side, watching her grandson quiver with anger, “What’s not fair? Huh, Siri? What’s not fair?”

“We did, he made a..we ..I had obligation and Pai..”

Grandma snorted, “Yes, Pai, indeed. Tell me Siri, what did you take me as? Did you think I’m someone who would rate your happiness above a couple of billion bucks?”

“Nana..” The old woman chuckled.

“But dad, he just..”

Grandma sighed and shook her head, “Let’s be honest Siri. We both know your father is smart enough, but he doesn’t have the intelligence that you and I possess. He is managing just fine, let’s not discredit him. But I’m not deluding myself into believing that my son can manage this huge empire by himself. It is one of the reasons why I have been training you diligently. But now I’m questioning myself.”

“Nana, what are you saying?”

“Don’t you get it Siri? You failed. You failed to trust me enough, trust me that I will always have your best interest in my heart. You failed to trust that if you had put your foot down and had been firm on your decision, no one would have been more proud of you than me. I believed you are capable of single handedly not only managing what I have build from scratch but also expanding it. But you showed me that you are not even capable of taking control of your life! How am I supposed to trust you with this responsibility now?”

“Nana! I don’t know..”

“Why did you think I have never stopped you from meeting him? One word, one snap of my fingers and you wouldn’t even know where he disappeared..”

Siri gasped, fear clenching his heart at his grandma’s words. But he had to admit she was right. This woman could have separated him from his Pai with her eyes closed. Siri himself had wondered why neither his father nor this lady ad ever asked him not meet Pai ever again.

Grandma came close to Siri, held him by his arms and shook him, “Don’t you get it Siri? I was waiting! I had heard so much about your lover from you..I wanted to see if he would ever make an attempt to convince us. If that man had even tried..if he had so much as asked to meet me, I would have looked at him in a completely different way. It didn’t matter if he had stuttered or ran away without even saying anything, just the fact that he had tried would have raised his opinion for me. I would have at least seen a glimpse of that man that you claim to love!”

The woman sighed and closed her eyes. When she looked up at her grandson her eyes were softer and a small smile had graced her thin lips. She lovingly wiped the young man’s cheeks. Siri had not realized he was crying until he felt the gentle fingers.

“Did you not think I could have made that Paramsikt bend in some other way? Siri, I can understand why your lover pushed you to do this. Family, business and obligations are usually considered to be written in stone. And for someone like him, who has never in his life seen or even dreamed of a billion dollars, it’s overwhelming. I can see why he would think you would later regret not going through with this. He counts in pennies after all..”

Siri swallowed as his eyes went wide. He had never told his family about Pai’s financial or family background. But thinking now he should have guessed his grandma would have known everything there was to know ever since they started dating. The woman patted the young man’s shoulder as she went back and slumped back on the chair.

The young heir of the Thanawat empire rubbed his face in frustration, as he pulled his hair back and looked towards the sky. He knew he had messed up. This was a test his grandma had set for him and he had failed spectacularly.