Chapter 43: Comfort and GratitudeKit:Against his better judgment, Kit went to the fertility clinic with both P’Kanya and P’Kim. Of course he was happy that they were going through such an important moment in their lives, and he didn’t want to be a pessimistic about the whole deal, but he couldn’t help it—his heart felt as heavy as lead.Not once had he ever doubted P’Kim’s feelings for him, but still… part of him felt envious. His sister could give his lover something he himself could never give. Immediately after thinking that, he felt awful. He shook his head in annoyance at his own thoughts; he should be happy for them, not feeling sorry for himself.He watched as P’Kim guided P’Kanya to the operating room in a wheelchair. He had wanted to go behind them, but he hadn't been able to. His feet had felt glued to the ground and he hadn't been able to follow behind them into the room.Kit stood back to wait in the lobby, swaying his weight from the balls of his feet to his heels. He p
Chapter 44: UneasyKit:Kit had always known about this part of the story, however, today, he felt like there was another side to it that no one knew about, a side that the P’Kim and his family didn’t always talk about.And even though he had a feeling that he may be overstepping his bounds…he felt like he had to know the whole truth. It was the only way to getting to know P’Kla better, so that he could help him and P’Kanya build a future together, after this was all over.“What made P’Kla change his mind?” He asked, a bit hesitantly. “Why did he venture away from his initial plans? It sounds quite serious.”But P’Kim shrugged, seemingly uncertain of the answer himself. “To be honest, I hadn’t really talked to him in depth about that matter, but if you ask me, I believe it may have something to do with the gruesome nature of our father’s death.” He breathed in deeply, as though he was remembering memories he would have preferred not to remember.His eyebrows were furrowed so closely t
Chapter 45: Not the EndKit:Gently, both Kit and Kim helped Kanya get settled inside the car, ready to go home. Kit followed shortly into the seat next to her, but just as P’Kim opened the passenger door, his phone rang.He answered the call a few steps away from the car, just out of earshot. Kit was curious; P’Kim didn’t shout, nor did he look angry, but the call looked intense. When he walked back to the car, he closed the waiting passenger door and said to Kit and Kanya, “I have to go somewhere else. There has been an emergency.”Emergency? This worried Kit, especially after what they had been talking about earlier. “What happened?” he asked P’Kim, even though he had said earlier that he didn’t want to get involved with his business.Kit thought P’Kim would at least give some context as assurance, but all he said was, “It’s work-related.” He wanted to ask more, but seeing as P’Kim’s eyebrows were starting to furrow tightly again, he decided to drop it.And so the leader of the Ayu
Chapter 46: The Pieces of a Dangerous PuzzleKim:When Aawut reported to Kim the events of that afternoon, he could hardly focus at work. Anxiety crept up at him every second, and he could hardly focus on what his associates were discussing. He could see their lips move, but it felt like neither their words reach his ears, nor did they retained in his mind.He was too stressed, too worried. All Aawut had told him was that they had been shot at, and that he was in pursuit of whoever had done so. Then he fell off the face of the earth and didn’t answer any of Kim’s texts and calls.Kim wasn’t worried about him, though. He knew that Aawut was more than capable of defending himself should the need arise; he was so resilient that perhaps only death itself could come to take him. But he was worried about Kit and Kaya.When he was finally free to rush home after he had finished settling things at work, he did so without another look back. Panting, he ran in, past the foyer, and stumbled into
Chapter 47: All This TimeKanya:Inside her room, Kanya got settled on the bed with N’Som’s help, and the younger woman was so gentle with her, as if she was a fragile egg ready to break at any moment, that she couldn’t help but laugh.“Nong Som, thank you for your help, I can get on the bed myself,” she joked, smiling. “In case you forgot, I actually did not sustain any injuries from the shooting—if you can even call it that, given that it only happened once. If anything, you should pay closer attention to the car, since it actually got hit.”N’Som hit her arm playfully. “Ow, but Phi! You know I can’t help my worrying, especially since you’re carrying my nephew! Most of all, I love you too much not to fuss over you.”Kanya’s grin widened, and she reached up to ruffle Som’s hair, and the latter pretended to huff in annoyance and fixed her hair.Over the course of her stay at the estate, she had gotten incredibly close to Nong Som, treating her like her own little sister since she knew
Chapter 48: A Warning and a DistractionKit:Kit went into his own room, where he sat on the bed, the mattress sinking under his weight.His mind went straight to the earlier incident and he couldn’t help but take a shaky breath. He hadn’t been able to feel the depth of his fear, even when he and P’Kanya had talked about it with Nong Som and P’Kla in the living room because he wanted to keep a strong front, so as not to stress his sister out too much.But now that he was finally alone… He could remember the fast and loud beating of his heart, and the way his throat had tightened and dried up. And worst of all, he could never forget the look on his sister’s face—those wide, frightened eyes, teeth biting so hard on her lip that she drew blood.They had a narrow escape from death itself, and even though Kit had watched several horrifying incidents before, this once scared him most since this was the first time P’Kanya was involved.He remembered P’Kim shooting at those thugs who has trie
Chapter 49: Bare, Bound, and BlindfoldedKim:Kim could hear the slight fear in Kit’s voice, so he smiled gently to reassure him. “My people are already on the lookout for that man,” he said, because referring to that man as Kit’s father felt like a disgrace.He had proven time and time again that some men did not deserve to be fathers.Kim’s eyes went to Kit’s face, his large, gorgeous eyes looking up at him as some stray strands of hair brushed his forehead. “I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere; he cannot come close to us so easily.” Kim used his fingers to brush back those strands.Kit didn’t say anything, but Kim could feel his slight relief as his body released some of his built-up tension.“It has to be Lung Charan,” he continued. “He was the only one who could’ve known that the warehouse was empty—then he set the fire. My Pa and Lung get a portion of the shares I profit from, so they wouldn’t want to severely damage my business as it would be harmful for them as well.”“So the fi
Chapter 50: Spare No DetailKit:When Kit awoke the next day, his body was sore from last night’s activities and P’Kim had already gone to work. Nonetheless, Kit forced himself to get out of bed—the time on his phone read 7 AM, and he still had class at 9. With the finals so close, he couldn’t even dare miss classes, no matter how much his body protested.He swiftly got ready, and by 8, he was ready to go. As P’Aawut was off to duty with P’Kim, it was P’David who drove him to school this morning, and the ride went by fairly quickly.As he made his way to the canteen to meet up with his gang, immediately he sensed that something was off. He hadn’t had the best morning, but he was still in relatively high spirits, so the mood within his circle of college friends was quite glaring, to say the least.He snuck a glance at Prem, who seemed quieter than usual. Since Kit already knew that he had a lot on his mind—especially things regarding Nong Wayo and their fight earlier, so he didn’t both