Chapter 6 The Genesis of Vengeance

Days turned into a quiet rhythm in Phupha's mansion. I tried to adapt to the unfamiliar daily routine. I still visited my father at the hospital every day and called Kaew constantly to check on Nong Time. Each time I heard my son's tiny voice, my heart ached with unbearable longing.

My relationship with Phupha followed the terms he set: no sweet words, no physical touch, and no emotions involved. We barely spoke, only addressing work or necessities. He often returned home late, and sometimes wasn't home all night.

I felt like a shadow in his house, merely an ornament placed according to his desires.

One day, as I sat reading in the library, my gaze fell upon a photo album tucked beneath a pile of old books. Curiosity piqued, I picked it up and opened it.

Inside were old photos of a young Phupha. He smiled broadly, his eyes sparkling with vitality. I had never seen him like this before. Since I'd known him, he had always exuded coldness and emotionlessness.

I flipped through the pages until I stopped at one particular photo that squeezed my heart tightly.

It was a picture of a young boy, smiling brightly, similar to the boy in the photo I had seen earlier. But in this picture, he stood beside him, with a warm smile I had never witnessed before.

But what shocked me even more was... I was in the photo too! I vaguely remembered meeting this boy once many years ago at a party... and back then, Phupha was there too!

I tried to recall memories from the past... That day was a celebration of something. Phupha back then wasn't the powerful CEO he was now, but merely a promising young student. And I was just an innocent girl who had just entered university.

Suddenly, a scene flashed into my mind... an incident I had tried to forget for many years.

"Sir, help me!" the small boy's voice cried for help, his eyes welling up with tears.

I stood there, unsure of what to do. At that time, I was too young and confused to understand the whole situation.

"Linin... what have you done!" Phupha's voice was harsh, filled with rage. He looked at me with the deepest disappointment and pain, as if I had destroyed something important to him.

That image struck me like lightning. I remembered now... that day was when a small accident happened to that boy. I was present at the scene too, but in my shock and confusion, I didn't know what to do... and it seemed Phupha misunderstood, believing I was the cause of it all.

My hands trembled as I slowly closed the album. Guilt gnawed at my heart.

'Is this why he hates me?' I asked myself.

'Is this why he wants revenge on me?'

I used to think his vengeance stemmed from our past relationship, where I had left him without a word, along with the secret of Nong Time. But now, I wasn't so sure.

Or was his vengeance truly rooted in that childhood incident... the story of that boy?

The truth, slowly revealing itself, made me even more fearful. The man I was now living with carried a vengeance I had never known, and he was ready to reclaim everything he had lost.

That night, I couldn't sleep again. The image of the boy in the photo swirled in my mind, along with the look of immense pain in Phupha's eyes that day.

I now knew that this upcoming year wasn't just about repaying my father's life debt, but about repaying a past wrong I might not have even known existed.

This game was far more complex than I had imagined, and I had no idea how it would end.