Kim:The mafia don could not speak for a few seconds, stunned by the sheer audacity of his brother—his brother who had placed the burden of authority on his young shoulders just to claim ‘the good life’ for his own… and the same brother who now had the gall to raise a hand against his superior.
“HiaHave you lost your mind?But it seemed that P’Kla couldn’t care less about overstepping his boundaries and retorted, “Think again. It must be you who’s out of your mind! You are so eager to leave your wife-to-be and go after somebody else, that too when you just confirmed the pregnancy! What sane person does that?”
Kim looked at his brother in stunned astonishment, unable to bear his audacity. How can he simply put all the blame on Kim’s shoulders when he knew the reality of the situation? How dare he raise a hand to the Jao PorBut before Kim could retaliate, to remind his brother that he was overstepping his bounds, another voice beat him to it.
“How laughable,” Kanya said out loud, her voice dripping sarcasm. “P’Kla you are older than the rest of us, and yet, you are this stupid? I simply cannot believe it. I didn’t expect this kind of behavior form you and yet…here we are.” She shook her head in disapproval, crossing her arms over her chest. “How difficult of a concept is it for you to grasp? Kim and I are getting married in name only, and this union holds no real value to either of us. It’s only to ensure that the child is born legitimately to the Ayutthaya family, as Kim’s successor.”
She sounded so exasperated, as though she could not believe that P’Kla couldn’t understand such simple ideas. Kim felt a sense of pride hearing her speak, thankful for her to join in and make the situation straight. There was a reason why they were best friends, after all.
“Most importantly,” she snapped, her voice getting harsher as she spoke, “it seems that you are the one who had forgotten the real agreement between your brother and I. And the fact that the marriage hasn’t even been actualized yet, which means that Kim is free to do as he pleases and be with whoever he wants to be.”
They all blinked up at her, P’Kla even more dumbstruck at her boldness. On the couch, Som smirked as she listened to the banter. Truly, P’Kanya could have such a demanding presence if she wanted to, but she often chose to stand in the sidelines. Som thought that she was actually a perfect fit for her headstrong eldest brother.
But Kanya wasn’t finished yet. “I know very well that Kim only loves Kit, and even though our marriage will be a mere arrangement, as his best friend, I support him fully. Honestly, I don’t give two fucks about Kim going out to find his boyfriend because he is worried about him. And if I’m fine with all of that, why the hell are you taking the initiative and making decisions for me? Since when were you my guardian? When did I tell you to scold Kim for ‘neglecting’ me?”
When Kim looked at Hia“Kim is right to be worried about Kit,” Kanya said at last, driving the point home. “And I am even thankful that he is doing everything in his power to keep my brother safe. In case you had forgotten, we were recently shot at, and the culprit is still out there, roaming freely, yet to be apprehended. So Kim has every right to worry about Kit’s safety since he went out all alone!”
Kim saw the look on P’Kla’s face as the realization dawned on him, and the prideful part of him felt smug at his old brother’s quiet admission of defeat, but still he didn’t feel sorry enough.
“Well,” Som said to break the silence that had fallen upon them when P’Kla was at a loss for words. She stood from the couch and approached P’Kanya, taking her hand in hers gently. “It seems that the celebratory mood has been dampened, but we still have a feast to enjoy anyway. And P’Kanya, please don’t be too angry; it’s not good for the baby.”
Kanya appreciated that Som was trying to lighten the atmosphere, but she wasn’t in the mood for light-hearted teasing. “There wouldn’t be any need for me to be angry in the first place if the people around me acted sensibly enough! Jeez, I thought we were all mature adults here? Are all Ayutthaya men this dense?”
Leave it to Kanya to have the courage to insult one of the most fearsome families in Bangkok, knowing she wouldn’t be killed for it.
“Anyway,” she said, but this time, she was looking at Kim. “You should go find Kit. It’s late, and with the recent events that have happened, I am worried about him, too. I am sorry if I told him it was okay for him to leave the house, but know that I only act in his best interest and never meant him any harm. In fact, I thought that being with his friends would be good for him since he’s still a kid.”
And with that, she made her way to the dining room, leaving them alone to ponder about everything that had just happened. Som followed, as well as Kim’s men who were in the room, witnesses to the dispute that had transpired.
Only P’Kla remained standing in front of Kim.
Kim brushed past him as went into the foyer and stepped out of the door. Before he closed it, he turned around to face his brother one last time, because there were some things yet to be said, and it was better if he said it himself. “Get your shit together, HiaP’Kla didn’t say anything, so Kim added, “And in case you have forgotten, you might be superior to me in age, but you relinquished your authority of the Ayutthaya family to me a long time ago, so I am the head of this family—I am above you. The next time you raise your hand against me will be your last time you have hands. Know your place... HiaAnd with that, Kim slammed the door shut and ran to his car. He had wasted enough time with that argument, precious time that he should have spent on finding Kit instead; he had to find Kit as soon as he could.
But first, he need to figure out which of his friend’s house he had gone to. And just maybe…P’First might have an idea about it.