Tin is back in Thailand to resume being the Medthanan heir. He is finally ready to deal with all of his past misdeeds, including the mess with Pete Pichaya and his boyfriend, Ae. He now has the skills to fight his brother, Tul, for the family compan...
Tin's picture changed Can. Slowly, the glow returned first in his eyes. Then, his appetite awoke. It was like waking a sleeping dragon. Except, his poor stomach had shrank. He was sick the first time he ate his favorite - barbecued pork skewers.
Can still cried, but once life returned to him, he realized he only had one month left in the semester and he would be free of school forever. His grades had fallen dramatically. He had no choice now, he needed a tutor.
Sadly, he knocked on Ley's door. Upon hearing the "Enter.", he opened the door.
"Ley, I need a tutor. I'm failing. I have to graduate."
Lemon nodded and passed him the work she had been doing for the past few months. "Here. It's all here. Now go away and don't tell Ma and Dad."
Can took it, stunned. "Ley, what is this?"
Ley didn't look at him. "Didn't I tell you to go? You'll see." Can turned, with his arms full of papers and books and headed back to his room. There, he opened the first binder and saw all his assignments, completed. On top were post it notes, outlining where he needed to study, where he needed to copy and and what had to be handed in.
He hugged the binder to his chest. "Ley, you're a bitch, but goddess knows, you are a good sister!"
In her room, Lemon put her head down on her desk and cried. It was finally over. She wasn't ready for his level of study but she managed. She was proud. Her grades hadn't dropped at all! She had also learned that she wasn't ready for a boyfriend either. Infatuations pass like the wind. That's all that her interest was in Tin, infatuation.
She got up and patted the poster of MewGulf fondly. With a broad smile, she whispered, "I will keep you two in my heart a while longer. Much easier to love you!"
In his room, Can knew exactly what he needed to do. Get healthy. Graduate. Then he would finally be in a position to go after what he wanted: Tin.
"Wait a while longer, Tin." He whispered to the photograph he pulled out from beneath his pillow. "Then, you can't hide from me any longer."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Tul's first day at work was uneventful. Tin was at Medthanan Industries, to help Tul adjust to being in Father's big chair, in the big office. "Are you sure, Tin, I can do this? Father always said I wasn't good enough."
"Screw him. If you can scheme, you can run the damn company. You definitely are smart enough. Just don't play games with the lives of the employees. They depend on you the same way Pha does." Tin stood up from the comfy leather chair and stretched.
"Don't call me unless it's urgent. You have good staff here. They're competent. Let them do their jobs. I have to get back to my company. Read all your mail first." Tin wanted to be out of their before Tul got to the paperwork giving him the 40% shares.
Tul nodded, already sorting the mail. "Will I see you for dinner tonight? When are you moving back into the mansion? There haven't been reporters for almost two weeks now."
Tin sighed. "I should, shouldn't I? Fine, I'll come back tonight. Are Pha and you living in the mansion?"
Tul nodded. "Yes, ever since I had my break with reality. Besides, Nanny likes it better. She has her own room there, doesn't have to share with the maid."
Tin sighed. "We need to clear out the step-monster's belongings. Should we do that after dinner?"
Tul shivered. "Yes. We can't hire or let the maids do it. Who knows what could be in there." Normally, the staff would have done it by now but at first, the police and the prosecutor had the rooms closed for so long that the brothers had forgotten. Now, it was just reluctance on their part.
Tul looked up, "I'll call the housekeeper and have boxes left outside the door." Tin nodded and tried not to look like he was running away.
"Have a good day, Tul." Tin power walked down to the parking garage and his BMW X. Lately, he was driving it a lot. It reminded him of Can. He needed to feel Can around him ever since Tapi had done THAT. He still felt dirty, sullied.
He found that he talked to the picture of Can often on his desk, telling him about his day, exactly as if he were his spouse. Damn that old man for putting ideas in his head!
Tin was almost positive he knew what triggered Can to walk out now. It was the phrase, "I'm fine." How, Can knew, he wasn't okay, was what they really needed to talk about. Not even the paid professionals could see beyond his lies and dead eyes.
So how did Can know?
Tin had also fully accepted now that he loved the little monkey, heart and soul. Even if he never saw him again, the amount of guilt that was eating him from the inside out, over what happened with Tapi, was proof enough. The love was not dissipating. It had not faded or dimmed.
Instead, Tapi's disappearance had left Tin with yet another mystery on his hands. Why had he done that to him? Was he planning blackmail? So far, the detective Tin had hired had found no trace of the missing butler. It wasn't as if Thailand had a lot of millionaires that could hire a butler!
Where did he disappear to? "Can, I'm so sorry!" He whispered, for the hundredth time, bowing to the picture. It did little to ease the feeling in the pit of his stomach.
His phone rang. He answered, "Medthanan." Not realizing his voice was snappish, as well as failing to check the call display. Over the past few months, the reporters had given up calling. Lawsuits had that effect.
"Hello Tin." Ae's voice was gruff. "If you hang up on me, I will come there and beat the shit out of you."
"What do you want, Intouch?" Ae may use his given name, but Tin wasn't feeling kind right now.
"Dinner. Pete is getting harassed by his mother. I'm tired of it. Suck it up and come over for dinner."
"Are you seriously asking ME to join Pete and you for dinner?" Tin's voice was incredulous. "I have work to do."
"Take the night off. I told you, I know where you work. Pete's sensitive. It's been long enough. Dinner tonight. I'm texting you the address." Ae hung up, then high fived Pete, who had been holding back his laughter.
Tin stared at the phone and contemplated throwing it against the windows. The old lawyer's words flashed in his mind: Children have temper tantrums. God, he wanted to be a child again! Hell, he wanted to have a childhood! Just once, he wanted to BE a child...
Gently, he placed the cellphone down and put his head in his hands. Then, after a while, he picked up his phone and called his assistance. "Call Tul, cancel my meeting tonight. Tell him something came up."
He knew if he did it, there would be too many questions. He didn't want to answer anything. Hell, he didn't even want to go to this damn dinner party. Picking up the phone, he called the assistant again. "Oh, and get me a black suit. I can't go to a dinner business meeting in a blue suit. Don't forget the matching socks. My shoes and tie are fine."
The assistant spoke, "Sir? A suggestion?"
"What?" snapped Tin, his mood starting to break through.
"Keep multiple changes of clothes here. You may have many dinner meetings from now on, including golf. Some of our business partners are older men."
Tin nodded, then remembered he was on the phone. "Good idea. Thank you. When you call the mansion, mention it to the maid. She will pack up what I need." He paused, "I'm sorry for taking out my moods on you."
The assistant smiled, "It's fine, sir. I'll get right on it."
"It's not fine. I'm not a child." He hung up and walked to the window. He did not want to see either Pete or Ae. They reminded him of Can.
