From Something To Everything (Bounprem)

129. Adoption

"And that is when Lung Saen decided to use his most beloved weapon to make sure that Colt would follow through with the plan." Singto tsked as the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place.

"His most beloved weapon?" Ohm narrowed his eyes. "P' Alan?"

Others nodded at Ohm confirming his guess.

"P' Saen raised Alan as his successor. He was injected with P' Saen's twisted thought process and ideologies from a young age. The kid ended up being someone who had no respect for others. Relationships are a joke to him" There were times when Seth felt bad for Alan. Maybe if he was not brought up by Saen, he would have been a good kid.

"So, lung Saen made P' Alan approach Colt and manipulate him to believing that Boun was the cause of all the troubles he was facing?" Ohm asked.

"Right." Seth shifted before continuing. "Truth be told, Colt was actually used as a cover-up for everything they did. The kid wasn't even directly involved in anything. But Alan managed to make him believe that he was an integral part of the scheme."

"What do you suggest we should do now, phi?" Simon enquired.

"We should lay low." Seth intervened with his fingers and answered.

"Lay low?"

Seth hummed. "We actually have no idea about how powerful P' Saen and the people who work with him are. So, it would be better to stay out of their radar for a while, at least till Boun gets better."

Even though Seth hadn't met Boun after the incident, he had indeed heard from the staff working there gossiping about Boun's condition. This made Seth extremely worried for the once cheery youngster.

"I am sure that P' Saen wanted to use Boun's incident to lure Kao back to Thailand and get rid of him as well in a single go. We can't let that happen. In no way should Kao know of what happened to Boun until the day he comes back here after completing his studies. Am I clear?" Seth spoke to his son.

"Khrab Dad." Ohm nodded. He didn't want either of his cousins' lives to be endangered.

"Simon, you will be in charge of Boun's safety for the time being. Send your best men to guard him." Seth instructed.

"Khrab, Phi. I have already set up my men on it." Simon replied respectfully.

"Good." Seth was satisfied.

Singto and Simon left the room soon leaving behind the father-son duo alone.

Seth looked at his son who seemed to be seriously pondering on something. "What are you thinking so hard about, Ohm? Is it about Colt's sentence?"

Ohm didn't reply but his silence answered on his behalf.

"You think that he shouldn't have been sentenced like that?" Seth asked. His son didn't dare meet his gaze. He knew that he guessed right.

"Ohm, you should stop being so soft-hearted. Colt was being falsely accused. But it was his own choice to confess that he did everything by himself. And it is not like he is completely innocent or anything right? He played a crucial role in getting Boun into trouble."

"But, Dad he..."

"Stop Ohm." Seth cut him off. "Colt could have refused to let Boun stay with him when Boun left his family and ran to that kid. if that kid had done that Boun would have contacted you or anyone of us instead. But no. he had to act all friendly and let Boun stay with him. he was practically dragging Boun down with him when he got into trouble."

Seth paused to let his words sink into Ohm's thought process.

"He may not have directly gotten in touch with those people who tried to hurt Boun but he was definitely aware that Boun would be destroyed if he were to be taken away by those people. Still, he let it happen. He even stalled you for time when you went to rescue Boun. Can you even imagine the degree of damage the incident would have done to Boun if you had been a few more minutes late?"

Seth's question made Ohm's head hang low in shame. He couldn't believe that he was actually sympathizing with someone who hurt his cousin to such an extent.

Seth sighed seeing his son in low spirits. He knew that the whole incident had been a major blow to Ohm as well. His son had inherited his mother's kind and caring heart. He knew that it wasn't going to do any good to his son if the teenager didn't change this particular habit of his.

He slowly rubbed his son's head. "Ohm, the world is not always in black and white. Sometimes there are shades that we may not be able to classify as good or bad. It is all relative to the way we see the situation.

But you have to remember one thing, Ohm. Being kind to your enemy is equal to being cruel to yourself. If you want to keep yourself and the people you care about safe, you should learn to be ruthless, kid. In today's world, people would only exploit you if you are too kind. You should be able to make quick decisions and stand your ground firmly."

"Khrab, Dad," Ohm answered.

"Then, I will get going. I have a meeting with the investors in the afternoon." Seth stood up adjusting his jacket.

"Dad" Ohm called out just before Seth exited the room.

Seth halted in his tracks and turned to his son.

"Dad, can I ask you for a favour?" Ohm asked.

"Ask away. If it is reasonable, then I will be happy to be of help." Seth smiled at his son.

"Dad, it is about Boun." Ohm hesitated. He had this idea for a few days but didn't know how his father was going to respond to it.

"About Boun?" Seth was interested to hear Ohm out.

"It is just that Lung Saen had removed Boun's name from the family register and now Boun is like an orphan..." Ohm eyed his father who was staring at him seriously. "Can we just add him to our family register? I mean... can you and mom adopt him and be his legal parents?" He was fidgeting as he finished speaking.

"Sure."

"Huh?"

"Sure. why not? I am pretty sure that your mom will be over the moon to have Boun as her son. You know how much she loves the kid. She might even be willing to throw you away for him."

Seth's answer made Ohm's face glow. He was finally relieved. He had been worried about bringing up this idea to his father. Since his father didn't have any objections, Boun was going to be his legal brother. He couldn't ask for anything better.