From Something To Everything (Bounprem)

146.Just colleague

"Boun, can we talk?" Boun paused hearing a female voice. He didn't have to look over to identify the owner of the voice.

He looked up and saw the woman standing right in front of him. the only woman whom he loved wholeheartedly.

Boun felt his palm turn sweaty seeing the elegant woman dressed in a black cheongsam qipao with golden threadwork in it. Her long silky hair was tied back into a messy low bun, leaving a few strands of hair on either side of her face. The woman was graceful as he remembered, carrying herself with poise in a sophisticated and fashionable way.

It had been years since he last saw her. Her face didn't seem to have changed much. It still looked as gorgeous as ever. Other than the tiny unnoticeable wrinkles on her forehead and eyes along with the one or two strands of hair that turned grey, there was no sign of aging on her.

He could see a small smile on her lips, that was so similar to his own.

The woman in front of him was none other than his first love, the only woman who had the ability to break his heart, his mother, Tessa Thongprasom Guntachai.

"Swadee Khrab." Boun respectfully waied at her. He was nervous and a bit excited. But not too much. He didn't want his motions to be misplaced.

Even though a part of him wished that his mother was here because she actually cared for him, the other part knew that he was left disappointed every time he thought like that in the past.

His mother had been the closest person to him when he was young. She would play with him, read him bedtime stories and cuddle with him to sleep. During those days, his favourite thing to do was watch his mother work. He loved watching her being the independent dominant self.

Yet, everything changed when he was around six years old. He was playing in the backyard garden of the mansion when he accidentally fell into the pond in the middle of the garden.

The pond was deeper than he thought. As a child who had just begun his swimming lessons, there was no way he could swim to the shore and save himself. Luckily the gardener noticed the bubbling on the pond's surface before he completely drowned.

The gardener managed to save him in the nick of the moment. Boun ended up with a high fever that night. It took him almost a week to get well.

But, ever since that day, his mother distanced herself from him. She became cold and distinct to him. scattering his heart into pieces. He was so sad and depressed that he didn't eat or sleep for days. When he fell sick again, his mother never visited. She even sent him off to his grandparents to live with them.

Not that his parents didn't take good care of him, but he still missed his mother and their house dearly.

"Are you in a hurry?" Tessa was sweating bullets. She was talking to her son after a long period of time and it was beyond awkward to start a conversation. "Could you spare me some minutes? Five? No ten minutes?"

Boun gulped wondering what made his mother come to him. he nodded. "Khrab."

He followed her to the balcony.

"The sky is so pretty tonight, isn't it?" Tessa said nervously. She didn't know where to start.

"Khrab, it is." Boun looked up at the starry sky.

Tessa was bummed by Boun's short answer. She was hoping to find a topic on which they could start conversing. She never felt so nervous even when she was cracking the biggest deals with multinational companies.

"Do you have plans for tonight? I mean-" Tessa had already witnessed what happened in the corridor between her son and Prem. She didn't hear what they were talking about but from the longing gaze the two shared, she could easily conclude that the duo had their own plans for the night.

"Khrab," Boun answered without looking at his mother.

"With that kid, Prem?" Tessa wanted Boun to know that she already knew of Prem and his relationship and she was supportive of it.

Boun spun his head to look at Tessa. An obnoxious feeling took over his heart. He didn't want anyone to find out about Prem. Not yet. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect the younger.

"I- I heard from Mom and Dad that you were dating that kid." Tessa tried to explain seeing the mild sense of horror hidden deep inside her son's eyes that were looking at her. "I met his family when I went to Chiang Mai. They-"

"We aren't dating, Khun Tessa," Boun said in a cold voice. "We are just colleagues if that is what you want to know."

Tessa was dumbfounded by the hostility in Boun's voice. Her heart ached.

"Please stay away from him and his family. He has nothing to do with me. If you have an issue with me, then come at me. Please don't include innocent people into the equation." Boun continued with a stoic expression.

"I- I" Tesa stuttered. She wanted to speak. But the lump in her throat made it difficult for her to do so.

"If there is nothing else. Please excuse me. Swadee Khrab." Boun waied again and left without another word.

A teardrop fell from Tessa's eyes. Ann, who was not far away came over to console her friend.

"Damn it." Boun cursed in anger as he reentered the empty corridor. He couldn't believe that Tessa was able to find out about Prem. "What were you even expecting, Boun? Is this your first time making a fool out of yourself?"

He spoke looking at his reflection in the glass window. "For her, you are nothing but a burden, a mistake. A mistake she regretted to date." He clenched his chest, as his eyes turned misty. "Don't you remember how she was never by your side throughout all these years? Haven't you already learned to be on your own? Why did you expect her to be all loving and caring tonight?"

He growled at his reflection. "Just because she smiled at you today? Because she said she wanted to talk to you?" He scoffed. "She must have most probably felt that I was going to drag her family's name to mud with me if I dated a guy. She must have wanted to tell me to stop seeing Pao."

"Your mae doesn't care about you, Boun. Get that straight to your head. All she cares about is her company. Stop expecting to rebond with her someday. Because it is going to remain a daydream till the day you die." Boun wiped his tears and adjusted his clothes.

He walked out of the corridor, finding an excuse to sneak out of the party. He badly needed his dose of Pao at the moment