Autumn is a second spring

53. Surrogate

"Khun Ohm, here are the investigation reports of that woman," A man in a black suit, a typical Ritprasert family shadow guard uniform, placed a file in front of Ohm.

Ohm nodded and dismissed the man.

He leaned back against the armchair, twirling the golden amber drink inside the crystal glass.

He slowly picked up the investigation report and started reading it.

The person about whom he had his men enquire was none other than the surrogate he had chosen for Fluke, Julia Jittapa Supree.

Ohm had his doubts about the whole surrogate thing ever since he saw the form that Fluke had shown him that day. He didn't mind getting a surrogate as he knew that it would be impossible for him and Fluke to have kids on their own.

Given the level of fondness Fluke had towards children, Ohm didn't want the younger to lose the opportunity to be a parent himself, just because of their relationship.

Yet, on the day when he visited Fluke's parents as his boyfriend, he understood that things were more complicated than he thought.

He never told Fluke about his conversation with Remi at their place.

Remi had a lot of concerns about them being together, most of them rooted in the strong opposition her husband was giving towards Ohm dating their son. 

"You are getting increasingly perverted day by day," Singto said as he entered Ohm's office as if it were a public space.

Singto was Ohm's cousin from his father's side. Singto's mother and Ohm's father were siblings.

Ohm glanced at his nosy cousin and chose to ignore him, turning his attention back to the detailed biodata of Julia.

"Oh? Who is this girl? I thought you were looking into something related to Fluke," Singto said while peeking at the file Ohm was holding.

"She is a the girl the Siripongthons want Fluke to have a child with," Ohm didn't bother hiding anything from Singto.

Even though they weren't that close, Ohm still knew that his cousin was someone he could trust.

"They want to Fluke to have a child with her? Isn't he already having a child with that psycho ex-fiancé of yours? They want more?" Singto was surprised.

He was aware of Fame's pregnancy and how complicated the situation between his cousin and his boyfriend were because of it. Now hearing that there will be one more person in the picture, he was baffled.

"The Siripongthons are unwilling to accept her child. That's why they want to find another girl to give birth to a grandchild for them." Ohm flipped to the next page of the file.

"You don't have any objection in that?" Singto asked.

"No. As long as the child id Fluke's, I will accept it wholeheartedly," Ohm said without raising his head from the file.

"You will accept. But what about our family? Do you think your parents will be willing to accept the child who has no blood ties with you?" Singto couldn't help but ask.

He was worried that his uncle and aunt might not be happy with Ohm's decision.

"I don't need their acceptance," Ohm said plainly.

"But~"

"They have never accepted me, Phi," Ohm said interrupting Singto halfway. "I am their biological son, their flesh and blood. Still, they never accepted me. So, I don't think my children would need their acceptance either."

Singto wanted to say something, but no words came out of his mouth.

"I have always been a mistake to them. An untimely mistake. Maybe, if not for Aa Tessa also being pregnant at that time, Mom would have gotten rid of me," Ohm closed the file. His mood was ruined.

Tessa was Boun's mother. She and Ann were best friends. It was around the time she got pregnant with Boun, her third child, that she found out that her husband had been cheating on her for several years.

That realization had broken her to the extent of wanting to take her own life. Ann was the one who stopped her back then. 

Saen, Tessa's husband and Boun's biological father, was Ann's elder brother. Despite that, Ann supported Tessa and convinced the latter to keep her child. She became the support system for Tessa.

A few months later Ann found that she herself was pregnant. At that time, she had been offered the role of the main lead in one of the biggest blockbuster movies of Thai entertainment industry.

She had to turn down the role, which became a huge loss for her and her career. She was still considering an abortion but decided against it as she realized that Tessa might also get an abortion if she went through the plan.

Ann had decided to keep her baby so that Tessa won't give up on hers.

Ohm was less than ten years old when he heard his mother confessing this to Singto's mother. He also heard her say that his father was also supportive of the decision to have him aborted. That was the day, young Ohm's heart was shattered to pieces.

Till that day, he was doing everything and anything to gain his parents' heart. He started acting so that his mother would like him more. He spent so much effort in excelling at everything so that his father would like him more. Yet, when he heard that neither of his parents actually wanted him to be born, he realized that all his efforts were in vain.

He understood why his mother, who was very affectionate towards his cousins never showed any love to him- she never wanted him in the first place. For her, he was an unwanted baggage.

Following that incident, Ohm became more distant from his family. His character and attitude became colder and aloof.

"Then again, maybe my mom would like the child, as it wouldn't be related to me. She had always been nice to ours, right? She loves you, she loves Boun, she loves P' Kao, Fluke, Earth, Prem, the kids, everyone. So, I think there are high chances that she would be thrilled to have this child, you know," Ohm said sarcastically.

His mother was a loving and caring person to everyone except him. Once Boun told him that he was jealous of him for having a mother like Ann. That day, Ohm almost laughed out loud on his face.

Singto sighed internally, feeling a bit helpless. He knew what Ohm was getting at and understood that there was some truth to it as well. But he didn't want his cousin to keep distance from their family.

Even though Fluke's intervention had made Ohm's relationship with his parents had improve a lot in the past two years, a gap of twenty plus years couldn't be filled just like that.

In addition, Ohm was not Boun, who was easy to coax and pacify. Ohm was cold through and through. There were only a handful of people to whom he had warmed up to and neither of his parents were one of them.

He had set up clear boundaries with his parents that the latter was having a hard time crossing.