The situation was completely chaotic. Arun dragged me, forcing me to run to escape. Meanwhile, my mother held my father, shouting for me to run away as fast as possible, as if she was afraid he might grab a gun and shoot me.
"Let me go! If our daughter lost, she must accept defeat. You can't help her like this!"
"I can do anything for my daughter. I want to be her heroine. I want her to be so impressed with me that she writes in her calligraphy homework: 'Mommy is the shield against daddy!'"
"What nonsense! Let me go!"
"What are you waiting for, Miss? I won't hold out for much longer! Miss Fah, take Miss In and run away now!"
Janephop shouted furiously in our direction. But then, in the middle of all that confusion, I shouted at the top of my voice:
"I'm not going anywhere! Everyone, stop!"
At that moment, everything in the room seemed to freeze, as if someone had pressed a pause button. My mother slowly let go of my father, while Mawin and Janephop, losing their balance, were captured by four of Dad's henchmen.
"In..."
"The war is not over yet. I have not lost yet."
At this, Dad let out a laugh, showing a mixture of affection and contempt.
"Do you still have a trick up your sleeve? From what I see, you have nothing left to fight for, my dear. Give up and marry Mawin. Get it over with and enjoy the life of the rich, spending money as you please."
"What is the exact amount we have?"
"Exactly nine hundred and eighty thousand baht."
"That is the correct amount, right? Are you sure there is nothing left or missing?"
Dad looked at his subordinates, experts in numbers, instead of answering. The four men in suits nodded vigorously.
"That amount is exact, with nothing missing or left over, miss."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Sure?"
"Yes, definitely."
"They're not making anything up, are they?"
"Absolutely not."
"Do I need to put some music on Spotify to go with it?"
Dad leaned back in his chair, smiling as he listened to my interaction with his employees.
When I finally confirmed it, I sighed deeply, surprising him to the point that he straightened his posture, suspicious.
"Why so relieved?"
"Well..."
I smiled slightly before looking at Jenphop, who had always been my right hand in everything.
"Jan, did you bring the tip box?"
"I didn't, Miss."
Janephop replied, widening his eyes with excitement upon hearing my instruction.
"Then go get it now! I'll give you exactly thirty minutes. Let's count the tips."
"Yes, Miss."
Dad frowned, but he didn't seem upset, as he still felt confident.
"Tips? How much can that bring in?"
"Quite a bit, we have a generous sponsor."
I looked at my mother, who had once put ten thousand baht in the box as a lucky charm. Remembering that, she smiled broadly and laughed happily.
