TO SHOU WITH LOVE

98 - DECLARING A WAR

"It's roughly like this," Thanapon tilted his head and took a few sips of water. "At that time, I was working in a nightclub during the night shift. Since no one was at home at night, I let her stay there. When I returned home during the day, she had already conscientiously gone out to play. Later, when I got a singing gig at the Atsadang Bar, Sister Belle provided the two rooms on the second floor of the bar, just like what you saw."

After listening to Thanapon recounting this past, Sailub remained silent for a while.

He thought about what Liz said, indeed, he was already living a difficult life, yet he still supported a sick little girl.

This was something not everyone could do. Thanapon, however, spoke about the matter with a calm tone from beginning to end.

"Did you ever think about sending her to an orphanage?" Sailub said this sentence, paused, and added, "I mean, considering you're carrying a heavy debt burden and already living a tough life."

"I thought about it. I mentioned it to her at the beginning, but she resisted and didn't explain why." Thanapon's gaze lowered slightly. "Later, during our conversation, I inadvertently found out that she probably has parents, but they might not treat her well or want her. So, I guessed that the reason she didn't want to be sent to an orphanage was probably the fear of being discovered. Once found, she might be sent back to her parents. However, she didn't want to talk about it, so I didn't ask further."

Sailub nodded and after a while, he asked again, "Has Tania disappeared before?"

"Yeah," Thanapon responded. "Frequently."

"Why?"

"Because she doesn't want me to spend money,,"Thanapon sighed. "Kids, they think it's fine to skip a few dialysis sessions. When the day to go to the hospital approaches, she tries various ways to disappear in advance. She can delay it as much as possible, which means fewer dialysis sessions for her."

So, that's how it is. Sailub felt a bit uneasy.

At the same time, everything that seemed off before suddenly had an explanation.

For example, why Tania, who was usually lively and clever, suddenly got lost before the recording of "Endless Night" in the competition.

Or why, when they arrived of the hospital gate that time, Tania, who was clearly
clutching her stomach in pain, suddenly shouted loudly "My stomach doesn't hurt anyonore!"

Sailub looked at Tania on the hospital bed. She was still sleeping soundly.

A child's sleep was naturally deeper than that of an adult, and with Tania's current weak condition, even though the two had been talking quietly by the window just now, Tania wasn't awakened.

Taking his gaze away from Tania, Sailub looked at Thanapon. "Do we need to register for the kidney transplant?"

"Kidney transplant matching registration," Thanapon said. "It's been done."

"And never matched successfully?"

This time, Thanapon didn't immediately answer, instead, his brow furrowed gradually.

Sailub had a vague speculation in his heart.

After a moment of silence, Thanapon took a deep breath before speaking, "There was a successful match before, but at that time, I didn't have the money, so I gave up that opportunity."

Sailub's heart sank a bit as his speculation was confirmed.

It took him a while before he continued "When was it?"

"In July of this year"Thanapon sald.

July of this year... Sailub thought, it was just a month before the recording of "Restless Band" program.