Accidentally Married

53. Perfect Pitch

Zo lay wide awake in bed, staring at the dark ceiling. Sleep was the last thing on his mind. How could he possibly sleep when Nai—his husband—was right beside him? For the first time since their marriage, Nai was sharing his bed. The weight of that simple truth sent Zo's heart racing in a rhythm that made it impossible to close his eyes.

Turning his head carefully, Zo let his gaze linger on Nai. The dim city light filtered through the curtains, brushing shadows across his face. Nai looked just as restless, eyes fixed upward as if lost in thought. Almost as if he sensed Zo's stare, Nai turned his head. Their eyes met, and Nai spoke first, his voice low and steady.

"Can't sleep?"

Zo offered an awkward smile and admitted softly, "Kind of."

Nai shifted, rolling onto his side so that he was facing Zo. "Me too," he said. The simplicity of the words carried a strange intimacy that settled between them.

For a few minutes, they lay in silence, the stillness broken only by the muffled hum of the city outside. Then Zo, unable to hold back his thoughts any longer, asked, "Why did you suddenly change your mind tonight? Why decide to move into my room?"

Nai's gaze didn't waver. "Because you were right. If I have decided to give this marriage a try, then I should start by being here—with you. Sharing the same room is the least I can do."

A small, fragile smile tugged at Zo's lips. He whispered, almost shyly, "Thank you."

But the gratitude was quickly swallowed by a heavier thought pressing on his chest. He bit his lower lip, hesitating before speaking again. "Actually... I didn't want Fah and Jui to get engaged."

Nai frowned slightly. "Why not?"

Zo took a breath, his tone more earnest now. "Because after Fah broke up with Cherd, he never really got back into dating. It was like he lost interest in relationships altogether. He distracted himself with work, friends, casual things... but nothing serious. Then Jui came along, and for the first time in years, he wanted to try again. But Jui keeps rejecting him, over and over. I don't know what Jui feels, but I know Fah. He would be taking this engagement seriously. If it falls apart, it will break him. You know, Cherd cheated on him, and that crushed him deeply. If this ends badly too..." Zo's voice faltered, "maybe Fah won't give anyone else a chance ever again."

He sighed, eyes softening. "I don't want him to go through that."

Nai studied him quietly, then said, "You really care about him."

"Of course I do," Zo replied instantly. "He is my best friend."

At that, Nai's lips curved into a smile.

Zo blinked. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"It's nothing," Nai said, though amusement lingered in his eyes. "Just... you are different from what I thought."

Zo shifted, suddenly self-conscious. "What do you mean?"

"I assumed you were just a spoiled rich brat," Nai admitted calmly, "self-centered, someone who didn't care about anyone but himself. After all, you let Khun Moo run away on the wedding day, wasting everyone's effort to put the ceremony together."

Zo flushed, shaking his head. "It wasn't like that. Moo, Fah, Lom, and I—we have been close since childhood. Moo was like family to us. I could never imagine her as anything else, let alone a wife. But our parents... they had other ideas."

His voice softened as he continued. "Moo was special to our mothers. They always wanted a daughter, but they only had sons. Moo was like the daughter they never had, pampered and cherished. So when her parents suggested one of us should marry her, things spiraled. Fah was still reeling from heartbreak, and Lom—though he likes both men and women—leans toward men. That left me as the only option. Even when Moo and I protested, our parents ignored us."

Zo's face tightened at the memory. "Moo even tried to tell them about her boyfriend, but they wouldn't listen. He wasn't from a prestigious family, so they thought I would be better for her."

Nai raised a brow. "You knew about her boyfriend?"

"Of course I did," Zo said immediately. "That's why I tried to stop the wedding. But I failed miserably. I... I am sorry about that day, Nai. I didn't think far enough ahead. I didn't think about the people who worked so hard to make the wedding happen. I didn't think about you."

Nai's voice softened. "You don't owe me the apology—it's my colleagues who had to pick up the pieces. But you already apologized to them, didn't you?"

Zo nodded. "Yes." Then he looked at Nai with a gentle smile. "But honestly? I am glad it was you who walked down the aisle and married me."

Nai gave him a pointed look. "Stop lying."

"I am not lying," Zo protested, leaning closer. "You looked incredible in that wedding suit. For the first time that day, I thought—maybe marrying you wasn't such a bad idea."

The confession sent a faint blush creeping over Nai's face. It wasn't just the words; it was the way Zo looked at him while saying them. Even in the dim light, the intensity of Zo's gaze burned with sincerity, with a tenderness Nai wasn't prepared for. It reminded him of the way his father used to look at his mother—filled with love and certainty.

Zo pressed on, voice quieter now. "That's why I was shocked when you suddenly mentioned divorce at dinner. Until then, no one had ever wanted to leave me. Maybe it was my family background, maybe my looks, I don't know. But when you said you wanted out—someone who had volunteered to marry me—it hit me that you never really wanted this in the first place. You were pushed into it, and you were upset. That's when I realized how wrong I had been."

Nai's expression softened. "Then why didn't you just sign the papers?"

Zo shrugged lightly. "Because for the first time, someone wasn't impressed by my money or my name. You weren't swayed by any of that. You valued your work, your principles, your effort. That made me want to be with you even more."

He smiled faintly. "If you had insisted on leaving, maybe I would have had to let you go. But my father always taught me something in business: when a client or an investor isn't interested, you don't give up. You prove your worth. You show them that choosing you is the best decision they could make. That's exactly what I plan to do with you. I will prove that I am worth being with."

Nai raised his brows, half amused, half touched. "That was a pretty smooth pitch. Presentation was flawless. I would give it a ten out of ten. But words aren't enough. I will need to see actions."

Zo's lips curled into a playful smirk. "And you will."

For the first time in the night, the tension eased, replaced by a quiet comfort that neither of them had expected. They lay there, facing each other, the city's glow tracing faint outlines around their bodies. Neither spoke after that, but their silence was no longer heavy. It was warm, promising.

For Zo, sleep still didn't come easily, but he didn't care. Nai was there, in his bed, and for once, that was enough.