Autumn is a second spring

165. Act

Fluke stared at his father as if the words had been spoken in a language he no longer understood.

For a long moment, nothing registered. The sound of the waves outside the villa, the hum of the air conditioner, even his own breathing felt distant. His mind kept circling back to the same impossible point, refusing to move past it.

"What... did you just say?" he asked quietly.

Thas didn't answer him. He sat there, back straight, hands folded neatly in his lap, his expression infuriatingly calm—like a man discussing the weather, not dismantling his son's reality.

Remi, on the other hand, was shaking.

"You lied to us," she shouted, her voice breaking the stillness like glass. "You lied to me." She stepped closer to her husband, fury blazing in her eyes. "Do you have any idea what you put us through? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Fluke barely heard her. His head was spinning.

No cardiac arrest.

No paralysis.

No months of slow recovery, no grueling physiotherapy sessions he had watched through a screen with a knot in his chest. No terrifying nights when he had lain awake, imagining his father collapsing again.

All of it—fabricated.

The reports. The medical records. The careful deterioration, the convincing tremors, the cane Thas leaned on with just enough realism. Even the staff at Remi's own hospital had played along, bribed into silence, turning the entire thing into a meticulously staged performance.

And Remi had only caught it by chance.

A discrepancy. A number that didn't align. A reaction that didn't match the diagnosis—noticed in the split second when Thas had pretended to suffer another attack. Instinct, experience, and a doctor's intuition had finally collided.

Fluke's chest felt tight.

Relief came first, sharp and dizzying. His father hadn't almost died. He hadn't sacrificed everything for nothing.

But relief was quickly drowned by something heavier—anger at the deception, sadness at the betrayal, and guilt that curled deep in his stomach. Guilt for the life he had abandoned. For the choices he had made because he thought he had no other option.

And yet, Thas didn't look guilty at all.

Remi laughed bitterly, throwing her hands up. "Say something, Phi," she demanded. "Are you seriously going to sit there like this is nothing?"

Thas finally lifted his gaze. "I didn't want to do it," he said evenly.

Remi froze. "Then why did you?"

"Because I had no other choice."

She frowned deeply. "No other choice? What are you talking about? Was this really about Ohm and Fluke's relationship?"

"It's not just about them," Thas replied.

Fluke flinched at the way his name was lumped so casually into the argument, like a variable in a business deal.

Thas turned his attention to him now. "I just wanted our son to come back to us, alright! You know that I never wanted you or Earth to go back to Thailand after high school," he said. "Not for university. Not for anything."

Fluke swallowed.

"You wanted to study there," Thas continued. "I said no. Your mom said yes. You convinced me—both of you—that you would come back. That Thailand was temporary and that you really couldn't let Earth leave alone."

His eyes hardened. "Do you remember what you promised me?"

Fluke did. He remembered too well.

"That after you graduated, you would return. You would do your master's in one of the top universities here." Thas scoffed softly. "You had the credits. The recommendations. Your application would have been a formality."

Remi cut in, uneasy. "P' Thas—"

"You didn't even apply," Thas said, his voice sharpening as he looked at Fluke. "Not to a single one."

Fluke felt his throat tighten.

"Instead," Thas went on, "you threw all of that away. You stayed in Thailand. You did your postgraduate studies there." His mouth curved into a cruel smile. "All because you sold your last functioning brain cells for your so-called love."

"That's enough, Phi" Remi snapped. "Is it really such a crime that he chose a different path? He is doing well."

"These universities are called prestigious for a reason," Thas shot back. "It's not just the education. It's the resources. The networks. The doors they open."

He turned fully toward Fluke again. "You were a fool in love," he said bluntly. "And you still are."

Fluke clenched his fists at his sides.

"When you decided to become an idol, I was against it," Thas continued. "Again, your mom and Earth defended you. Said it wouldn't affect your future." He laughed coldly. "Then you took up acting without even consulting us."

Remi looked torn now. "That was his decision—"

"And in the end," Thas said, cutting her off, "you fell for a man who has done nothing but hold you back."

Fluke's head snapped up. "Don't talk about P' Ohm like that, dad. He is really supportive."

Thas burst out laughing, the sound sharp and humorless. "Supportive?" he said. "If not for him, you would have quit acting long ago. You would have come back here. You would have taken your rightful place as head of the Siripongthon family."

Fluke felt something crack inside him.

"You stayed in Thailand for him," Thas said. "You chose to be an entertainer for him."

"That's not true," Fluke said, his voice shaking. "I stayed because I love acting. That was my choice. P' Ohm never forced me."

"What's so great about acting?" Thas demanded. "Is it the money? The fame?"

He didn't wait for an answer. "If it's money, you could earn ten times more in our business. If it's fame—what a joke." His eyes were cold. "These fans of yours are fickle. Today they adore you, tomorrow they forget you."

Remi stepped forward angrily. "Stop this nonsense, Phi."

Thas turned on her. "The only nonsense is our son wasting his potential." He pointed at Fluke. "I told you again and again to end this relationship. To come back to the US."

Fluke's voice cracked. "My love isn't nonsense."

"Love doesn't last," Thas said flatly. "You need to be practical. I don't care if two men are together." He paused. "But Ohm is not the right man for you."

Fluke's heart pounded.

"You are the next head of this family," Thas continued. "Marrying Ohm is the same as handing everything we have built to the Ritpraserts."

"They are not like that," Fluke protested.

"You don't know them," Thas snapped. "They will bleed you dry and discard you when they are done."

Then, in a calm, measured tone that terrified Fluke more than shouting ever could, Thas said, "It's time to snap out of your delusions, Fluke. I have already spoken to our lawyer. Divorce papers are being prepared."

Fluke's eyes widened.

"What?" Remi gasped. "Have you lost your mind, P' Thas?"

"Our son is finally happy, married to the person he loves" she cried, turning on her husband. "Why would you destroy that?"

Fluke couldn't breathe.

Divorce.

The word echoed in his head, heavy and suffocating, as the foundations of everything he thought he understood began to crumble.