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Part 45

"Max, do you want to go out with me?" My palms were sweating as I waited for him to respond. Max's eyes widened instantly as his jaw fell open in shock, then a huge grin appeared on his face and his eyes were actually shining.

"Of course, of course, of course!!!" He said repeatedly and smiling so excitedly that I had no doubt of his willingness to accompany me anywhere. After all these years, he would still choose me over anyone else. Dear, Max...

I found myself forcing a weak smile at him, feeling rather ashamed of myself. It wasn't really fair of me to be going out with Max when my heart was obviously still Kongpob Suthiluck's. However, I was only following Kongpob Suthiluck's advice to move on. And who better than with a guy whom I know has been in love with me for ages, and who would never ever trample on my heart the way he has?

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"Are you sure you want to go out with Max, Arthit?" I turned to see Nat looking at me with a rather worried expression on his face.

"Why? Are you thinking of going out with me instead?" I teased him lightly.

"I am very willing to do so." However, I simply smiled and shook my head at him.

"Nat! What about Krystal? I heard that you are both very good friends now?" I lifted my eyebrows and gave him a knowing look. He blushed furiously and then laughed. Ah ha! So the news about them being a couple is accurate.

"I heard about Kongpob," Nat said suddenly looking rather serious. Immediately, the smile faded from my face. "I understand how you're feeling...It is really time for you to move on and be happy. Actually, I was so sure that the one Kongpob likes is you..." My head shot up as I stared at him, hope starting to flicker in me again. Surely if Nat thinks that Kongpob Suthiluck likes me, I would have a chance...right?

But before I could ask him any further, I found two pairs of arms holding me captive and pulling me away from him.

"Aya, May, let me go! I was talking to Nat..."

"We heard," Aya cut in.

"Look Arthit," May added gently. "What is the point of asking Nat if Kongpob likes you? He's going to marry Vanessa and you know that. If he really likes you, would he do that? And even if he likes you, he is still marrying Vanessa, so how would that help anything? Don't cause yourself any more unnecessary pain, Arthit."

I lowered my head, letting the last embers of hope die out. May was too right, I had decided last night to totally give up on Kongpob Suthiluck and give Max a chance. I could not back out of my decision now.

It was indeed the best for all.

Kongpob Suthiluck was cold-hearted and arrogant, who caused me nothing but heartbreak.

It was time to move on.

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"Good morning, Daniel." I sat down at the breakfast table as he returned my greeting. To my surprise, Arthit's place was still empty.

"Arthit's still sleeping?" I asked out loud before I could stop myself. That was strange, Arthit is usually the first one up on Saturday.

"No, he's out on a date."

"A date?" My eyes widened. "Who is he out with???"

Ummm, so maybe my tone was more shocked and urgent than I had intended, so I quickly coughed and forced my voice back to its usual emotionless tone. "Mhph, I mean who would want to go out with that baka?"

"I don't know, but I must say Arthit looked very happy when leaving." I looked up to see my little brother observing me closely. The knowing glint in his eyes made me feel rather uncomfortable.

"Well, whoever he's out with must be feeling really sorry for him. That's the only reason why anyone would ever go out with Arthit." I ended our conversation by picking up the newspaper and burying my head in it.

Daniel stared at me for a long time, seemingly wanting to say something more, but instead, he just shook his head at me and started to eat his breakfast.

However, I was no longer able to focus on the newspaper anymore as I found my thoughts returning to Arthit's mysterious date.

Who on earth was he out with???

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To my surprise, I had a good time with Max on our first date. We went for a movie and a brunch after, but it was really relaxing and I enjoyed myself. He made me feel comfortable and for the duration of our time together, I even forgot all about Kongpob Suthiluck.

The only thing is that being with Max felt like hanging out with Aya and May, just as best friends and nothing more.

But I had promised myself I would try, so...I tried.

"Would you like to go out again?" Max asked me when he sent me home.

"Sure..." I smiled and waved him off. Thank goodness he didn't try to do anything like kissing me. I guess he knew that I wasn't ready for that type of intimacy as yet (if ever).

"I'm back...." I whispered and found myself addressing an empty house. Weird, the whole family was usually home on Saturdays. Anyway, I went to my room, changed clothes and read a book, but when it was nearing dinner time, I decided to go downstairs and make some cup noodles for dinner. My er... "cooking skills" are still pretty non-existent, so cup noodles was all I could manage.

I walked into the kitchen and filled the kettle, placing it on the stove. Then I opened the cupboard door and selected my favorite brand of noodles, humming happily to myself.

"You're in a good mood."

I jumped at the familiar voice behind me, hitting my head on the shelf above. Rubbing my head, I turned to see Kongpob Suthiluck standing behind me.

"I thought you were all out?"

"Everyone went to visit my grandparents, but I didn't go. I was in the bathroom when you came back."

I nodded dumbly, feeling my heart flutter in the familiar way as I looked at his handsome face. Home alone with Kongpob Suthiluck again...

"I heard that you had a date tonight. Thought you wouldn't be coming home till morning." He coolly walked to the fridge and pulled out a can of soft drink. The implications of what he was talking about suddenly hit me.

"Don't talk such rubbish!" I glared at him, my face turning red. Why on earth would I be spending the night with Max? Gees, Kongpob, your imagination is way too wild!

I was going to scream at him some more when the kettle started boiling merrily. I quickly went to the stove and picked up the kettle. However, in my agitation I used too much force or perhaps the kettle was too full, anyway, hot water poured from the spout landing on my bare leg.

"Aaah! Fuck!!!" I threw the kettle back on the stove and started hopping around on my other leg. The burn on my bare leg hurt so much that tears came into my eyes as I gritted my teeth to hold back my screams of pain.

"Stop jumping around!" Kongpob Suthiluck appeared and commanded me firmly. Then suddenly, I felt myself being lifted in a pair of strong arms and I was clinging onto Kongpob Suthiluck as he carried me bridal style upstairs to the nearest bathroom. In my pain and shock, I didn't even notice that he carried me close to his chest like I weighed nothing.

Once inside, he seated me on the edge of the tub. Then he held my injured leg gently under the tap, letting cold water flow over my burn. The coldness relieved the pain almost instantly as he kept running careful circles over my wound.

"Wow, that's much better. You can really be a doctor, Kongpob." I praised him softly, really impressed with Kongpob Suthiluck's ability to stay so calm in this situation.

His enigmatic eyes lifted from my wound for a second, "This is nothing Arthit. If treating burns means I can be a doctor, than every Tom, Dick or Jerry can be a doctor too. Hang in there."

He left the bathroom, but was soon back with the medical kit. Then he started pulling out the gauze and applying a soothing lotion on my wound, before bandaging up my leg.

Looking at the bent head in front of me, I caught glimpses of the serious expression he had on his face as he continued to work diligently. The dark intense eyes looking at my wound so gently were making my heart do flip-flops all over again...

After treating my wound, he carried me to my bedroom (despite my protests that I could walk on my own) and told me to sleep early, "You must be in pain, so try to sleep, it helps."

Why did he sound so gentle when saying such a simple thing?

As soon as he left and the door closed behind him, I sighed inwardly, lying down on my bed.

How on Earth could someone expect me to forget about Kongpob Suthiluck when I love him so much?

Sometimes, no matter how much you try to forget and move on, even if your mind has been made up, your heart does what it wants...

"You can't control your heart about liking or not liking someone just like you can't control your feelings...and therefore, you keep hurting yourself no matter how many times your mind tells you to move on."

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To our surprise, Vanessa and her grandfather dropped by one day to visit Mr Suthiluck. I could tell that he felt really honored by this unexpected visit, but I was rather uncomfortable to be in the same room as my "rival".

To my surprise, Vanessa started talking to me and I realized that she was indeed a very nice girl. Somehow, the conservation evolved to a discussion about none other than... Kongpob Suthiluck.

"Actually, I fell in love with him at first sight in the elevator when he saved me from getting hurt my the doors and first talked to me." Vanessa confided in me, oblivious of the murderous effects her words had on my poor heart. "I hate these arranged marriages you know. I was going to have a peek at my "partner" in order to be better equipped to argue against the marriage. Instead, I met him in the elevator and then..." She sighed dreamily and I saw the stars in her eyes. She was truly smitten with Kongpob Suthiluck.

I sighed unable to look her in the eyes as I answered her encouragingly, "Don't worry, I'm sure Kongpob Suthiluck likes you too." I felt my heart contracting with pain as I continued to force the words out. "I really think that you are both very suitable for each other."

"Really?" A sweet smile lit up her face.

"Definitely." I nodded my head firmly. "Oh, I'm so sorry but I am leaving for a date soon and need to get prepared. Would you please excuse me?"

I couldn't bear to be in that room any longer, I was in such misery. I quickly excused myself and left in such a hurry that I didn't notice a pair of eyes that were looking at us with a speculative expression.

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"Isn't that young man also working in the office?" Mr. Pakorn noticed Arthit's rather abrupt departure, while brother's eyes were trained on both Vanessa and Arthit. Ever since Mr. Pakorn and his granddaughter entered our house, Kongpob's eyes had been on nowhere else but following Arthit around and he didn't miss the pain in his eyes when he ran off suddenly.

"Yes, if you consider what he does as work."

I saw clear surprise appear on Mr. Pakorn's face when brother's comment slipped out rather rudely. Gosh, he really needs to drop his arrogant-stuck-up-ice-prince act and just be honest for once!

"If I don't remember wrongly, you mentioned something about him in the office too." Mr. Pakorn commented sternly, but he seemed amused by the change in Kongpob's usual poker face.

My brother was only emotional when he talked about Arthit. That was the only times he actually showed some emotion...

"I was just being honest. Arthit is stupid and he keeps messing things up. He only creates more trouble in the office that we have to clear up after him." My brother's voice was louder than expected and I stared at him angrily as he glared at the empty spot where Arthit had sat before.

Had he heard about Arthit going to another date? Was that the reason he was suddenly being so rude and angry with him?

It must be...

"You shouldn't say such things about him. I'm sure he will be better over time as he learns the necessary skills." Mr. Pakorn commented seriously, raising his eyebrow at the usually poker-faced Kongpob suddenly looking angry for no apparent reason. The old man seemed pleased to see Kongpob showing some kind of emotion and passion around him.

Immediately, my brother shut up. It seemed as if that comment had brought him back to reality and he finally realized what he had said before.

I must say that there are very few people in the world who can affect my brother this way.

His family and...

Arthit.

Whether he chooses to admit it or not. His heart has already made the decision for him.

For the rest of the afternoon, Kongpob seemed to be in a rather quiet and thoughtful mood. I could tell from the curious way Mr. Pakorn looked at him that he too was aware of my brother's "new emotional mood" towards a certain office employee named Arthit.

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