Before Arthit could say anything else, his dad attacked him and chocked his neck.

That's it. I have held myself enough. He doesn't get to threaten Arthit like that.

I got off from my seat and pushed Mr Rojnapat with all the power that I had. I grabbed his collar, ready to hit him with my fist.

"This is the second time you have tried to harm Arthit in front of me, third time if you count that godforsaken accident.

I will kill you before you even try to touch Arthit again, I will " I had lost all my patience and I want to destroy this man.

But before my fist even landed on him, Arthit pulled me from behind.

"Kong, what the hell is wrong with you? Leave him right now"

I pushed Arthit too. "Let go of me Arthit. I will kill him today."

"And then what, huh? What's your plan after killing him in front of half a dozen witnesses? Calm yourself down and let go of him, Kong. I did not ask you to come today so you could lose your temper and cause a scene like this."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and finally let go of him.

Mr Rojanpat adjusted his tie."Who the hell do you think you are to hit me like that?"

"Your worst nightmare."

Instead of saying anything to me. He looked at Arthit. "You are going to pay for this, Arthit."

"Mr Rojnapat, you threatened and hit my client first. That too, in front of his legal counsel" The lawyer spoke up. "Lets try to end on a good note here and not complicate things anymore."

"You better send me my money in the next 7 days. I am not leaving this country without receiving my end of the bargain."

"Absolutely Mr Rojnapat. We are counting on it. We'll try to get it done as soon as possible. Thank you for coming "

He finally left and I could feel Arthit finally relaxing again.

"So, what do we do now? We can't keep him waiting for long. He might get a whiff of what we are up to" said Arthit.

"Our case paperwork is almost ready Arthit. We should be able to file a case and hopefully get a warrant against him in a few days. I would also recommend you to increase security around you, just in case he tries to come back again. He did just threaten you."

"I'll get more security around the house for mom. Will we be able to get him in jail for sure?

"We definitely have a case against him, but we don't know if we'll get a non-bailable warrant. He still has access to his slush fund account. He could easily bribe some officials to get off. We need to make a case so compelling and public that no officer would want to help him and go down with him. Our private detectives are also still tracking his movements to gather any more proof

I'll let you know when we are ready to officially file a case. We'll also have to announce to the shareholders and the public that you will be heading the company from here on."

"Yeah. I guess we'll have to do that too, huh?"

I could see Arthit's mood dampening and all the wheels of worry churning in his head.

"Thanks Uncle, let us know when you are ready.

Aunty, how about you grab some lunch with Arthit and me before heading home?"

"That sounds wonderful Kongpob. Lets go"

···

Arthit was still visibly upset with me when we reached the restaurant. I tried holding his hand under the table, but he swatted my hand and got up instead.

"Mom, why don't you go ahead and order for everyone. I'll just come back from the washroom."

I was getting up to follow Arthit and talk to him when Aunty stopped me.

"Let him go, Kong. He'll cool off after he eats something. He always gets extra grumpy when he's hungry."I clasped my hands and looked down at the table. "I shouldn't have tried to hit Mr Rojnapat like that. I am really sorry. It might have made your case against him weaker."

"But you didn't. You stopped when Arthit asked YOU to. And honestly, he deserved it, and more."

"Still, I am really sorry—"

"Kongpob, can you please do me a favour?"

"Yes of course, anything Aunty"

"Will you please protect my Arthit? He has had to suddenly grow up because of all the mess my husband made. He is always worried about me and he wants to protect me from everything. But there is no one to protect Arthit."

"I will always look out for him and protect Arthit. I can promise you that."

"What are you promising mom?" Arthit suddenly showed up at the table

I smiled. "Ah. That you will like the most spiciest thing on the menu. Lets order and eat. I am super hungry.

···

Aunty was right. Arthit's mood did get a lot better after eating and he was almost back to his old self after drinking pink milk.

"Kongpob, I will take mom to the house and check up on the security team. Do you want to come with us?"

"Aaaa. Actually I was planning to pack up my dorm today to move to this new house.... that is, if its still available. I need to check." I blinked a few times and smiled at Arthit.

I didn't want to say anything about moving in with him because I had no idea what Arthit had even told his mom about us. I also had no idea if Arthit still wanted me to move in with him after I lost all my patience in the morning.

He smiled. "I am sure its still available, Kong. Why don't you go pack up and I'll help you move in the evening?"

"That sounds great! I'll text you when I am done."

After Kongpob left the restaurant, we got in the car and I drove mom to the house.

"So.. where is Kongpob moving?"

"Off campus, mom. He doesn't want to stay in the dorms anymore."

"Is moving closer to you?"

"May be."

"Is this why you aren't moving back to the house? You can come back and Kongpob can stay in our house too. Its too big for me anyway. And.. too lonely sometimes."

I looked at mom. "I know, mom and I am really sorry for leaving you alone like that. I can't even explain to you how guilty and worried I feel everyday for leaving you at home alone while I am in a different part of the city.

"

"Is it the lease? We can get it sorted out Arthit"

"No mom, its not that. Its just.. something else. Please trust me on this. Just give me three years. Then I'll move closer to you, I promise."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it."

We reached the house and I talked to the guards to strengthen security around the house. We increased the number of security guards, made sure mom always had security with her if she left the house, and double checked all the cameras. Everything was good, so far. I just hoped dad didn't make a sudden move.

I was almost done with all the work at the house when Kongpob texted me.

Packed up and all set to move in with my boyfriend! Do you want me to come pick you up?

Kong, your dorm is like 10 minutes away from the apartment. Why would you come pick up up here? Go straight to the apartment. I am also just leaving from here.

I'll meet you downstairs in the parking lot then

There might be some traffic on the way. Just go upstairs if you get there early. You have the keys.

No, I'll wait for you in the parking lot. I want to move in together with you

You are an idiot I'll be there ASAP

I decided to take a taxi to the apartment instead of the bus to get there faster. Just when I reached the house, my phone buzzed. It was the lawyer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Arthit, can we talk for a few minutes? Its urgent."

"Yeah sure tell me." I paid the taxi driver and got my backpack out.

"According to our private investigators, your father met with a shady mob boss downtime."

"So? He possibly knows a lot of shady people. What does this mean for the case?" I closed the door of the taxi. I could see Kongpob waving at me, sitting with his luggage in the parking.

"It means he might me planning to hurt you or your mom. You need to amp up the security."

"Mom is secure in the house with good security. You don't have to worry —"

Kongpob screamed, ran towards me, and hugged me tightly with his hand on the back of my head.

"Kong, what's wrong—"

Suddenly I felt something hit the back of my head. There was a sharp pain and then everything went black..

------

A/N: Some of you might say I have been too cruel to Arthit in this story. But I like to believe I am just writing a great love story for him. Its just perspective.

Sorry for the late update. A family member got hospitalized (Its not the C-word) and then news coming out of Beirut -- Its just been a depressing week all together. I just want this f-king year to end already