"Arthit..."

"Arthit...."

"Arthit... can you hear me?"

I could hear someone calling me out, but I just couldn't... I couldn't open my eyes.

"Arthit.. get up please. Arthit"

Kong. It was Kong's voice.

Mustering the little strength I had in me, I slowly opened my eyes. I was definitely not in my apartment. It looked like a hospital. I could see a doctor and nurses around me. Mom was crying in the corner, our lawyer, was there too. And then there was Kong standing near me with a bloody tshirt and a plaster around his arm.

"Kong..Kong are you okay? What happened?" I tried to get up from the bed, but a sudden jolt of pain through my head pushed me back on the bed. "Ahhhh. dammit."

Kongpob was smiling through his tears. "I am completely okay. Don't get up. You must be in a lot of pain"

"A little bit." I looked at mom, she looked completely distraught. "Mom, I am really okay. I am not hurt. Please stop crying." It was breaking my heart.

"I thought.. I thought I would lose you today Arthit. There was so much blood when I came.Doctor, is my son going to be okay?"

"Yes, absolutely Mrs Rojnapat.

"Why is he still in pain then?"

"The medicines are wearing off and he may face some pain because of it. We'll give him some more pain killers in a while to help him sleep. Arthit, do you remember how you got hit?"

How did I get hit?

"Umm... I was going to my apartment and then something hit me from behind. What time is it right now? How long has it been since I came to the hospital?"

"Its about 11.30pm. You were brought into the hospital at 7pm. Your lawyer is already here and the police wants to question you too, but we will only let them in when you feel better."

I looked at our lawyer who had been standing near the door with a stern look on his face. "Do you.. do you really think he did it?"

"I am pretty sure he did. I am gathering all the evidence right now. You should have a good sleep for now, I'll handle everything."

I closed my eyes. Taking in everything that had happened today. I couldn't believe dad would try to hurt me like this. No, he didn't want to hurt me, he wanted to kill me and he would have achieved that if Kong wasn't there to protect me. I needed to get him out of our lives now if I wanted to protect mom and Kong. Kindness and patience weren't going to work anymore.

"Arthit? Is your headache really bad? The nurse will administer a painkiller in few minutes."

I opened my eyes. "No, its manageable for now. How..how is Kongpob's hand?"

"Thank you doctor. I would like to speak to my lawyer alone with my family now. I'll call you in case I need something."

"Yes, sure. We'll take our leave"

The doctor finally left and closed the door. I tried to get up, at least a bit out of the bed,

"File a criminal case against dad. Attempt to murder. I don't care about being secretive anymore"

"Arthit, we still haven't finalized the complete fraud case against him" the lawyer reasoned.

". He met with that mob boss, he threatened me in front of the house before — we have all the substantial proof to nail it on him. Lets file this case against him first and then the fraud case can follow.

"Okay, if you want to do it, then we will Arthit."

"Also, leak that video Kongpob took of dad hitting me to the media. Leak pictures of his mistress too. Lets turn him into the most wanted and hated man in the country. No money can buy him support once his reputation is in dirt."

"Got it. I'll try to finish up the fraud case this week too so we can file it in a few days too. We'll have even more media attention this way. But Arthit... you know what this means right?"

"That I will have to step up and take over the company in less than a week? I know. I'll do whatever it takes to get him arrested..

"If you are onboard, then lets do this. It might have been difficult to get a non-bailable warrant in the fraud case, but an attempt to murder will definitely make things a lot easier for us.

You should rest for now, I'll come by tomorrow. We'll also have a PR person help you in preparing your first speech as the CEO and briefing the press. The transition has to be as smooth as possible to avoid any issues within the company."

"Sounds good. Lets finalize everything tomorrow. I don't want to wait till I get out of the hospital"

···

For the next few days, I stayed in the hospital: Mom would spend all days with me and Kongpob spent the nights. I told him to go home and rest, but he just wouldn't listen.

The PR team helped prep me for the speech, for hours at stretch. I also had some executives from the company come in to get a better understanding of what was going on. If I was going to do this, I might as well give it my all.

"Ready to get out of the hospital? I already bought your suit from the house"

"I can't wait. Do you think I should wear a cap? The bandage on my head is still visible."

"Absolutely not. Let the world see the truth. Why even try to hide it anymore?"

I sighed. He was right.

"I'll get dressed and we can head out."

I wore the suit, probably for the first time in years, and it fit me perfectly. Kongpob helped me brush my hairs the best he could with the bandage still on the back of the head. He could probably sense my nervousness.

"Arthit, are you really okay with this? Its a big responsibility and a burden too. If you don't want to, we can look other options."

"Kong..." I cupped his cheeks. "I want to do everything I can to keep mom and you safe. Its not a burden to me. I never, ever want to see you get hurt because of me. I promise I'll keep you safe, always. I am just.. I am just a bit nervous. I don't want to come across as someone who doesn't know jack shit about business and only had their job handed to them."

"Its okay to be nervous Arthit. You just have to be honest. You are still new to this and you are learning the ropes of the business. The only way to show people you deserve this is by proving yourself over time."

Kongpob kissed me on lips and suddenly his phone buzzed.

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