Content Warning: This work is intended for mature (NC17) audiences. If you are younger, please kindly leave this site.
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The beautiful mansion of the Metthanun family is located on land spanning several rai, surrounded by lovely gardens and extremely tall walls that shield it from the eyes of outsiders. Within these massive walls is a large open space that the head of this household has kept unused and once casually remarked that he wished for his two sons to build their homes within the same area. However, this magnificent mansion is not the original decades-old family residence but a new one built within the span of just a few years.
"At first, Khun Yaa might not be very keen on it since the house layout is different from the old one. But this house has an elevator for Khun Yaa, as well as ramps for the wheelchair. Even Khun Priao will find it more convenient when she takes Khun Yaa outside for some fresh air."
At the moment, Tul was sitting in the front passenger seat, turned toward the elderly woman seated in the back, accompanied by a private nurse who also doubled as a physical therapist. She had been hired to provide full-time care and was seated beside the older woman.
"Your room will be on the ground floor, Khun Yaa, so it’ll be easier for you to get around. As for Khun Priao’s room, it will be right next to yours," the young man said, smiling at the nurse, who was several years his senior. His words caused the woman’s cheeks to redden slightly as she quickly nodded in acknowledgment.
"Thank you so much, Khun Tul."
"It’s I who should be thanking you. I heard that you’ve been taking care of my grandmother for quite a few years now."
"Yes, it’s been three years," the woman replied enthusiastically, still surprised at how approachable the heir to such a renowned family could be. In contrast, the elderly woman beside her, though unable to move, emanated an atmosphere far more intimidating.
At the beginning of her employment in this role, she secretly feared the gaze directed at her whenever dissatisfaction arose, prompting her to provide the best care she could. She even referred to the other person as Khun-than as instructed by the lawyer who had hired her, out of fear of causing displeasure.
And perhaps there was only one person in the car—no, make that two others in the car—who knew that Tul was being deliberately charming.
How many women could resist the politeness, approachability, handsome face, and outstanding financial standing of this man, even if he was still just a student? Meanwhile, Kon Hin merely observed without saying anything. The elderly woman, however, gazed at him with an expression of hatred. Her rolling eyes fixated on the face of the grandson she despised with all her heart.
Tul himself recognized that look. His biological grandmother hated being ignored, and now he was deliberately doing just that by conversing with her personal nurse—so much so that he noticed... the glimmer of interest in him within her eyes.
And that interest became even more evident as the luxury car drove into the estate.
It was the same kind of gaze he had grown numb to—eyes filled with a craving for the wealth of the Metthanun family. Eyes that young Tul had seen in his stepmother and in many women who had looked at his father. Now, the nurse was looking at him with the same gaze.
This thought made his sharp eyes turn cold for a moment, only to soften as the nurse turned to meet his gaze and praised the mansion’s beauty.
"Come on, let me carry Khun Yaa myself."
As soon as the car came to a complete stop, Kon Hin stepped out to retrieve the wheelchair that had been prepared. Tul, meanwhile, walked over to open the door for the nurse, who was busy with a myriad of equipment, deliberately reaching out to lightly touch her upper arm with courteous intent. This made her step aside easily, her gaze brimming with admiration for the dutiful grandson.
An admiration that only made the elderly woman glare at Tul with greater disdain.
Tul himself looked back with cold indifference, feeling the resistance of the person who, though unable to move, still had eyes that pierced his heart just as sharply as when he was a small child.
This was not a gaze of one human looking at another, but a gaze of one looking at something even more contemptible than water used to wash feet.
“Come, Khun Yaa, I will carry you. Oh, I must apologize, Khun Yaa, for no one being here to greet you. Everyone knows how important you are, but everyone is busy with work and couldn’t stand by to greet you. My mother, too, is occupied with an urgent matter, so it’s just me here to welcome you into the house,” the young man said with a smile, lifting the elderly woman into the wheelchair. His words, however, were no different from saying that no one was willing to waste time waiting for an old, dying woman like this.
The feeling of being neglected… he would return that to this woman in full.
“Uuuuuu,” the sound made the listener emit what seemed like a cry from her throat, her body twitching slightly.
The nurse quickly rushed over, looking startled.
“Did I carry Khun Yaa in the wrong way?” Tul feigned a distressed cry, hurriedly placing her in the wheelchair. His sharp eyes displayed concern, even as he emphasized his words.
“What should I do? With Khun Yaa being paralyzed, I don’t even know what she needs,” he said, stressing that the woman who once held a high status was now just an old woman who could not speak, her eyes rolling in rage.
“Khun-than, do you need anything? Do you need to use the bathroom?” the nurse asked.
She knelt in front of her, looking into her eyes, and began asking basic questions: Are you hungry? Does anything hurt? Observing her responses, but the elderly woman simply let tears fall and closed her eyes, as though cutting the conversation short. But for Tul…
It was a defeat that this woman carried in her chest, and it was his satisfaction.
“I don’t know either. Well, it’s better to take her to the room first. It’s too sunny here.”
"Then I’ll push her myself," Kon Hin volunteered, his eyes half-lidded as if his mouth twitched. The eyelids, which were tightly closed, let more tears fall. Pathapee knew how much Khun-than hated him.
The image of the elderly woman falling down the stairs was still vivid in his mind. Kon Hin was the child in the house who insisted that the accident had nothing to do with Khun Tul, but he had chosen. He had made that choice since he was young.
He had only one Chao-nai, and that Chao-nai was Khun Tul.
The one who might be relishing the sight of the elderly woman in pain, abandoned, ignored, unable to assert authority like in the past. But for him... he saw the weakness in Khun Tul.
The thought of someone driving the car down the road, leaning down to whisper softly: "I’m sorry."
The listener twitched even more, tears streaming down. And though Khun-than could not speak, Kon Hin felt that he heard a scream from this woman, making his hands clench tightly, feeling the old atmosphere he was so familiar with... the fear of this person.
The fear that should have remained in the past, but it still haunted his Chao-nai every night.
~~~
"You haven’t visited Khun Mother yet?"
"But I asked the nurse about how Khun Mother is doing."
"You should go and visit her."
Kon Hin had just finished his morning garden work when he heard the conversation of the married couple through the living room window. He looked up and caught a glimpse of Khun Trai’s back.
"Why go in? Going in doesn’t help, you can’t even have a proper conversation."
"Don’t say that. My mother understands every word you say!"
"But I didn’t say anything for her to hear."
"Rasa! You’re the daughter-in-law of this house!"
"Then do you see me as your wife, or are you still obsessed with that blonde foreign woman?"
"You...!"
Kon Hin didn’t stay to listen any longer. He simply stepped away, not wanting to pry into his Chao-nai’s matters, although he could understand the relationship between the two.
The marriage of Metthanun was just a shell on the outside, and it wasn’t his place as a servant in the house to judge. He was only concerned about someone else... someone whose love, the more he saw it, seemed no different from decay.
Kon Hin wanted Khun Tul to experience happiness at least once in his life, to meet a good person, to get married, to have lovely children, to have a complete family with both parents and children, something Khun Tul had never received from his own parents—without caring for himself.
He respected Khun Tul, revered Khun Tul, admired Khun Tul, and... loved Khun Tul more than he loved himself.
And because he loved him more than himself, he wanted to see this person happy at least once in his life.
Khun Tul could only force a cheerful smile amidst a crowd of people, but the genuine smile... it had disappeared since childhood.
He dreamt of seeing that smile again, the smile of the little angel who had smiled at the rural boy brought to the house. The one who reached out, held his hand, and said...
"Are you going to be my friend?"
He longed to see that heartfelt smile again in his life, not this one.
"Hey Kon Hin, have you eaten yet? Come eat with us," the man who sat in the workers' kitchen and ate with everyone without any pretension, then turned to ask him with a wide smile that he knew well was a mask, one that had been worn since childhood, and Khun Tul had almost never taken it off.
"Not yet, I’ll just put away my equipment first," Kon Hin said, grabbing a small bucket containing scissors to trim branches and a shovel for digging soil.
The words made the listener pause for a moment. His sharp eyes stared for a brief moment.
"Yeah, I’ll go with you. I was going to grab the sheets I left in the room. Auntie Klin, don’t clean up yet, I’ll come back to eat later... Please, make yourself comfortable, Priao."
The young man turned to tell the nurse, who had come to take a break in the kitchen, before waking the patient for breakfast. Priao smiled sweetly and nodded in response.
Then, the one in the tracksuit, indicating he had gone for a run early in the morning and stopped by the kitchen for a meal, stood up briskly and walked alongside his companion toward the small house.
As soon as their figures disappeared from sight, the nurse couldn't help but turn to ask the leader.
"The cook didn't."
"Does Khun Tul often come down to eat here, Pa?"
"Every time Khun Trai and Khun Phuying skip breakfast. Khun Tul will come down to eat in the kitchen. He says it saves the time of setting the table and spares others from the hassle of running around preparing and cleaning up," Klin replied, her tone full of admiration, which the other maids immediately echoed.
[[Translator's Note: Khun Phuying means something akin to Her Ladyship or The Mistress. It is a distancing term compared to Khun Trai which uses his first name and a respectful honorific.]]
"Khun Tul is kind, Phii. He never puts on airs. Wherever he goes, he always brings back something for us. A few months ago, when he visited Khun Tinn abroad, he brought gifts for everyone working in the house."
"Who is Khun Tinn?"
"Oh, Khun Tul's younger brother. He’s about eight or nine years younger and is studying abroad now," the head cook answered, seemingly opening the floor for another maid to lean in and gossip excitedly about their employers.
"But Khun Tinn is nothing like Khun Tul. He wouldn’t set foot in the kitchen. Khun Tinn is like Khun Phuying—not as formal, but still keeps quite a distance from us. Like this..." The maid gestured to indicate a significant gap, in the manner typical of employers and their staff.
"When he came back last year, he looked, how should I say it, coldly aloof, perhaps? Unlike his elder brother."
"Stop it! How dare you gossip about your employer? Hell will consume your head. And it’s good that Khun Tinn maintains some distance—he's the employer, and we’re just workers. Keep your head down and do your job. If Khun Phuying hears this, you'll be fired for sure." Klin scolded sternly before turning to the young nurse who was listening intently.
"Let’s just say Khun Tul is kind, dear. I’ve never seen him lose his temper at anyone. If there’s ever an issue, I recommend bringing it to Khun Tul rather than Khun Trai or Khun Phuying."
The nurse mentally noted this conclusion, deciding that even if she hadn’t been told, she would report any issues to the eldest son anyway.
"The direct matter of this household, indeed."
At the same time, the man whom everyone claimed had never lost his temper yanked his confidant’s arm and dragged him into the bedroom of the small house the moment they were out of sight. Then, gripping the arm tightly, he commanded in a firm voice:
"Lift your face!"
"Kon Hin, lift your face and look at me!"
The order made the other finally raise his face to meet his eyes, and that made the man—whom everyone thought to be calm—speak sharply:
"Who made you cry?"
Tul stared directly into his eyes. How could he not notice the traces of tears buried deep within since their eyes had met in the kitchen? It made him instantly more irritable.
"No one, sir."
Thud.
Kon Hin nearly flinched as his wrist was squeezed with full force, met by blazing eyes staring at him. At the same time, Tul pushed him against the wall, bringing a hand to grasp his chin and applying pressure.
"You know I don’t like this, don’t you?"
"Yes, sir," Kon Hin replied.
Chao-nai disliked him disobeying orders, and…
"I don’t like it when someone else makes you shed tears... You can cry only for me!"
The only time he would cry and seek mercy was when he was in the hands of Khun Tul alone.
"Then who made you cry!" Tul demanded, his voice sharper than before, making the listener uneasy. For he could not openly admit that all he wanted was for the man before him to be happy, to see him smile from the heart. It would surely lead to reprimands for meddling in matters that were none of his business.
Thus, he reaffirmed: "I wasn’t crying, sir. And if I were to cry, it would only be for you."
Pathapee said firmly, and he wasn’t lying. Those tears were for the man before him. As he stared into Chao-nai's eyes, it caused the latter to pause briefly, then release the grip on his chin. His deep voice softened.
"Good, then."
"Then I’ll go put the equipment away, sir."
"Who said you could leave yet?"
Suddenly, the man who had softened grabbed his shoulder, pushing him back against the wall again. The sharp features of his face drew closer—so close that the sharp eyes reflected the sunlight, turning a golden-brown hue. Eyes that Kon Hin had never once been able to resist.
Including the kiss that followed.
The warm yet cold lips pressed against his, the hot tip of the tongue sharp like a needle, piercing deep into his heart. It swept in, twisting and claiming sweetness, but for the one receiving it, this was not a kiss as sweet as honey—it was a kiss that hurt, like poison eating away at the heart.
A kiss that was not born of love, but one that reinforced that he belonged to someone.
Khun Tul wanted to make it clear that his body, his heart, and even his soul did not belong to him. They were meant to serve someone else. But what hurt him most was that Khun Tul had never understood that everything Khun Tul ever wanted had already been given by him, Pathapee, more than a decade ago.
Khun Tul never once acknowledged the love he gave.
That’s right, because Khun Tul never believed in love.
“You belong to me, Kon Hin.”
The hot kiss pulled away as the deep voice whispered in his ear, leaving the listener with no choice but to respond,
“Yes, I belong to you, Khun Tul.”
This was not jealousy, nor was it possessiveness. Khun Tul was simply holding onto someone with flesh and blood, someone who was ready to stay by his side, day in and day out, during times of solitude. And he was the one who happened to be standing there. Not because he was irreplaceable to Khun Tul.
A truth that tore at his heart every time.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Please go ahead."
"Good morning, Khun Priao. I have brought breakfast for Khun Yaa."
"Oh! Good morning, Khun Tul. You brought it yourself?"
A new morning. After the nurse had just finished wiping the patient's body and fastening the last button, the door was knocked, and the son of the house owner stepped in with an attractive smile, making the young woman quickly rub her hair and face, clearly embarrassed.
"Yes, I stopped by for breakfast and learned from Auntie Klin that no one had brought anything, so I volunteered," Tul said with a smile and continued, "Can I feed Khun Yaa now?"
"Oh, I need to adjust the bed first, so the head is higher than the body," the young woman quickly demonstrated. Meanwhile, Tul stepped closer to the bed, offering a warm smile to the elderly woman, who did not even glance up.
"Good morning, Khun Yaa. Has anyone visited this morning?"
"Khun Trai came before he left for work," Phonlay turned to answer, causing the listener to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"And Khun Mother?" the question, which caused the listener to smile awkwardly, but they answered willingly.
"Khun Rasa has never come even once."
Tul looked at his grandmother, who immediately closed her eyes, but closing her eyes did not mean she closed her ears. The young man then placed the tray on the table next to the bed and reached out to take her withered hand.
"Recently, Khun Mother has been busy, Khun Yaa. When she has time, she will surely come to visit and talk to you. Before, Khun Mother was very attached to you," the young man said as if…
Comforting, but to the listener, it felt no different than driving a hot iron straight into the heart—how the woman she chose remained ungrateful!
Once no longer of use, she was disregarded.
"Really? Khun Rasa is close with Khun-than?"
"Yes, they are very close. It was Khun Yaa who chose Khun Mother to be the lady of this house," Tul continued with a pleasant tone, as if this wasn’t a secret. But for the one who couldn’t move, it hurt so deeply that she wished to disappear from that place.
The nurse’s eyes glinted before she turned to smile sweetly at the patient.
"Let’s not delay, shall we have breakfast now, Khun-than?" The young woman quickly moved to put on an apron. She was about to sit beside the bed but was stopped when Tul touched her arm.
"May I feed Khun Yaa?"
"Yes, of course, but just small bites, please feed slowly," the nurse instructed, gauging how much each bite should be, showing an example. She looked at the handsome young man, whose attractive face was focused on feeding the patient himself. However... The patient remained with her mouth tightly closed.
"Khun-than, is something wrong?" The caregiver was confused, but before she could figure out the cause...
"Sorry, Khun Priao."
At that moment, Kon Hin knocked on the door and stepped inside, causing the owner of the name to quickly stand.
"Just a moment, Khun Tul... Is there something wrong?"
"Regarding your clothes, my mother asked if you would like us to handle it right away, and also about... your personal belongings," the words made the young woman’s face flush, because her personal belongings were probably not just small items, and asking a male worker to handle them was not a good idea.
"Khun Priao, it’s better if you talk to Auntie Klin first. I’ll take care of Khun Yaa," Tul offered a solution, making the listener smile.
"Yes, I’ll be back soon. Khun Tul, please try feeding her first," she said.
As soon as the young woman’s figure disappeared, Kon Hin quietly closed the door.
"Won’t you eat, Khun-than?" The warm tone immediately turned insincere, clearly audible when he leaned closer, pressing his lips against the person’s who shut her eyes.
"Your unowned-grandson has even come down to feed you personally," he said with a smirk.
The eyes that had been closed opened again, filled with a fire of anger that had never been extinguished by this woman.
"Stare at me all you want, but you won’t be able to do anything to me anymore," Tul said with a mocking smile, giving up on trying to feed the one who, even if she died, would never accept food from his hand.
"But if you could still move, I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow someone came to press a gun to my temple."
Tul believed that everything he had done over the years would have made this woman willing to spend a fortune to get rid of him.
"Alright, I don’t want to bother you, I just have a few things to tell you," Tul said while reaching out to grasp the wrinkled hand.
"First, the grandson you once swore would never set foot in the company is now working on a big project in the company your husband founded. If I were to make a small mistake... The person speaking laughed, squeezing the hand tighter and leaning in to whisper in her ear.
"Should I make it collapse right into my hands?"
"Mmmmmm!"
The elderly woman let out a groan from deep in her throat, her eyes filled with furious resentment, as though she longed to lunge forward and strangle him. Yet, the speaker continued with a calm and unhurried tone.
"Rest assured, I’m not stupid enough to destroy my own future by doing something reckless. Wouldn’t it be better for me to build it up and take it over myself?" At that moment, their eyes met, each reflecting a hatred equal to the other’s. The one speaking, however, shrugged nonchalantly.
"But I suppose you have full confidence in your one and only grandson, believing he’d never give in."
Thud.
"Mmm! Mmm!" The elderly woman began to breathe rapidly, her reaction immediate upon hearing mention of the grandson she cherished more than life itself. This caused Tul to tighten his grip on her frail hand.
"But you seem to have forgotten that Tinn loves me hundreds, maybe thousands of times more than he loves you. He believes everything I say, does everything I ask. He’s never cared about you in the slightest." Tul spoke at an unhurried pace, though he could clearly see her unblinking glare, radiating pure malice, as if she wished to kill him on the spot.
Yet, this wasn’t all he had to say to her. Pulling out his phone, he unlocked it and displayed an image.
"And this—this is my welcome gift to you upon your return home."
Tul brought the phone closer to the elderly woman’s face, revealing a picture of a handsome young man with his arm around the shoulder of a red-haired girl. It might have seemed innocent enough—if not for the fact that the young man was none other than Tinn Metthanun, her sole acknowledged grandson.
"Tinn told me himself that he’s dating this girl. He must’ve forgotten how much his grandmother despises Westerners, more than anything else. Oh, but this isn’t the end of it." Tul said with a sly tone, swiping to switch from the photo to a video.
The elderly woman was left in a state of shock, her eyes wide open, her entire body tense and stiff.
“Ha... Ah... Ahh... Hnghh…”
The sick individual could only watch the image of her beloved grandson performing acts of love on the bed with his girlfriend. Moans emanated from the speakers, leaving her on the verge of screaming in utter refusal.
No.
No, Tinn was not that kind of child. He was the heir of the Metthanun family. He would never disgrace himself in such a repulsive manner!
As if completely indifferent, the figure who had been watching her intently shifted to sit on the bed. He wrapped an arm around the elderly woman’s shoulder as if to console her and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"Let me do you a favor, Khun Yaa. Your favorite grandson recorded it himself—yes, with his own hands—and he proudly showed it to me. How was it? Did you enjoy Tinn’s live-action performance?”
The moment his words ended, the elderly woman let out a guttural scream, pushing her voice to its very limits as her tears streamed down uncontrollably. Tul, however, simply retrieved his phone and drew it back to himself. His sharp eyes gazed at her coldly, void of emotion, even as her cries became increasingly desperate.
“Mmmhhh... Mmmhhh... MMMHHH!!”
Phonlay’s condition worsened, and it didn’t stop there. Her furious eyes rolled back violently, and her previously immobile body began convulsing intensely, to the point that Kon Hin rushed in, alarmed.
“Khun Tul, help me, please! Khun-than is having a seizure!”
“Do I really need to help this woman?”
“Khun Tul!”
“Just leave her like that.”
“Khun Tul, sir!!”
Tul responded coldly, gazing at the woman who was convulsing violently, scattering the bedding and knocking the food tray onto the floor with a deafening crash. The urgency overwhelmed Kon Hin, who was trying to hold her body steady while pleading.
“Khun Tul, please, sir! Surely, you don’t want Khun-than to die, do you?”
This question made Tul clench his fists tightly.
That was true. This woman didn’t deserve to die—not yet, at least. She had to live long enough to see the day when he had everything under his control!
With that thought, the young man stepped in to help, just as a nurse burst through the door in alarm, followed by several workers who had heard the clattering dishes. The scene before them left everyone frozen, unable to act.
“What happened here?!”
“I’m not sure, ma’am. Suddenly, Khun-than started convulsing.”
Although Priao directed her question to the homeowner’s son, Kon Hin was the one to respond. Others interpret this as Khun Tul being in shock–not devoid of feelings–even though this person was dying before his eyes.
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