Khun Adi drove through the gate to find Mint, Tin, and Run outside waiting. Fah stepped out of the car and Mint enveloped him in her arms.

"Oh Fah, I'm so happy you're home and safe," she said. She kissed his cheek and his forehead and squeezed him one more time.

"Mom, don't squeeze him to death. Let us say hello as well," said Run.

"I guess you have something to share with me as well," Khun Adi said to Run.

"Yes, I was going to share that after dinner. I have a photo." Run smiled broadly.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Mint as Tin and Fah greeted each other.

"I saw Fah earlier today. I visited with him, or actually, Mek and I visited with him. Here's a photo I took to show you his physical condition, although he has no memory."

Mint took Run's phone and looked at the photo. Fah appeared happy in the picture.

"Fah, can you remember any of us?" asked Mint. "We don't mean to overwhelm you, we're just so grateful and happy to have you home safe."

"Let's go inside and talk about this, I'm being eaten alive by mosquitos out here," said Khun Adi. They went inside to the living room and Mint called the cook to come make dinner for Fah, and coffee for everyone else.

"I'm calling Mek, I'll be quick," said Run as he stepped out of the room. Returning to the living room he let them know Mek was on his way and bringing a cake he knew Fah liked. Fah went to eat the dinner the cook had made for him while the others sat in the living room chatting.

As he finished dinner, Mek arrived at the door with the cake. Mint had the cook cut slices for everyone and served it with coffee. She made sure that the cook had some cake as well.

"Fah, who was holding you? It was Lom, that man who kidnapped us, right? The one you were raised with, that gangster, right?" asked Tin.

To everyone's surprise except Mek's, Fah began crying.

"Please, please, don't tell the police anything about him. Please don't get him in trouble. I didn't think about what it would mean for Lom if I left. He doesn't deserve to be in trouble. Please don't say his name, please, I'm begging you."

Khun Adi was shocked by Fah's emotions. "Are you sure? This man shot you and kidnapped you at gunpoint."

"But he took me to his home, had me treated by a doctor right away, and had the doctor check on me every few days. When I overdosed on morphine he could have let me die but he called the doctor and saved me. He always tried to help me and he was kind to me. He even taught me how to cook curry."

The more Fah spoke, the more he realized Lom had been kinder than he had previously admitted to himself.

Why did I leave? What will happen now?

No one spoke. They stared at Fah not knowing what to say.

Khun Adi whispered to Mint, "Is this Stockholm Syndrome?" Mint shook her head no.

Mek broke the silence. "Fah, how did you end up at the police station tonight? You and Lom seemed fine earlier today. Did he let you go?" Fah shook his head no.

"Did you leave on your own?" asked Run. Fah nodded his head.

"Did you leave a note for Lom?" asked Mek.

"Oh no, no, I didn't. I should have. Oh no, what did I do?" asked Fah.

"I can call him and tell him where you are. Or you can call him from my phone." Fah held out his hand. He knew Lom would be mad but he needed him to know he wasn't going to turn him in.

"Fah can do that in a few minutes. I want to know what you can and can't remember. We'll bring you to the doctor first thing tomorrow to make sure you're okay and getting the treatment that you need," said Khun Adi.

"Oh no, my medicine," whispered Fah.

"What medicine?" asked Run.

"The doctor gave Lom some new medicine for me. I have to be careful because of the morphine overdose, I can't have anything with prescription painkillers in it."

"It sounds as if Lom took excellent care of you," said Mint.

"He did," said Fah, sniffling and wiping his eyes. "Please, may I call Lom now?" Mek handed him his phone. Fah got up and walked out of the room.

"Is this a good idea? Lom said no one in that family cared for him. Wouldn't it be better for his mental health to have a clean break from that family?"

Khun Adi was still mad about the abduction and his son being held. It didn't matter that Lom had taken wonderful care of Fah. Khun Adi thought that Lom probably saw Fah as a bargaining chip and a dead bargaining chip would have gotten him nowhere.

Sitting in Run's bedroom, Fah's hands were shaking. He called Lom. No answer. He texted Lom.

Lom, it's me, Fah, on Mek's phone. Please answer when I call.

Fah called again. This time he answered.

"Fah?" asked Lom. It was obvious that Lom was crying.

"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left, I didn't realize it would get you into trouble. I'm sorry I left without leaving a note for you. I didn't think about what it would be like for you to come home to an empty apartment and no note."

"I saw you," said Lom.

"What? When? Where?"

"I stopped to get you some Boba tea and saw you run to the police officer."

Fah felt even worse. Lom was getting him his favorite drink while he was abandoning him. "I'm sorry."

"You left because I got angry about dinner, didn't you?" asked Lom.

"Yes," said Fah in a whisper.

"I'm sorry I yelled, you didn't deserve that. I've been so stressed. The police were looking for you, Ton wanted me to kill you, you're afraid of me and don't love me anymore, Bank's wife won't talk to me because she blames me for Bank's death and I'm not permitted to go to the baby blessing, I'm about to be punished by Ton, and none of the men that work for him trust me anymore. It hit me all at once tonight."

"I'm sorry, Lom, I'm really sorry. You were wonderful to me."

"Because I love you, Fah."

Fah burst into tears.

"I promise, I won't say anything about you or Ton, I won't say where I was, I will say I can't remember, or I'll lie."

"Don't lie to the police. That's not you. I don't have a life anyway. If I'm not killed by Ton or one of the cousins, I'll be killed by a rival or arrested. It's not your fault, it's mine. I made these choices. You were right, I shouldn't have hurt innocent people." Lom had returned to speaking in a monotone.

"Lom, don't say that and no, I won't tell the police about you. I refuse. Can I see you?" Fah was pleading now.

"Fah, think about it. I'm wanted for kidnapping you. Do you think that you and I can ever be together? Your family will be protecting you from me. Ton will kill you if you try to come to the house. I don't think we can be together in this life. It's for the best anyway, Fah. You have a family of your own now. Run is a good guy. You have Mek as a friend, you have a job, and coworkers who like you. You've got your law degree. It's everything you worked hard to achieve. You're meant to go out into the world and do good things. Promise me you'll do that."

"Lom, don't say that. I need to see you," cried Fah so loudly it made Mek, Run, and Khun Adi come to the bedroom door. Fah didn't notice them. "Please, please, don't leave me like this. Please, I'll charge my phone and you can contact me. I'll meet you anywhere you want. Don't say that I'm never going to see you again. I don't care if I'm meant to do good things. You're a good thing in my life and I'm not going to lose you!"

"Fah, you're mistaken, I'm not a good thing in your life. Name one good thing that happened in your life because of me. Nothing. You fell in love with me and got kicked out of the house and banished by the family. You lost your home and had to leave school because of me. You were shot by me. You were kidnapped by me. You overdosed because you were afraid of me. Can't you see? I only bring bad things into your life. Everyone else can see it, why can't you?" Lom cried as he spoke.

"Lom, I love you, please don't leave me. At least let me see you one more time before you do this."

"Fah, think clearly. You ran out of the condo tonight because you didn't want to be with me anymore, you didn't feel safe. You weren't going to let me see you one more time."

"But I realized I made a mistake and called you. Please, please, please, I'm begging you, don't be spiteful." Fah was gripping the phone so hard his knuckles were turning white. He sat down on Run's bed because he didn't think his legs would hold him up anymore.

"Fah, it's because you are the one that I love most in this world that I am doing this. We love each other and you can't remember the past, but every time we're together everything around us goes wrong. One of us always ends up getting hurt. I love you so much that I'm saying goodbye. Never doubt my feelings for you. I know you have in the past, and I gave you reasons to, but I swear on my life, I've always loved you. I'd say maybe in the next lifetime but karma will be taking us in different directions. I love you."

Knowing there was no easy way to end the call, Lom hung up and turned his phone off.

"Lom...Lom? LOM!" Fah was screaming hysterically into the phone. Run and Mek sat down on either side of him, their arms around his shoulders.

"Shh, Fah, he hung up. It's okay, you can talk to him again," said Mek as he took the phone from Fah's hand.

"No, he said this was goodbye forever, that bad things happen when we're together. He said I deserved a good life but there was nothing for him. I'm afraid of what he might do. Call him back, please call him back. If you never do anything for me again, do this, please." Fah stared at Mek, tears streaming down his face, his nose running, and Mek thought he'd never seen such a pitiful sight. He put the phone on speaker and dialed. The call could not be connected.

"Noo," cried Fah. "No! He can't do this to me. I just left to go back to my family, I didn't want to lose him." Even Fah himself was surprised by the sense of loss he was feeling over this. Something inside kept telling him not to let Lom go.

"Should we get the doctor to give him a sedative?" whispered Mint.

"He can't take sedatives. He almost overdosed on morphine, he has to be careful what he takes," said Mek. Mint turned around, grabbed Khun Adi's hand, and led him to the kitchen.

"Sweetheart, you have to do something. You have to guarantee you won't turn Lom in or do anything to harm him. Promise me, and promise Fah. That might relieve his mind a little bit."

Khun Adi sighed and looked at his wife. She had never misled him when giving advice. Nodding his head he left the kitchen and went to Run's room.

"Fah, son, may I have a word with you please?" Khun Adi stood in the doorway. Fah nodded his head yes. Mek and Run got up to allow Khun Adi to sit down. He put his arm around Fah's shoulder.

"Fah, it breaks my heart to see you this sad. I don't have much control over things outside my courtroom, but I promise you this, I will never turn Lom in to the police. I won't identify him as one of the people who abducted us or as the person who kidnapped you. It's hard for me to say this because I believe in the law and telling the truth. I also believe that Lom was a victim too, considering he was forced to do what his father asked of him. He took very good care of you and I know he loves you from what he just told you. For those reasons, and out of respect for your love for him, I will never cause him any harm. I hope that this helps to quiet your mind."

Fah looked at the father he'd only known for a few hours. "Thank you, thank you so much, Khun Adi."

"Dad, you can call me Dad." Khun Adi smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder.

"Thank you so much, Dad. I love you," Fah whispered, throwing his arms around his father's neck. He cried a little more but calmed down quickly.

"Do you want to stay in here, maybe take a shower and lie down for a bit? You're still healing and you've been through an awful lot today."

"Can I join everybody in the living room? I don't want to be alone," asked Fah. Khun Adi squeezed Fah's shoulder again and smiled. Fah stood up and they walked to the living room together.

From his vantage point across the street, Lom watched Fah join the others in the living room. He had made the best choice for Fah. As much as his heart was breaking, he needed to make sure Fah was surrounded by good people. He could see Fah sitting down next to his father and stepmother. The little brother climbed onto Fah's lap and made Fah laugh. Mek and Run were sitting in chairs and laughing as well.

Lom looked at Fah one last time and whispered, "Have a good life, you deserve it." He stood up and walked back to his car.