Kongpob suddenly opened his eyes with raspy breathing and tears flowing down from his eyes, making its trails evident on his cheeks.

He looked around in panic and found himself in the bed with Lia hugging his waist on the side, nuzzling her head towards his warmth.

It was a dream.

Kongpob sighed and wiped the tears from his eyes and the sweat on his forehead with the back of his palm.

Kongpob looked at the clock beside him and found that it was 4 in the morning. He sighed as he walked towards the large window in the bedroom.

He pushed the curtains apart and looked at the sky which was beaming its orange shades of light, indicating the sunrise.

He remembered the dream he had. He clutched  his chest thinking about losing Lia. She was his only motive to live and if she is lost from his hands, even if it is the father of the child, he will end his life. He had no other choice. He sacrificed many things for her alone.

Arthit was soo different in his dream. There was no love or care filled in his eyes like before. There was only hate and disgust.

Maybe he might have changed through these years, who doesn't change. I changed, didn't I?

Kongpob wiped the tears from his eyes and decided to take a shower. He had to reach office at 7 anyway. Along with that, he had to send Lia to a daycare.

*******

"Baby, be a good girl okay? Mommy will pick you up in the evening. Now give Mommy a kiss!"

Lia hugged Kongpob's neck and gave a hard kiss on his cheeks pressing her lips deep into Kongpob's sunken cheeks, to which Kongpob chuckled.

"Bye, Mommy! Bye Uncle Aim!" Lia waves at her two favorite persons before she went inside the daycare holding the hand of the receptionist.

Kongpob sighed and turned towards Aim.

"I hope we could go back soon. Her school year had already started. Hope this visit won't last long," Kongpob said as he sighed.

"Don't worry, May will take care of it."

Aim smiled at his best friend before both of them walked towards the car the company had to send for them.

"Anyway, Kong. You look really beautiful like this!" Aim teased Kongpob who only glared at him, to which Aim laughed louder.

"You don't know how difficult this is! I envy girls very much now!" Kongpob snorted.

********

Kongpob looked at the huge building in front of him and gulped. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Everything will be okay, Kong. I'm here for you," Aim's words brought a little comfort to Kongpob.

But his heart was beating fast at the thought of meeting the person who he had not seen for 5 years. The person who cried for him, the person who he made cry.

"Please come in Sir, Mam."

The secretary of the company guided Kongpob and Aim to the meeting room which was on the 4th floor.

Kongpob looked himself at the mirror in the elevator. He was wearing a peach shirt that was inserted in the brown palazzo and a brown coat over his shirt. His brownish black, long wig laid free, covering his shoulders.

Kongpob gulped and looked at Aim who looked at him with a smile on his face, but he could clearly see the flooded emotions in that smile.

The elevator's sound made Kongpob back to the present. The door opened to find a large hall with many cabins and a room at the end which had the words "meeting room" written in it in large size.

"Please come." The secretary guided Kongpob and Aim to the meeting room.

The employees sitting in the cabins looked at the new members, especially Kongpob with dreaming eyes.

"Please wait here, Mam and sir. I will call my bosses soon."

Kongpob and Aim nodded before they took their seats near the projector.

Aim took out the laptop bag and handed it over to Kongpob.

"Do I really have to talk in front of them?" Kongpob asked, showing his puppy eyes.

"Kong, we have already talked about this. You are the one who can present this better than me," Aim said patting on Kongpob's shoulder.

They soon heard noises from outside and their body stiffed.

The door opened revealing three young men in suits, walking to them with a wide smile on his face.

Kongpob and Aim stood up and smiled appealingly as possible to the three men.

Kongpob's breath hitched seeing the man who entered first through the door, with a manly sly smile on his face which could make both boys and girls fall for him. Yet his eyes were cold and fierce. He could clearly see the smile was fake, it was not the smile that he had seen that was full of love and sincerity.

Kongpob looked down and clenched his fists, trying his best to not let out his emotions.

"Good morning, sir, mam. It's really nice to meet you."

Kongpob's eyes were becoming misty hearing the sound he had been longing for years. The voice he had missed daily, every second. The voice which used to make him calm and happy at any moment.

"It's nice to meet you three too," Aim answered with a chuckle as he saw Arthit glaring at him, but in a friendly way.

Kongpob controlled himself before he smiled and nodded at the three men who was more than familiar to him.

"Aim, you really made us surprised! We didn't know that you were working in this company!" Prem spoke as he nudged Aim's arm who only smiled at his senior in apology.

"How can he? He had just disappeared suddenly without even telling us," Knott snorted.

Kongpob laughed at the two seniors in front of him. He didn't think about looking at Arthit, he didn't want to lose his control over his emotions. He had to completely forget that a man whom he still loved deep down in his heart was standing beside him.

He wanted to ignore the man's existence beside him.

"I'm really sorry, P'Knott , P'Prem and P'Arthit. I didn't really mean to do that. It was a bit personal," Aim justified himself.

"Its okay buddy, we understand. Right, Arthit?" Prem asked as he patted on Aim's shoulder.

It was then Knott, Prem and Aim looked at the said person finding out that the said guy was staring at a particular person.

Kongpob slowly turned his head to face the said man but soon he gulped. His muscles tensed and he could feel adrenaline rush into his blood.

Arthit was straight forward looking into Kongpob's face.

"Arthit?" Knott called in a low voice as he nudged his friends shoulder.

Arthit woke up from the daze and met the questioning eyes of his friend.

Arthit smiled coldly and shook his head.

"Anyway, let me introduce her to you. She is my partner and her name is Krisia, Krisia Prachaya. She is actually born in Thailand but migrated from here with her husband to Canada, in case you think how she can speak Thai. She is the project engineer of our company," Aim introduced Kongpob to them.

"It's really nice to meet you, Mrs. Krisia. We are looking forward to working with you," Arthit said with his cold smile that plastered his face and extended his hand for a shake hand.

Kongpob gulped before he extended his hand, touching the love of his life after many years brought a whirlpool of emotions in Kongpob's heart.

"Same here, Mr. Arthit." Kongpob smiled at Arthit.

The smile was so cold and emotionless that made Kongpob u comfortable. It was as if Arthit was just smiling for his needs, just for a formality.

On each passing second as he watches the changes that happened in the elder male brought back the fear of the dreams in him.

He was afraid if Arthit will take away his daughter from him.

Arthit didn't let go of Kongpob's hand. There was this familiarity that he felt touching his now new partner in business. But he quickly pushed away the ridiculous thoughts in his mind.

He pulled out his hand hesitantly yet suddenly and looked at the lady in front of him.

"So let's get to our tasks?" Kongpob asked the three men who he had to impress with his work.

Arthit, Knott and Prem took their seats just opposite to Kongpob and Aim after Knott turned the lights off and turned the projector on.

Aim connected his laptop with the projector and soon started to introduce their project plan.

Kongpob on the other hand didn't move his eyes from the project. Not that he is very much conscious about their project but because he could feel a certain person's eyes on him whom he doesn't plan to interact with sooner or later.

Kongpob's heartbeat was not regular. His chest felt suffocated. He didn't knew how to react to anyone. He felt left out in this huge world.

"Now Krisia will explain the plan in detail. She is the main person behind this plan. It will be more understanding if she explains it to you," Aim walked back to his seat while Kongpob sighed and walked towards the podium.

On the other hand, Arthit's mind was in complete turmoil. He knew something was special with Mrs. Krisia. There was something in her that made Arthit's heartbeat in an uneasy way.

He felt as if she had a connection with someone he had admires and loved. Meeting Aim now after his sudden disappearance. All of this made him feel suspicious in a way.

Arthit couldn't take his eyes off from the lady in front of him. Knott had told him and Prem the previous day about the lady with the child along with Aim. He was told by Knott that the lady looked familiar to him but he didn't say much of it and Arthit had told him to stop talking about such nonsense.

But now, Arthit does feel familiar with the lady. He felt more than familiar to her.

He didn't know the time had passed and he was only back from his thoughts when Krisia had gone back to her place after finishing the presentation.

Prem walked and turned the lights on before he sat with his friends.

"The project is really amazing guys. We were looking for a project like this which would benefit us at the same time to the economy. I think we can proceed with this project, right?" Knott asked his friends who nodded their heads in agreement.

"We can soon start our work on it. I hope you guys will stay with us until the project finishes. Right?" Arthit asked. Somehow there was hope in his voice that Kongpob easily recognised, but he didn't know why.

"Yes, sure P'Arthit. We will be staying here until the project finishes," Aim replied.

"So, when will we start the preparations?" Kongpob asked. His voice was soft and sweet.

"As soon as possible. We will start it tomorrow. Today we will be walking you guys around the company. It will be great if you know our company a little more," Arthit said with a smile. A smile that never reached to his eyes. A smile that made Kongpob feel that this was not the person he had met 5 years ago.

Arthit was aloof and indifferent.

And Kongpob noticed it. He didn't knew what the reason behind it was. Even if he knew he didn't wanted to accept it.

******

"Arthit? Did something happen to you? You were staring at Krisia the whole time!" Prem asked his friend as soon as they entered their cabin.

It was already lunchtime so they had asked Krisia and Aim to meet at the restaurant near the company to have a confidential lunch.

"I don't know, Prem. I feel I have seen her. I feel as if she resembles someone," Arthit said as he looked out of the window.

Knott and Prem looked at each other and sighed.

"Arthit, maybe you are interested in her. It might be why you think a lot about Krisia," Knott stated in a low voice.

"Yeah man. Her husband had already passed away. Maybe you will have a chance?" Prem asked with a teasing tone.

Arthit looked at his friends and glared.

"No! I'm not interested in her. I'm just curious, Prem and Knott. I feel as if I have seen her. The time I shook my hand with her...hrgg...I felt the touch very familiar," Arthit pulled his hair in frustration.

"Arthit, you are still thinking about Kongpob. Aren't you?" Prem asked to which Arthit stood silent.

"Kongpob had already gone, Arthit. He might be living happily than you! He is not worth enough to have you, Arthit. If I meet Kongpob again in my life, I am going to punch him to death!" Prem's aggressive voice filled the cabin.

"Prem! Don't talk like that!" Arthit scolded his friend.

"You are still in love with Kongpob! Please get over him, Arthit! It's already been 5 years! He's such a bastard for leaving somone like you!" Knott shouted at Arthit in emotion.

Knott had never lost his cool, but whenever Kongpob's topic comes up after his best friend was turned down by his junior, his anger towards the younger male was more than he could think of.

"It's been 5 years we have been seeing you like this Arthit. It hurts us to see you like this. You know? Bright and Tootah are hesitant to meet you because they don't want to see an Arthit who is not himself at all. You are like a living corpse, Arthit!"

Arthit looked at Knott and Prem and sighed. He didn't knew what to feel.

The only reason he accepted to start a company with Knott and Prem when his two friends had asked him was because he wanted to get busy.

If he still worked in Ocean Electrics, he might face questions from all about Kongpob. He didn't want that. He was trying his maximum to forget him but he couldn't. He never will.

"Let's go for lunch. They might be waiting for us." Arthit said before he walked out of the cabin.

Knott and Prem only sighed before they followed Arthit.

*******

As soon as Kongpob and Aim walked out of the company building. They went to the nearby park between the company and the residence where they stayed.

Kongpob sat on a bench with an expressionless face. Aim didn't dare to ask Kongpob anything. He just waited, waited for Kongpob to break down like he usually would.

"P'Arthit looks more handsome. Right, Aim?" Kongpob asked in his original voice.

Aim looked at Kongpob who was massaging his throat with a bitter smile engraved on his lips.

"Kong..."

"He looks more bulky now. I think he had been working out so much. What a change! He never even liked to go jogging in the morning," Kongpob chuckled bitterly as he shook his head.

"Did you see his face? More manly than anyone. His skin is fair as always. I...I...I really missed him, Aim," Kongpob mumbled ghe last words under his breath.

Silent tears started to flow from Kongpob's eyes.

Aim didn't know what to say. He was surprised by how he reacted. He couldn't help but look at Kongpob with worry.

"I will ruin my makeup if I cry like this!" Kongpob chuckled as he took a tissue from his handbag and wiped his tears, dabbing the tissue on the corner of his eyes.

"Kong, I had told you that you didn't have to do this. You are killing yourself inside, Kong." Aim said, his voice filled with emotions.

Kongpob let out a chuckle, he turned towards Aim. His eyes showing hardness and grip.

"I have always been killing myself inside, Aim. So this is not a problem for me. I'm just praying that I should go back from this county as soon as possible," Kongpob's voice was strong, it made Aim hesitate for a minute but he only nodded his head.

Suddenly Kongpob stood up from his seat and cleared his voice.

He looked at Aim and spoke in his artificial voice.

"Let's go for lunch. They might be waiting for us." Kongpob said, his lips twisted up to a small smile.

Aim shook his head while he stood up and followed Kongpob.

Kongpob was stronger than he thought.

*****

So, how did it go?

Who is sad seeing our cold hearted Arthit?😢

Do you think Arthit will find out it's Kongpob soon?

Hope you enjoyed reading!
Eager to read your comments!
Until next time!
Bye! Bye!
Love you all!♥️♥️