Chapter 18
Their eyes immediately met the moment he entered the room. Ken abruptly stopped and stared at the woman who was sitting with Mr. Thongprasom. How Ann wished she'd faint at this very moment so she doesn't have to be face to face with Ken Theeradej. As he looked into her eyes, he couldn't stop himself from going down the memory lane once again.
4 years ago…
"Thank you for accepting my invitation." Ken told his special guest as he slowly drank a glass of an expensive wine. Ann just looked at him, not even moving. She studied his face carefully, as if she wanted to memorize every part of it. Soon, the face of the person who is in front of her will be buried deep on her memory until it is left forgotten. So are the painful memories that she learned few weeks ago. For days, she had tried to forgive her still unconscious husband from his wrong doings but it feels so hard to do so. She even came to the point that she wished Aum would lose his memory so he could forget everything that happened and they can start a new life together. But something was stopping her to start a new life with Aum.
Ken placed a plane ticket on the table and pushed it closer to Ann. She picked it up and read. It was a plane ticket bound for Paris. Her eyes grew wider as she stared at it. Was this the reason why Ken wanted to see her today? Does he want to take her away from the bitter reality she is facing now?
"Come with me. Let's start a new life together." Ken told her and gently touched her hand. His eyes were full of love, love for her. It was the love that she dreamed of but Aum couldn't' give him. Not trying to be rude, Ann slowly pulled her hand away from Ken's. She placed the plane ticket back to the table.
"I-I'm sorry… I can't go with you…" She wanted to go with him but Ann felt she wasn't ready yet. But when will she be ready? Will she wait for the next lifetime to be happy with the man she loves?
Her eyes were starting to feel warm so she immediately stood up and ran towards the elevator as fast as she can. Although she was fast, Ken had been able to catch up with her. He hugged her from the back so tight; he wasn't planning on letting her go; letting her go means saying goodbye to her… forever.
"Please, Ann… I love you and I know you love me too! You're making things hard for both of us!" Ken begged, still hugging Ann so close, so tight. She was trying her very best to stop the tears from falling.
"You're making things hard for you!" Ann shouted. Good thing they were the only people on the hotel's restaurant. Ken had the entire place booked for just the 2 of them.
"Haven't I told you before that I don't love you?" Ann whispered softly. She was again lying with her true feelings towards him.
"I know you're lying…You love me and you've proved that when we were in Paris…" Ken whispered to her ear. For a moment, both of them didn't move. Ken's arms were wrapped protectively around Ann.
"Yes, Ken, I love you…I love you so much… " Ann's voice croaked, breaking the longer than forever silence between them. Her confessions were accompanied with the tears that she should have shed for him before. She didn't have the chance to tell her feelings for him before since it was too late when she realized that she needed Ken in her life. Of course she had learned to love Aum Atichart but her feelings for Ken would never go away, it will always linger in her heart forever.
Ken turned her so she was facing him. He looked at Ann's beautiful face which was now so wet because of unending tears falling from her eyes. His hand was molded perfectly against her cheek. Ken wiped the tear from her eye. Ann wanted to make this moment a precious memory. She slowly cupped Ken's face and made her face so close to her. For the last time, she wanted to feel the lips that she had longed and dreamed for. The kiss they shared was so passionate and powerful that made Ann weak to her knees. If only the world stops spinning and time freezes, then the kiss would go on for eternity. Before the kiss leads to something else, Ann immediately pulled away from him and ran so fast towards the elevator. Tears were falling nonstop. Although it hurts, she knew that choosing Aum was the right choice. Her father's decision was always right. Ann had lived her whole life being her father's puppet that she obeyed him, even when it comes to marriage.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The past kept playing on Ann's mind while Ken was explaining the business proposal to them. Her mind was like a cassette player that keeps on rewinding the past events of her life, paying extra attention to the bitter sweet happenings. Ann was only dragged back to reality when Ken's cell phone started to ring.
"Excuse me, Mr. Thongprasom. I need to answer to this call…" Ken excused himself and went out for a while. Ann kept herself busy by reading the documents in front of her. Unknown to her, her father was watching her with a weary smile on his face.
"Ann, did you know that, Ken Theeradej was my 1[sup]st[/sup] choice to be your husband?" Ann was in disbelief on what she heard but she didn't want her father to notice it. For God's sake, she could've been married to Ken!
"Then…why didn't you…?" Out of curiosity, Ann wanted to know the reason. There's probably a heavy reason why her father didn't chose Aum. Before Ann could continue her question, her father already answered.
"Someday, I'm going to tell you the reason." Her father stated and continued on the read the documents. Ann looked at him curiously. She wanted to know the reason why her father didn't want her marriage with Ken.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yes, Aum, you need something?" Ken asked the other person on the line.
"Has your sister arrived yet?"
"Yes, they're staying at your place right now."
"They?"
"My sister and her son." Ken told Aum to clarify the confusion on Aum's voice.
"Okay. Please tell them I'll pick them up the day after tomorrow and we'll go to Phuket together." Aum told his friend. His flight was cancelled so he had it rescheduled.
"I'll just give you my sister number so you can call her up." Ken insisted.
"No need to. I'll just visit them tonight." Aum said and finally ended the call.
---TBC---
