A Single Reason Why.

We do hate each other

   Sky was wiping his hair with a towel when he noticed the distressed look on the nanny's face. "What's wrong? Is Iris okay?", he asked while rushing towards the bed. Iris had woken up and was wailing loudly. He was in a bathrobe but he couldn't care less. "Her skin feels a bit warm to touch. Maybe she has a fever? I just contacted the frontdesk to send a pediatrician up. They said he is on his way", said the nanny while rocking Iris in her arms, she looked really worried. Afterall she'd been taking care of Iris since Iris was born. She was almost like a mother to her. She didnt interact much with Sky, and usually stayed silent, but she was good at taking care of Iris. So, Sky was satisfied with her.
   He took  Iris from her arms and touched her face gently. He could see her complexion was a little pale and she wouldn't stop crying. Sky knew that babies tend to cry at the slightest discomfort and it is very common. But everytime Iris cried, Sky felt sad and upset. He never wanted to see her cry.
   There was a knock on the door. The nanny rushed towards the door to let the pediatrician in.
   Sky was in the board meeting room of his resort in Bangkok now. The room was big enough to accommodate fifty people easily. It was surrounded by floor to ceiling windows overlooking Chao Phraya. The bright morning light illuminated the whole room.
   The pediatrician had given Iris some Oral drops and told Sky that her fever would take a while to go away. But he asked Sky and the nanny not to worry about it. So now Sky was seated on the head's chair at the table. He was looking at a file that he held in on hand, while he used the other to support and caress Iris who was snuggling and sleeping comfortably on his chest. He would give her to the nanny when the meeting began, but for now he didn't want to part with his daughter. The other seats at the table were empty and Sky and Iris were the only ones in the room.
   Prapai was directed to the board meeting room by the staff. He was alone for now, as the other members from the company were held up by some issue. His personal assistant was parking the car and had asked Prapai to go ahead. The door to the meeting room was completely made of glass. Prapai could easily see that the room was mostly empty except for Sky and that kid he had at the ceremony. He was dressed in a navy blue suit. The kid was lying comfortably on Sky's chest as Sky worked. Sky turned his head slightly to look at her and smiled. The smile was so tender and filled with love that Prapai's heart skipped a beat. 'This is something Sky and I could have had together. If only the child he was caressing belonged to me too. We could have had a family. My Sky and my child...', "Let's go in sir. We can't waste anymore time, you have another meeting scheduled after this", Prapai was jolted out of his thoughts. He looked around and spotted his PA waiting for him to open the door and enter. He looked at Sky and that kid, through the door again. 'None of this is mine. Sky cheated and then decided to leave. We both hate each other now. It's all over. But why does he look so happy while I...', "Sir are we going in or not?", asked the assistant.
   Prapai pushed the door and entered. "Please have a seat", Sky said without looking up from his work. This angered Prapai further. 'He can't even bother to look up at me when I enter', he thought. "Is this how you welcome your co-workers N'Sky?", Prapai asked in a sweet voice.
   The voice made Sky look up from his work. P'Pai was standing near the door dressed in a maroon suit with white shirt and patterned tie. His hair was pushed back showing his face clearly. Sky felt a mixture of resentment and sadness when he saw him. P'Pai had that fake smile on again like yesterday. "No Phi, please come in", Sky was about to get up when he felt Iris squirming in his arms. She was about to wake up. P'Pai was here and Sky didn't want him anywhere near Iris. He quickly called for the nanny using one arm while rocking Iris to coax her with the other. The nanny came in and took Iris away without saying a word. This was routine for them. Sky would take care of Iris up until right before the meeting started and hand her to the nanny while he worked, then took her back.
   Prapai took a seat on the opposite side of where Sky was seated. His assistant took a seat at his right and said, "We apologise for being late. Other members of the board were held up due to some issue at the company. But I just recieved a call from them, they are on their way". "It's alright, I can wait for a few more minutes", said Sky. P'Pai had gone silent, so Sky turned to look at him and found that P'Pai was staring right at him. Sky was starting to feel uncomfortable by his gaze.
    Just then Kom entered with a file in one hand and his tablet in other. He placed the file infront of Sky on the table and said, "This is the file that you requested for sir". He then looked at P'Pai and his assistant and then back at Sky, "Sir shall I serve some refreshments before the others arrive?". Sky was grateful for this distraction. He turned to P'Pai and asked in a business like tone, "What would you like Phi?". P'Pai still didn't say anything. The silence was turning awkward. "He'd like some coffee and same for me, thank you", his assistant replied hurriedly. Kom nodded and left the room.   
   P'Pai suddenly spoke up, "It's been so long since we got to talk like this. So you have graduated N'Sky? It must have  been hard handling the business and a child while studying. And you left Bangkok so suddenly, without telling anyone. Almost like you were running away", the last part sounded like an accusation. Sky was getting angry now. But he tried to keep it in and smiled. "Yes Phi it has been hard but I'm doing well now", he answered and decided to ignore the rest of his question. "Why did you not tell me you were leaving?", P'Pai continued. Sky couldn't believe that P'Pai wanted to talk about the past right now. He thought P'Pai had moved on after looking at the news a year ago about him getting married.
    Iris's birth had taken a toll on Sky's body. The c-section surgery had complications and doctors had almost lost hope that Sky would survive. But Sky had pulled through. When he woke up he heard the sound of a baby crying. "Congratulations, it's a girl", said the doctor while placing the baby in his weak arms. She was the most beautiful thing Sky had ever seen. It was raining that night. Sky cried the hardest while holding his baby to his chest all through the night.
   The next morning Sky was lying in the hospital bed too weak to do anything, while news played on a small TV screen nearby. The nurses had taken the baby girl for cleaning up. Sky looked at the TV for a while without much interest. That's when he heard the news, "The eldest son of  Sengngai family is happily married and ready to welcome his first child". Sky thought he was beyond caring about P'Pai now. But the news brought a fresh wave of tears in his eyes. He felt like ripping at his chest to stop the pain. 'I will never forgive P'Pai for what he did to me and I will never trust anyone again', Sky thought to himself.
    The same man was now sitting in front of him asking him why he went away. The audacity made Sky want to laugh. "Let's not talk about personal matters right now Phi, we are here to work", said Sky. The smile on P'Pai's face looked a little more forced now. "We've got some time. And it's been so long...", he was inturrepted when a group of suited men and women entered the room and took their seats at the table. They greeted Sky and Prapai and that's how the meeting began.
   P'Pai looked agitated that what he was about to say was cut off. Sky couldn't wait for the meeting to come to an end so he could leave. He didn't want to be in the same room with P'Pai for longer than necessary. After the conversation with P'Pai earlier, he realized one thing, whatever they had in between them two years ago had all turned into hate and loathing now...