You're my...

Chapter 42

I take a second to take a deep breath before I begin again. "Well, that was like a domino effect. Once everyone heard that those two men refused to fund the project, no one else wanted to fund it either. I even lost several investors that I previously had on board. Then I tried some foreign investors and they wouldn't help either because those two men rejected me. To top it off, my stock price is plunging due to the fact that I was turned down my the two most powerful men in Thailand. I don't know what I'm going to do."

My wife leans over the desk to get closer to me and snorts, "I know what you are going to do. You are going to stop this stupid arranged marriage and for once tell your daughter that she can't have everything that she wants. If you had listened to me over the years instead of spoiling her, she wouldn't be at the point where she is now where she thinks she can throw a tantrum and quickly get everything and everyone that she wants. You created this mess with our daughter and you will now fix it before we lose everything. I love my daughter but I'm not willing to lose everything for her to torture some poor boy the rest of his life. I won't allow her to do it and if you don't have the courage to do, I will."

This is exactly why I hadn't told my wife about this arrangement. I knew that she wouldn't be happy. She has thought for years that I spoil our daughter too much and that I give her everything that she asks for. She wouldn't have let me even entertain the idea had she known.

I don't want to disappoint my baby girl but the look that my wife is giving me right now, I don't have a choice. I will have to break off this arranged marriage. I try one last thing. "Honey, can I..."

My wife immediately interrupts me and snorts, "You do it, or I will. Now!"

Well, I don't want to, but I guess I have to. I guess I will break off the arranged marriage, but I really don't want to have to tell my daughter.

Ring...ring...ring...ring...

Oh, saved by the phone. I quickly grab my phone and I look to see who is calling but I don't know who it is. Before my wife can tell me not to answer it, I quickly accept the call and say, "Hello."

An older gentleman's voice responds, "Mr. Wijitan, this is Mr. Kongthanin senior. I just found out that my son was talking to you regarding an arranged marriage with my grandson and your daughter."

I don't know exactly what this is about, so I simply reply, "Yes."

The man immediately continues. "Well, I regret to inform you that my son didn't ask the family about this decision and I have been informed that my grandson was never aware of this arrangement and when he found out that he is completely against it. I don't agree with my son's decision and I'm officially breaking off the marriage agreement. I hope you aren't too upset by my news."

Oh, this just saved me from having to tell my daughter that I made the decision to end the marriage agreement. Yes. Now, I don't look so bad.

I calmly reply, "I'm not upset. This is fine with me."

The older gentleman seems a little surprised, but he continues, "I would also like to inform you that your offer for a position on our hospital board is no longer available. My son has been voted out of his seat on the board and has been removed from the hospital for the time being. I have been voted to temporarily replace my son at the hospital. Can I ask you if you are having some negative impacts from this arranged marriage thing?"

Negative impacts. That is completely an understatement. My whole life has been turned upside down because of this silly thing and I personally can't be happier that it is finally coming to an end. However, deep down inside, I don't think my baby girl will let it end quite like this but I'm sure my wife has a plan for that. I don't think she will let me make any more decisions regarding this matter.

I sigh into the phone and slowly say, "If you mean losing all my funding and potential investors for my projects or being taken off the list for all the upcoming society events as negative, then yes I have. Not to mention that my wife is currently staring me down with a death glare and if I do anything to help achieve this marriage for my baby girl, I may end up sleeping on the couch for the rest of my life if she doesn't decide to divorce me over this. Oh, I forgot to mention that my stock price is falling so fast that I can almost hear my money running out the door. All because two of the most powerful men in Thailand heard that your grandson doesn't want anything to do with this marriage."

The older man softly chuckles and asks, "By chance is one of the men Mr. Panitchayasawad? He is the step-father to my grandson's best friend, N'Beam."

I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. I simply answer, "Yes."

The older man chuckles again. "Well, at least someone was looking out for my grandson since my son didn't seem to care. I apologize for this causing you any problems but I'm sure everything will go back to normal when I announce that the arranged marriage is off. I will personally ask Mr. Panitchayasawad to stop making it difficult for you as long as you promise that you won't be trying to force my son into marrying your daughter again."

I don't hesitate as I immediately reply, "Yes. I promise that we won't try to force your grandson to marry my daughter. I give you my word."

I look up at my wife who has been quiet during this whole conversation and she suddenly seems very happy with my words. She even stops glaring at me which I can't help but to feel a sense of relief wash over me.

The older man sternly says, "I will hold you to that. I think that is all for now. Good bye."

I quickly mumble, "Bye."

As soon as I end the call, my wife scolds me, "Now that they have ended that stupid arrangement, you need to talk to our daughter and let her know that it is over. Don't think about giving her any option besides the fact that she needs to forget about it. I'm going to call my parents and see if they have any good ideas for punishment. I think we need to keep her mind off of this boy or she may try something else and I for one aren't going to allow that to happen."

I agree with my wife on this one. She doesn't know everything that our daughter did over this past year to get me to try this arranged marriage thing. I can guarantee that Pring will try something stupid once she finds out that this has failed.

Like an obedient child, I quickly agree with my wife's demands and I call my daughter. I know it is a little late, but I can't put this off at all. This is something that I have to do.

Oh, I hope she doesn't start to cry. I can't handle hearing my daughter crying.

Posted August 30, 2018