Zen storms in his parents' room, startling the old couple who seemed to be in the middle of an argument. Narong's eyes widen when he sees his furious son. Zen looks like he is about to beat someone up.
"Whe-"
"Where were you yesterday?" Boonsri yells before Narong can say anything. Her eyes go wide when Zen stomps towards her, his eyes burning with rage. She has never seen her son this angry. Narong looks at Maya in confusion as she runs towards him and holds the sleeve of his blazer, looking panicked.
Zen closes his eyes and tries to reign in his anger. He can't explode here. He needs to calm down if he wants everything to go smoothly at New Year's Eve.
He takes a few deep breaths and opens his eyes once he feels stable enough.
"Doesn't matter."
"You were with that freak, weren't you?" Boonsri sneers.
"Don't call my husband a freak!" Zen yells, making Boonsri jump in fright.
Narong steps forward and puts his hand over his son's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. "Calm down, son."
Maya rushes towards Zen and holds his arm to restrain him. Zen shakes his head as he his fingers curl into fists. He can't control his anger towards his mother after knowing what she did to his baby sister, her own daughter.
"I want to tell you something." He steps back from his mother.
"What is it?" Narong butts in. By the looks of it, he thinks the situation is about to explode. Zen takes a deep breath before speaking.
"I have decided to come out and tell everyone that I am married to Kai on New Year's party."
Silence.
No one uttered a single word. Boonsri is shocked and stares at her son with a look of pure horror on her face. Narong is fairly surprised but deep inside, he understands Zen's decision. It was very shocking for him to see Zen drag Kai out of the house and return without him. He thought Kai will be back today but he sees that Zen came here alone. Coming out is the best decision to save his son's marriage.
"What did you just say?" Boonsri finally speaks, shaking with rage. Zen is ready to face her wrath. There is a glint in his eyes which makes her a little hesitant to explode on him.
"I think you heard perfectly well what I said."
"You will ruin and years and years of our family's hard work, you will tarnish our family name, you will just throw it all away because that good for nothing liability is throwing tantrums? I didn't raise you to be a selfish man, Zen!" Boonsri shouts.
"Do not insult my Kai."
"Zen!" Boonsri feels her insides twisting up in disgust when Zen slaps his relationship with Kai on her face. She closes her eyes and tries to calm down. She needs to explain Zen that this decision will ruin his life forever.
"Zen, do you realize what will happen to our business if this secret got out? No one will want to associate with us. No matter how much modern our society gets but deep down, man being together with another man is still considered abnormal."
"I know mom. I know. If our business gets affected because of my marriage, I will walk out. I won't let you all suffer because of me. I won't let our family name be tarnished."
"What are you saying, son?" Narong walks towards Zen, making him face him and holds his shoulders.
"Dad, I have made Kai sacrifice everything for this marriage to work. In the end, nothing is ever enough to satisfy everyone. If this keeps going on, Kai will end up losing himself and in the process, I will lose my husband. I can't let it happen. It is about time I take responsibility and be the man he deserves.
I will not sacrifice my marriage. I know you and Maya and my other uncles can handle our business well."
Boonsri steps forward and turns Zen towards her, looking at him with a pleading expression.
"Zen, my son, listen to me. Don't make any decision hastily. You- you're just confused. This, whatever you have with Kai is not love, it's an illusion of love. You are not gay. Okay. This marriage is against the law of nature and it will have to end one day. You don't love Kai. You just feel protective towards him because he is younger than you and gives you affection.
Kai is not the right one for you, Zen. He can't provide you anything. He can't give you kids, can't satisfy your needs like a woman. You think you can live with him forever but sooner or later you will also want to be a father. Your physical needs will make themselves known, what will you do then? Do you plan to remain celibate for the rest of your life?"
Zen looks at his mother with utter shock. His.. his mother thinks.. that- that men can't be intimate with each other....
"Do you even know what you are saying, Boonsri?" Narong spits out, his face contorted in anger.
"Kai is the only one for me. There can be no one else. There isn't anyone else. You don't need to worry about me mom, Kai keeps me satisfied in every way possible." He puts special emphasis on the word every.
A sharp sound is heard as Boonsri's hand connects with Zen's face.
"Boonsri!"
"Mom!"
Narong and Maya scream simultaneously. Narong marches towards his wife and holds grabs her arm roughly.
"Are you out of your mind?" he yells at her face. Boonsri looks up at him with fire in her eyes.
"Your son is trying to humiliate us in public and I won't let this happen." She spits out angrily and then turns her attention towards Zen.
"You will regret this decision. I never expected you to be a disgrace to our family. I don't know what sins I committed in my past life that I birthed you two. I am ashamed of you both. Remember one thing, Zen. The day you tell everyone about your marriage with that freak is the day I disown you. You have to choose. Your mother or that freak." Boonsri storms out of the room leaving a heartbroken Zen behind.
"Zen.. brother.." Maya steps forward and puts her hand on her brother's shoulder. Zen doesn't respond. His heart his bleeding. His mother's disgusted face is etched in his mind. His mother is disgusted by him because of his sexuality.
Maya hugs her brother and rests her head on his shoulders. She understands how Zen is feeling. Her mother's sharp words have wounded her in the past and now the same is happening to her brother.
A tear drops from Zen's eye and Narong doesn't waste a second in embracing his kids.
"D-ad." Zen's voice breaks as he falls apart in his father's arms, tears cascading down his face like an endless stream. All the words that left his mother's mouth killed him from inside. He was her "favorite child". She always loved him, praised him and supported him. Or maybe that was because he always did what she says. Maya pulls away from the embrace and caresses her brother's back, trying to calm him down but in vain. Zen's shoulders shake as he cries. Maya is relieved that their father is here to handle this, this strong man who is now breaking into pieces.
Narong allows his son to cry to his heart's content on his shoulders. He pulls Zen away from him once his son has calmed down and wipes the remaining tears from his eyes.
"Zen, I want you to know that I am proud of you. I am proud of what you are about to do. I will always support you and Kai. You don't need to worry about people looking down on you. Narong Wongsuwan is still alive. He will gauge anyone's eyes out who dare to look down upon his children. Your father's shoulders will always stand strong to support you.
Don't be affected by your mother's words. I'll deal with her. You and Kai live a happy life. That's the only thing I want for you." Narong puts his hand over Zen's head, giving him his blessings.
"Don't cry, my princess." He then wipes Maya's tears who is crying for her brother. He will never forgive his wife for hurting his kids.
Zen, who always stands strong and protects his family is now broken, just because of the cruel words of his wife. She ruined his daughter's life too. He has had enough. He won't let her hurt them anymore.
❤❤❤
Dean looks at Keit who is sitting on the bed, happily stuffing noodles in his mouth, his cheeks puffed up, making Dean swoon over his cuteness.
He can't believe he hurt this boy in the past.
He gets up from the sofa and walks towards him and caresses his hair. Keit looks up at him and tilts his head a little in question, as if asking what happened. Dean's heart melts yet again when he stares into his shiny, black eyes. It's like the stars are twinkling in the vast universe.
"Do you know how much I love you?" Keit hurriedly chews and swallows the noodles and gives Dean a wide smile, nodding happily. Dean let's out a chuckle and pulls Keit towards him, putting the plate of noodles away.
He sits on the bed, taking Keit with him and making him sit on his lap. Keit sits sideways, his legs stretched out on Dean's right and he lays his head on Dean's chest, listening to his heartbeat.
"I am sorry, Keit." Keit looks up at him in confusion.
"Why are you apologizing, Deano?" Dean gives him a painful smile and starts explaining.
"I can't help but think back about how badly I treated you. Not just when I was faking the bullying but in general too. Whenever I got angry, I said hurtful words to you, yelled at you and made you cry. It never happened before. I never got angry at you because we met occasionally. This is the first time we are together almost everyday and look what happened. We broke up within a few months, reasons whatsoever.
You didn't deserve all that. I made you feel bad for crying rather than comforting you. I just made you more vulnerable. I'm just a horrible boyfriend." Keit sits up straight after hearing Dean's rant and cups his cheek.
"Dean, we've been through a lot these past few months. Every relationship goes through some hardships, ours also did. I'm glad that you are reflecting on your behavior and want to change. Just because of few incidences we can't forget how you always protect me, shower me with love, put up with my tantrums and always have my best interest in your mind.
Next time, just please come and talk to me. I don't want to be blind sided again. That's the only thing I want to say. I love you, Deano."
"Thank you for forgiving me." Dean presses a kiss on Keit's forehead. They both stay like this for few minutes when Keit tugs at Dean's jacket and looks at him with his innocent doe eyes.
"Yes, baby?"
"Can I finish my noodles now?"
"Yes, your majesty. No one can come between you and your food." Dean chuckles and reaches towards the plate kept on the nightstand and gives it to his hungry boyfriend.
"One last thing before you start eating." Keit pouts but nods at Dean, signaling him to continue.
"How do you think we should deal with this problem now?"
"Umm, honestly, I don't know. It wasn't supposed to be a problem in the first place. We were forced to hide our relationship but the cat is out of the bag now. Everyone should just suck it and get over with it. We are a couple. They can't do anything about it and that bitch Stephanie will stay away from you now so, I'm happy." Keit kisses Dean's cheek and continues to devour his noodles while Dean is left staring at his fierce and confidant baby.
❤❤❤
Theo is fidgeting nervously every few seconds as he waits for Archie outside the Mechanical Engineering building for second year students.
He feels like an alien standing at that foreign place as everyone who pass by him stares at him. Archie asked him to meet outside his faculty but now he wants to just pull his hair and run away.
"You look about to faint." Archie says as he approaches him, his signature smug smile plastered on his face.
Theo smiles widely as he looks at him approaching but the smile is replaced by a nervous expression when he notices Archie's friends following him.
Archie stands beside Theo and takes a hold of his hand, much to Theo's surprise. "I'll see you all later." He drags Theo away after saying this to his friends.
"Why were you all called today? We have semester breaks!"
"We weren't called. We just wanted some advice about the internship program we all are wanting to apply in. If we clear the exam, we will join the Internship in the month of June." Theo's mouth opens in an O and Archie ruffles his hair.
They buy some snacks and make their way towards Archie's dorm room. The owner of the room immediately turns on the heater to comfort his shivering future boyfriend.
Both of them sit on the bed watching the movie "Now you see me" while munching their snacks. Archie glances at Theo briefly and then looks at the one arm distance between them with a frown. He wants to pulls Theo towards him and attach him on his lap with a glue. Control Archie! Baby steps, baby steps.
After fifteen minutes he just can't control anymore so he shifts a little closer to Theo without him noticing. He waits for a few seconds and then slides near the oblivious boy again, now, almost touching his arm.
Theo turns to take another packet of chips when he notices the closeness between him and Archie. He looks up at Archie who is already staring at him and the room suddenly feel too warm. Theo's breath gets stuck in his throat when Archie's hand gently cups his cheek with his thumb caressing the cheekbone.
The younger boy's eyes go wide when Archie leans forward slowly, his gaze fixed on Theo's luscious lips. Butterflies explode in Theo's stomach and his face heats up, anticipating the much awaited contact of Archie's lips with his. His eyelids feel heavy because of shyness as he tries to look up at the man who makes his heart beat at an unbelievably fast rate.
Theo's eyes close instinctively when Archie's lips finally touch his but the contact barely lasts for a second and his eyes snap open, disappointment clear on his face.
Archie slams his lips on his favorite junior's desperate ones whose eyes go wide at the sudden action but then close tightly once again, losing himself in the kiss.
Archie sucks the junior's lips fiercely and he tries hard to catch up with the pace, barely succeeding. Archie gets on his knees and advances towards Theo, making him lie down on the bed, encaging him in his arms with Theo's hands clutching his shoulders. Theo lets out a broken moan when his mouth is forced open with Archie's tongue and is explored to the senior's heart's content.
Archie groans as he swallows Theo's sweet moans and his hands roam all over the younger's body, making him arch up to him. Archie's eyes also snap shut as he enjoys this unbelievable feeling he has in his heart.
From now on, kissing Theo is his favorite thing to do.
They both pull away when they have trouble breathing and Archie touches his forehead with Theo's as they both try to catch up their breath. Archie opens his eyes but Theo's are still tightly shut and the senior can see a beautiful blush adorn the junior's face as he struggles to breathe.
Archie can't help but caress his boy's tousled hair as Theo slowly opens his eyes, shyly looking up at Archie. Theo is glad that Archie's body is hovering over him, making him feel protected and warm.
"You okay?" Archie whispers in Theo's ear and gives it a small peck. Theo nods, making Archie smile and give his ear another peck. Archie's arms slide beneath Theo's back and pull him up to make him sit on his lap, the movie long forgotten.
Theo's arms rest around Archie's neck as the latter's hands hold his waist and just then, the door of Archie's room slams open and Mac and Jude come running inside.
"Dude did you hear what Dean- WHOA!" Jude screams when he sees someone on Archie's lap. Theo jumps out of Archie's lap and stares at the two newcomers in horror.
"Holy Shit!" Mac exclaims and on queue all the other members of Archie's group come inside his room making Theo's heart jump out of his chest. Archie looks up towards the heavens, cursing his stars and gets up from the bed, holding Theo's hand and helping him up too. Theo hides behind Archie, not wanting to face his friends' uncomfortable stare. They're staring at him as if he's an alien, or perhaps, a stripper. 👀
"Is that Theo?" One of them asks and others nod in sync comically.
"Finally!" All of them start cheering and Jude and Mac can't help but snicker at it. Theo gets confused and peeks from behind a little. The seniors notice him and wave at him.
"Why are you here?" Archie scowls at his friends. They ruined his moment and now he wants to punch them in the face. The assholes know why Archie is pissed and they smirk at him. He'll wipe that smirk off his face!
"Dean the great Wongsuwan announced on his Instagram page that he wants to address the 'situation' in front of everyone so he has called all of the students in the CSE canteen area in an hour."
"What?" Theo finally comes out from the hiding and stands beside Archie with eyes wide in shock.
"Welcome to the family Theo!" they all say in unison and run out of the room. Archie lets out a sigh and looks at Theo who looks very much confused.
"You are now part of the family, our group."
"They- they know about us?" a smug smile forms on Archie's lips because of us.
"So, you do accept it's us, huh?"
"I-" Theo shyly looks away. Archie holds his chin gently with his index finger and thumb and makes him turn his face towards him.
"Theo, listen carefully. I am so happy that you allowed me to kiss you today and I tend to be physically affectionate with my partner. If you ever feel uncomfortable then don't hesitate to tell me, okay? And if I ever overstep, then push me away." Theo just nods, his brain short circuiting at what he just heard.
Should he be happy that Archie is so considerate or should he be worried that he might get jumped sometime in the future? Well, Archie can jump on him any time he wants.
"What is Dean about to do?" Theo changes the topic but Archie simply shrugs.
"I don't know. I guess we'll find out in an hour."
"But, but-" Archie puts his finger on Theo's lips, effectively shutting him up.
"Whatever he does, we'll support, okay? Don't worry." Theo nods but still picks up his phone to text Keit. He's too curious to wait for an hour. Archie rolls his eyes and plops back down on the bed.
❤❤❤
Dean holds Keit's hand firmly and looks at him, feeling determined.
"Are you ready, baby?"
"I'm scared, Deano but I am ready." Keit squeezes Dean's hand back.
"Come here." Dean takes Keit in his arms and gives him a sweet and long kiss. Keit melts in his arms and wants to remain lost in the kiss. He can do this! Dean will be there beside him so he has no reason to fear anyone.
"Mhm" Keit whines when Dean pulls away from the kiss and ruffles his hair.
"Let's go." Dean holds Keit's hand and they both walk towards the Canteen, feeling determined to put an end on this drama once and for all.
They reach the destination and are surprised to see the crowded area. They all stop speaking and there is pin drop silence when they all spot the pair together. Dean thought most of the students might have left already for the vacations.
Keit manages to stop himself from cowering away from the curious gaze of all the students whose attention is specifically on their joined hands.
Keit's heart is at ease as he notices all his friends standing around a table along with Archie and his group, giving him an encouraging smile.
Dean stands in the middle of the area alongside Keit and looks at all his fellow mates looking at him in anticipation. He sees a few of his seniors too who look at him with a neutral expression. No disgust but no compassion either.
"Wassup, Mate? Why did you call us all here?" Tristan, a fourth year senior asks, urging Dean to start speaking. He is the one who helped Dean a lot when he was in first year or he would've ended up being the college goon because of his aggressive behavior or more like because of his arrogant seniors.
"Yes, boo. We're all ears. You can say whatever you want." Gina claps her hands twice and winks at the couple. Stephanie and Weston look at them with disgust. They both feel like puking when they see them holding hands.
Dean and Keit's hearts are thumping loudly in sync as they both take deep breathes, swallowing down their nervousness.
No need to be afraid. They didn't do anything wrong!
With this thought in mind, Dean begins speaking.
"As you all know, a video of Keit and I kissing went viral. I just want to come forward and share the truth with you all. Keit and I are dating since school. I asked Keit to keep our relationship a secret because we're gay men and well, our college doesn't exactly have a good image when it comes to dealing with queer folks. I didn't want anything to happen to Keit but the plan backfired. I wanted to protect him but ended up being the one who hurt him the most.
The truth is, I was just being a coward. The one who released that video, whoever you are, thank you. This incident made coming out for us easy. I realized we aren't doing anything wrong. We both love each other and no one should have any problem with it. Hell, it's legal here. If you want to hate us for being who we are, go ahead. I don't know how it will be for both of us in college from now on but I really hope you all accept us. We are still the same person. Our sexuality doesn't change anything.
This is the truth of our life. We're together and very much happy." Dean holds Keit's hand up and kisses it. The younger boy is looking at him with teary eyes and so much love that the entire canteen awed.
Dean smiles at Keit, returning the same loving gaze waiting for everyone's response. He saw many people recording his confession and knows it's going to hit the internet.
"tsk tsk tsk, I am so offended, Dean Wongsuwan." Gina slowly walks towards them, shaking her head in disappointment. Dean and Keit look at her with a sad expression but they understand if Gina doesn't want to do anything with them now.
"How dare you think that we'll hate for your sexuality?" both their eyes go wide when they hear Gina's next words and they smile when Gina hits Dean's head gently.
"You are our friend, Dean and we'll support you no matter what. You have all the rights to love whoever you want. the fact that you thought that we'll hurt you for who you are hurts me. Don't you have even a little bit of faith in us?" Amy steps forward and smiles at them, patting Keit's head.
"I don't know about anyone else but your friends here, support you." Ohm steps forward and pats Dean's back.
Keit's friends run towards him and hug him together.
"You're so stupid. Why would you think that we'll hurt you?" Flora smacks Keit's head while saying this, making everyone laugh.
"We love you, Keit and we have your back." Mitch adds making his other friend's nod. Dean smiles while looking at them and Theo pushes Keit towards him making the younger one blush.
"I mean, I am cool with it. Their relationship isn't harming anyone of us so I don't think anyone should have a problem with it. The incident with that particular boy was tragic. A dark time for our college but I think with time our thinking also expanded and hope that we don't have any narrowminded student here. You don't need to seek for anyone's acceptance. Not for this. Those who don't accept, though they are in no position to accept or reject, can just suck it up.
You enjoy your love, okay?" Tristan speaks up and Dean and Keit nod at him. Dean rounds his arm around Keit's shoulder and everyone cheers. Yes, everyone at the canteen except Stephanie and Weston who walk out of the place without getting noticed.
"Group hug!" Gina screams and all of them excitedly jump into the hug. Well, Theo drags Archie and his friends but the group hug is completed.
"Three cheers for Dean and Keit!" Jude screams and three loud, ground shaking chants can be heard all over the place.
"HIP HIP HOORAY!"
"HIP HIP HOORAY!"
"HIP HIP HOORAY!"
The sight is electric. Everyone is buzzing with excitement and happiness. Dean and Keit are smiling so wide that their cheeks hurt. Dean is extremely happy. He never thought that the coming out will go so smoothly. He hurt himself and his baby for no reason. He should never have doubted his friends.
"I'm sorry guys, for lying to all of you."
"Let bygones be bygones." Amy reassures him and they proceed to take a group selfie. Looking at the size of the crowd present in the canteen, panorama mode it is!
❤❤❤
Keit's back hits the bed as Dean rains kisses on his neck, jaw, cheeks, eyes and forehead, turning him into a giggling mess. Keit's heart is so full today. It's like he got lifelong worth of happiness. He doesn't need to hide his love for Dean anymore. There are no boundaries, no threats.
"My sweet boyfriend, Keit." Dean says proudly and nuzzles Keit's nose.
"My amazing boyfriend, Dean." Keit also starts pecking Dean all over his face. Dean's phone starts ringing, interrupting their pecking game. Dean groans but instantly answers the phone when he sees it's from his mother.
"Yes, ma?"
"Son, we're expecting you at the New Year's party on 31st. No excuses. You have to come and bring Keit with you too. You father will send you the venue address."
"Argh! Okay okay. We'll come." Dean huffs making his mum laugh.
"See you at the party. Take care na. love you."
"Love you too, ma." And with that the call ends and he turns to face a very curious Keit.
"Guess what? We have a party to rock on the New Year's eve."
❤❤❤
Kai saw the kissing video of Dean and Keit and is still shook. The Wongsuwans gonna lose their shit when they find out about this.
It is 30th of December and he is searching for his friend, Korn and has no luck in finding him, just like the last few days. Korn is not picking up his calls or answering his texts. Kai even went to his place but it was locked. Where did Korn disappear?
Kai scrolls through Instagram on his phone, feeling extremely dejected because of Korn's absence when he notices an IGTV video with Dean's face on it. He doesn't waste a single second and clicks on it.
Kai is in awe. He is so proud of all the students of this university. He loves that they are so accepting. The future is in safe hands.
He is glad people are getting open minded about stuff like this. He just hopes Dean's parents are also as accepting as his friends are. He doesn't know much about Keit and his family so he doesn't know what to think. He screen-records the video to show it to Zen later.
His phone starts ringing and Kai excitedly picks up the call when he sees the caller is none other than his husband.
"Zen!" Kai squeals and then cringes at how whipped he sounds.
"Someone is too excited to talk to me." a chuckle is heard from the other side which makes Kai roll his eyes.
"What is it?" Zen can hear the pout in Kai's voice and decides to not tease him. He can continue once he gets Kai all to himself once and for all.
"I texted you the address of the party hall. Can you come early tomorrow? Probably, in the morning."
"Huh? I can come early but, is something wrong?"
"I'd rather have you with me as early as possible that day. I don't want anything to go wrong. I'll be at ease if you're there beside me."
Kai swoons at Zen's reason. So cute.
"Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up?" Kai chuckles at that.
"Don't worry, I'll not get lost on the way. I'll drive and come straight to you, hubby." Zen lets out a small laugh at Kai's words and almost decides to go to Kai this instant. Almost.
"You better don't turn me on when I'm in office."
"Okay, hubby."
"Kai!" Zen scolds playfully which makes Kai laugh out loud. It's good that no one is around his cabin so Kai laughs freely.
"Okay, okay. I'll be there early morning."
"Good. I'll be waiting for you. now, I gotta go. I love you."
"I love you too."
❤❤❤
Kai reaches his home with a bright smile on his face. He's so excited for tomorrow. He's nervous too but Zen will be by his side so he doesn't need to worry about that. If they both are together, they can handle anything.
The smile is wiped out of his face when he enters his house and looks at his parents' serious expressions. They're gaze is accusing and Kai's heartbeat accelerates even though he didn't do anything wrong. Not in his knowledge, at least.
There is a document in his mother's hand and she walks up to him and places it on his hands forcefully.
"Sign these."
Kai is confused. His eyes widen in horror when he examines the document. Divorce papers?!!!
"What is this, mum? Why are you giving me these?" Kai manages to overcome his shock and questions his mother.
"Zen's mother came to meet us today."
That wretched woman!
"Mum, don't listen to her-"
"Enough, Kai!" his father yells, giving the poor man a scare. He looks at his father in shock. His father is furious.
"Mrs. Wongsuwan told us everything. We can't believe you hid all these things from us. We don't want to hear anything. Sign these papers right now!" His father orders and then walks to the living room and settles on the sofa with his wife.
Kai follows them and throws the papers on the table. His parents look up at him in anger.
"I am not signing these. You can't just come to a conclusion without hearing my side."
"Your side? Nothing you say will convince us to allow you to stay in that marriage any longer. I don't know what has happened to you but I need to save my son and that's what I am doing." His father gets up, feeling enraged. Kai has never seen his father so angry. His mother also gets up and holds his father's arm to calm him down. She gives Kai a look, begging him to do what they're asking him to do. Never!
"What did she even tell you? Why are you behaving like this?" Kai feels helpless.
"She told us everything. She opened our eyes. We were so wrong about Zen. We thought he loves you and treats you good."
"Dad, what did she tell you?" Kai pleads, his expressions, pitiful.
"She told us that you are kept hidden not only from the outsiders but even from the family! No one knows that Zen is married. You are always locked inside the room whenever anyone visits the Wongsuwan mansion."
"Do you know how hurt we were when we found out that he only comes to you when- when-" his mother breaks down crying, too hurt to complete the sentence. Kai instantly cups her face and wipes her tears, his own eyes now burning.
"He comes to you for his own satisfaction. We knew you both are going through a rough time when Zen dropped you here but we didn't know that he kicked you out! And you were sent to jail too because of him!" His father roars.
"That's not the truth, Pa!"
"Why will his own mother lie? She is tried seeing Zen mistreat you and knows you love him too much to leave him so she came to us with these divorce papers and told us everything." His father picks up the papers and offers them to Kai. Kai looks away, tears streaming down his face.
"We didn't raise you with so much love and affection so that when you grow up, you get mistreated by others." Kai's mother cannot stop crying. She loves Zen like her own son and when she saw how compassionate he is when it comes to Kai, she just believed that he'll take care of her son and love him unconditionally forever. But she was wrong.
"He treats you like dirt beneath his shoes! Why do you want to stay in this marriage? We won't allow this!" His father slams the papers in his hands and takes out a pen from his pant pocket.
"Sign it!"
"No!"
"Kai! We won't allow you to be that monster. You are blind because of your love but in the future, you'll understand why we did this. Sign the papers, now."
"Mom, Dad." The three people who were arguing are now frozen in shock as the reason for their argument walks in.
Zen heard everything. Every single word. He doesn't even know why he's surprised that his mother stooped so low to break his marriage. His heart hurt when Kai's parents shoot him the betrayed look.
"You are right. I hurt your son. I admit. Our marriage has gone through some very tough times and if it were anyone else, they would've left me a long time ago but Kai stayed. He endured everything and fought for our marriage. I admit that I've been a terrible husband to him but whatever my mother said is a lie."
Zen walks towards Kai's mother and holds her hands in his trembling ones, his face looks so sorrowful that the lady can't help squeeze his hand to give him comfort.
"Why did you do it, Zen? Why did you break our trust?" she cries. Zen is about to answer her when he is hauled away from her by his collar and a hard punch is delivered to his face.
"Dad!" Kai screams, looking terrified and shocked. He rushes towards Zen who only stumbled back a little and cradles his face. Zen holds Kai's hands and gives him a reassuring smile.
"I'm okay, honey." He wipes away Kai's tears who then looks at his father, enraged.
"Zen didn't do anything to deserve this hostile behavior from you two! Every single word said by his mother is a lie. She doesn't accept our marriage and decided to fool you both. Yes, we've had many problems but we always found a solution for it.
Please don't think bad about my Zen.
He loves me. I know he does and is very protective over me. You- you know dad, he put that woman's entire family behind the bars who insulted me. That woman is the one who put me in jail and succeeded in doing so just because Zen wasn't there. He- he got someone fired because they tried to flirt with me.
He never, not even once, insulted me no matter how heated our argument got. He's always very thoughtful. Please, think about it from his point of view too. He was the one stuck in the middle of the conflicts between his mother and I.
And, and tomorrow we'll end this conflict once and for all because we have decided to tell everyone the truth during the New Year party." Kai explains to his parents, his tone pleading, tears trailing down his cheeks which are wiped away by his mothers. Zen stands silently behind him, tears threatening to fall from the silver pools.
"How can we let you live somewhere you're hated?" his father asks in a rough tone, still having a hard time accepting his son's words and claims.
"Maya loves me and always supports me. Dad loves me like his own son." Kai replies instantly.
"Just like you love me." Zen speaks up, his voice trembling, making Kai's heart ache. His silver eyed devil steps forward and joins his hands, asking for forgiveness from his parents.
"I am so sorry that Kai had to go through all those hardships because of me. I am sorry for breaking your trust and not taking proper care of him. Please, give me your trust one more time. Just once more. Please give a chance to right all the wrongs and give Kai the respect he deserves. Please help me save my marriage. I can't do it without your support. Please forgive me and give me another chance."
The elders' heart hurts, looking at their children in so much pain. Their resolve to get Kai sign the divorce papers breaks as they see Kai crying for his husband and rounding his arms around Zen. Zen doesn't move as Kai cries into his neck. He is still standing with his hands joined, his head now bowed, seeking forgiveness from his husband's parents.
"J- Just one chance." Kai's father replies and the parents move forward to take the crying pair in their embrace, comforting them. Zen and Kai hug them tightly, teary smiles forming on their faces as their hearts dance in happiness. Kai's mother caresses Zen's cheek, where he was punched and gives him an apologetic smile. The son in law just shakes his head indicating that it's okay.
"I promise you dad, I will always keep Kai happy." Zen says confidently when they pull away from the family hug.
"I believe you, son." Kai's father caresses Zen's hair in affection.
Zen then declares that he wants to take Kai with him tonight so that they encounter no more problems. He has booked a room already in the hotel where the party will be held. They both will stay there for the night.
Kai's parents give them their blessings and the couple leaves for the hotel but not before Zen ripping the divorce papers into shreds.
❤❤❤
New Year's Eve
"Hurry up, Keit! We're getting late!" Dean stands at the door and scowls, waiting for Keit to collect his jacket and wallet.
Dean is wearing a gray Double collar, 2 button blazer jacket over a white shirt with a zebra striped tie and faded black trousers. A perfect outfit to show off his perfect and droolworthy physique.
Kiet is wearing the same outfit. The only difference is that his blazer jacket is white in color. He looks so cute that Dean has a hard time controlling himself from having Keit then and there.
They both are sporting a perfect couple's look.
They lock the room and rush to the parking lot. It's 7 pm and is already so dark and foggy outside.
'It's so cold out here, Deano!" Keit whines. Dean brings him closer and rubs his back.
"Don't worry baby. We get there and with all the heaters on, you won't feel cold. A small kiss is pressed on Dean's lips and the young couple gets inside the car, ready to go to one of the most important events for Dean's family.
Dean starts the car and just then, Keit shrieks.
"I forgot my phone!"
"I forgot mine too." Dean groans.
"I'll get them Deano. Wait for a few minutes." Keit takes the room keys from Dean and rushes towards his room. He huffs as he reaches his room and unlocks it.
"Why everything goes wrong when we have somewhere important to go?" Keit grumbles as he frantically searches for their mobile phones.
"Ah, here they are!" a pillow was kept over them so he couldn't see them earlier. He picks them up and hurriedly exits the room and locks it. He rushes down the stairs and to the parking lot. His eyes go wide in concern when he sees the windshield of the car smashed.
"Dean!" he screams and runs towards the car only to find it empty. His heart starts thumping loudly and he starts calling out for Dean.
"Deano! Where are you?"
He searches the entire parking lot but can't see anyone.
"Dean!"
No answer
He decides to go out of the parking lot and is horrified by the sight that greet him.
A very bloodied Dean on the floor. His head is heavily bleeding and shards of glass are stuck on his skin. He is on the verge of losing consciousness.
"DEAN!"