Chapter 66 Confront

(Memory)

Asnee was lying in bed when his phone rang, he picked it up and saw that it was Decha calling. He knew Decha was probably calling to yell at him, so he decided not to answer. After Decha called him twenty-five times, Decha finally left a message. His heart nearly stopped beating when he saw the text message. He deleted all the calls and the text message except two missed calls from Decha. He rushed out of the door to the living room, where he saw that the Siriporn were still watching TV. He slowly approached Mr. and Mrs. Siriporn.

Asnee said, "Ma…pa…Ai Frank called and said someone stole his wallet. He didn't have the money to pay for his drinks, so I'm going to help him."

Mrs. Siriporn said, "Don't go out too long. Take Frank home and come back."

Asnee said, "Yes."

Asnee jumped into his car, dashed out of the driveway, and headed in the direction of the main hospital. When he got to the hospital, he didn't see Decha anywhere. He ran to the counter and asked the receptionist who gave him Santichai's room number. He walked slowly towards the room, and as he walked slowly inside, he saw Santichai lying on his right side. He walked into the room and lightly touched Santichai's forehead. He kissed Santichai lightly on the forehead. He pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed, holding Santichai's hand.

Asnee didn't say much, just stared at Santichai, and suddenly Santichai murmured, "Asnee…please don't break up with me…"

Asnee's lips trembled as he kissed Santichai's hand. He whimpered, "I'm sorry...sorry...I never want to break up with you. You wait for me, okay." He put Santichai's hand on his left chest and said, "Our promises are inside here, and I'll make sure to turn these words into reality."

Asnee stood up and kissed Santichai on the forehead. Just as Asnee was about to leave, Santichai gripped his shirt tightly in his hand. Santichai murmured, "Asnee, don't leave... Please don't break up with me. Asnee...I love you."

With pain in his heart, Asnee slowly released Santichai's hand from his shirt. He kissed Santichai's hand and murmured, "I love you too." He walked to the door, turned to give Santichai one last look, and finally decided to leave the room.

(Memory End)

The door to the office opened and Mrs. Siriporn entered. She stood just a few yards away from Asnee, staring wildly at Asnee. "Why didn't you show up for your doctor's appointment? It's supposed to be a biopsy today," she asked. Instead of looking up at Mrs. Siriporn, Asnee continued to mark the date of the meeting on his iPad. Asnee's action angered Mrs. Siriporn even more. She yanked Asnee's iPad and threw it on the sofa.

Asnee sighed and started looking at the files on his desk.

Mrs. Siriporn yelled at Asnee, "Look at me when I talk to you."

Asnee sighed and said, "Ma, can you at least let me make my own choices."

Mrs. Siriporn said loudly, "I am your mother! I have every right to care for your well-being and future."

A sudden burst of anger flashes past Asnee's face. He stood up and hit the table hard with his hand. He shouted, "Even if you were my mother, you had no right! No right! To control if I want to live or die." He snarled at Mrs. Siriporn through gritted teeth. "You never cared about my happiness; all you cared about was the title people would call you at your social events. The stupid fucking, useless title gossiping between you and your friends." He smashed the computer monitor on the desk with his left hand to the floor. "This time...you! Can't stop my decision." He stared at Mrs. Siriporn tearfully. "I hate you...I hate knowing you're my mother."

Asnee had never spoken to Mrs. Siriporn in that tone in years. She stepped forward and slapped Asnee hard. She shouted angrily, "How dare you say I don't love you? How dare you?" She bit her trembling lips. "Would I be willing to be a monster if I didn't love and care for your well-being? Remember, I'm your mother."

Asnee shouted, "What kind of a mother are you? If you really consider me as your son, you will not send someone to hurt the person I cherish and love as much as I cherish and love you. Don't think I don't know. You send someone to hurt Chai. You have created the most indestructible obstacle that stood in my way. Tell me, is this love? Huh? What kind of love is this? What kind of mother would like to see her child mentally tormented?" He looked at Mrs. Siriporn hatefully. "You have won. Are you happy?"

Mrs. Siriporn was taken aback and did not answer. Her lips trembled, "You..."

Asnee said sadly, "If you hadn't hired that person to hurt Chai. Chai would have supported me through college and now Chai and I will have our own little house far away from you. Although, we don't have much, but do you know, the bland and tasteless food we ate at our little old dining table tastes so much better than the luxurious dishes I ate with you at home. When my life is perfect, and I'm at the happiest, you burned it all. This tumor." He hit his head twice with his right hand. "This tumor in my brain wasn't going to kill me, but it was you; my mother, the one who was supposed to protect me from harm, was actually the one who pulled the trigger." He took two steps from Mrs. Siriporn. "Ma... you don't want me to be happy, why should I make you happy?"

Mrs. Siriporn burst into tears, "Asnee...ma… ma did everything for you."

Asnee shouted, "You didn't do anything for me, you did it for yourself. So... don't put your greed on my shoulders." Tears slowly ran down his cheeks. "It's too heavy, I can't bear to carry your greed alone."

A sudden fog enveloped Asnee's eye. Even though Mrs. Siriporn was standing just a few yards away from him, he didn't seem to hear Mrs. Siriporn's voice. Asnee felt that Mrs. Siriporn's voice seemed to be coming from a distance, and Asnee's vision began to slowly blur.

Mrs. Siriporn roared, "Next time you dare to talk back." She looked up, but her face froze when she saw blood spurting from Asnee's right nostril, and Asnee looked like he was going to pass out. She rushed forward quickly and grabbed Asnee. Asnee fell into Mrs. Siriporn's arms, and because of Mrs. Siriporn's small stature, she and Asnee fell to the ground.

Mrs. Siriporn shouted, "Asnee! Asnee! Whoever is outside comes in now! Asnee!" She hugged Asnee tightly. "Asnee…"

Decha rushed into the hospital and walked into the room, and he saw Asnee bound to the bed with straps around his wrists and ankles. He saw Mrs. Siriporn sitting by the bed holding Asnee's right hand. He went to Mrs. Siriporn.

Decha asked, "Auntie Siriporn, how is Asnee?"

Mrs. Siriporn looked up tearfully. "Asnee just woke up but they had to sedate him because he couldn't control his emotions and started to be violent to himself and the staff."

Decha put his arms around Mrs. Siriporn. He comforted, "Auntie, he will be fine."

Mrs. Siriporn pleaded, "Frank, you are his friend, please help me convince him to undergo surgery." She sobbed.

"I'll talk to him when he wakes up," Decha said.

Mrs. Siriporn said, "Frank, thank you."

Decha, who was sitting by the bed, knew that Asnee would not open his eyes and talk to Decha if Mrs. Siriporn was still in the room. He said, "Auntie, you've been here all day. Go rest and go eat something. I'll watch him."

A full ten minutes passed, and Mrs. Siriporn finally decided to leave the room. Decha looked at Asnee and said, "You don't have to pretend to be asleep anymore, your mother is gone."

Asnee slowly opened his eyes and looked at Decha. "Help me take these straps off. My wrists and ankles are itchy," he said.

Decha walked over to the bed and undid the straps around Asnee's wrists and ankles. "Why did you miss the appointment? If you hadn't missed the appointment, this wouldn't have happened," he said.

Asnee said, "I can't stand her in the same room as me."

Decha said, "Ai Nee, that's your mother, no matter how bad she is, she's still your mother."

Asnee said, "I know. If she wasn't my mother, I would have hurt her long ago."

Decha madly said, "You crazy? You can't talk to your mother that way."

Asnee said, "If you knew what she did. You wouldn't have said that to me. I wanted to go home."

Decha said, "I can't let you go."

Asnee said, "You can't make me stay either."

When Asnee was halfway through putting his clothes on, the neurologist walked in. He was surprised when he saw that Asnee had pulled out all his IV and was about to leave. He quickly stopped Asnee, "Khun Siriporn, you're leaving?"

Asnee said, "Yes."

The neurologist said, "But your condition has not improved yet."

Asnee said, "I know, I don't care."

The neurologist said, "I'm a doctor and can only give you advice. Can I have a few minutes with you to review your MRI results before you leave?"

Asnee put on his blouse and sat on the sofa, "Go ahead. No matter what you give me, my decision will not change."

The neurologist asked, "Mr. Siriporn, when I looked at your MRI, I noticed some old scars on your brain. Have you ever had a very serious head trauma or head injury before?"

Asnee asked, "How bad are you talking about?"

"Such as a concussion," the neurologist said.

"He never has. Are you sure these MRIs are his?" Decha said.

The neurologist pointed to the right side of the head. "There is a dent on this side of the head, which means the trauma must be severe enough to have a concussion," he said.

Decha was taken aback by what the neurologist told them. "Impossible, we have known each other since childhood," he said. "My friend has never had a concussion."

Asnee looked at the MRI and said, "I had it when I was younger."

Decha turned to Asnee, startled, "What? When?"

Instead of answering Decha's question, Asnee said, "That's what you wanted to say to me."

"Yes, as long as you understand that the best care for you is still surgery," the neurologist said.

Asnee said, "Thanks, I'll contact you if I change my mind." He got up and walked out of the room.

Decha quickly caught up with Asnee. He yelled, "Ai Nee, wait for me." He grabbed onto the elevator. "Ai Nee, when did you get hurt to the point you have a concussion?"

Asnee sighed and said, "A long time ago."

Decha asked, "How long ago?"

Asnee said, "A couple years ago."

Decha grabbed onto Asnee, but the elevator opened and three people got into the elevator with them, making it inconvenient to press further. Once on the first floor, Asnee and Decha got out of the elevator and walked to Decha's car.

Decha grabbed Asnee's arm and said, "Tell me now. We won't leave until you tell me. As your friend, I should know."

Asnee looked to the left and said, "Let's go have coffee, we can talk." He walked to the coffee shop across the street.