After rain comes the clear sky (Kaoearth)

33. Dinner

"Swadee Swadee, please come in." Saen, Kao's uncle welcomed Alan's soon-to-be-in-laws, the Cheamchuens to the mansion wholeheartedly. Tessa greeted them along with her husband.

Saen was Boun and Alan's father and Eric's younger brother. He had invited the Cheamchuens to the main mansion of the Dechaphatthanakuns to introduce them to the rest of the main family as the marriage between the kids of the two families was fixed. 

"Swadee Khrab/ kha" the six Cheamchuens waied to them.

Tessa went forward and hugged her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Merlin with a huge smile. She was pretty fond of the girl in front of her.

"Come, please come inside." Tessa led the group into the house.

Everyone settled down in the huge living area. Even though there were about twenty people in the room, it didn't feel congested at all.

Saen started introducing the members of the Dechaphatthanakun family to Cheamchuens and vice versa.

As the conversation went on, Kao noticed that both his mother's and Tessa's smiles seemed really forced while Ann's smile looked a little haughty.

"Aa," Kao leaned to whisper in Ann's ears.

Ann turned and faced Kao.

"What happened to Mom and Aa Tessa? They are acting weird." Kao whispered.

"I don't know." Ann shrugged.

Kao was sure that something had happened and Ann knew what it was. He decided to wait till the guest left to pry into the matter.

The whole gathering soon headed to the dinner table. The dinner started without delay. The conversation around the table mostly involved marriage matters.

Kao was silent throughout. He didn't know anything about the wedding nor did he care about what happened at the wedding.

"Kao, why are you so quiet today?" Mintra, Kao's grandmother asked him.

Kao just smiled awkwardly. He wasn't paying attention to the elders' blabbering.

"Kao, your Khun Yay was asking for your opinion on the wedding plans" Eric spoke. He was a little annoyed that his son wasn't paying any attention to the whole discussion.

He was already displeased by the fact that Alan was getting married before his son who was the eldest in the family.

"I don't think my opinion matters here," Kao said patiently.

"How can it not matter? You are the heir of the family and this is the first marriage of your generation. Of course, your opinion matters." Matt, Merlin's father said with a cunning smile.

"Uhm... I don't think so, Lung. Even though I am the heir of the family, it is Alan's and Merlin's wedding. It is their opinion that matters the most." Kao glanced at Alan, then at Merlin and back to Matt. "I don't know about Alan. But I am sure that Merlin will have her own ideas about her wedding day. Every girl does. I feel that we should take her opinion first."

Pah, Merlin's mother looked at Kao with starry eyes. He looked like the perfect son-in-law she was looking for her daughter.

Matt chuckled hearing Kao. "If we were to listen to her, we would have to hold a wedding with just a handful of people. That is not possible for us, is it?"

"Why is it not possible, lung?" Kao asked. "Intimate weddings are becoming more and more popular nowadays. Personally, I feel that it is a good idea to hold one with just our close relatives and friends rather than making a big deal of the wedding by inviting people we haven't even seen once in a lifetime."

"Kao, your idea may be feasible for lower-class families but we, the Dechaphattanakuns have a face to keep," Saen spoke up.

"It is exactly because we are the Dechaphattanakuns that we have to keep it simple and elegant. Even if invite everyone to the wedding, we will still have to hold a reception after the marriage. If both are to be held, I think it would be too overwhelming and tiring for both of them."

"But, we have to let the public know" Saen frowned. He didn't like any of Kao's suggestions.

"We can invite a few reporters from some of the leading news outlets," Kao suggested. He was enjoying watching his uncle fume.

"That is a good idea, Kao. That way we can concentrate more on the marriage rituals than entertaining all the guests arriving at the marriage." Ann backed her nephew up.

Pah agreed to whatever suggestion Kao was making. She started feeling regretful for not pressuring her husband to insist that their daughter marry Kao.

Alan clenched his fist beneath the dining table as he watched his fiancé blushing and smiling when Kao took her opinion into account.

He hated Kao. He always had. It would be more appropriate to use the word jealous. He hated the fact that despite only being a few months older than him, Kao had gotten the position of heir of the family. He had to work his ass off in their family's company to get to the position he was currently in but Kao could directly join the company as the president just because his grandfather made a will before he died.

The conversation at the table changed to the guest list for the wedding. As there were only close relatives and friends attending, they had to be mindful of whom they invited and whom they didn't.

"So, your youngest son, Boun will be attending the wedding, right? After all, it is his elder brother's wedding." Matt asked.

"No, that faggot is no brother of mine. He will not attend my wedding." Alan spoke up.

Kao's jaws tightened in anger as he heard Alan refer to Boun as a faggot. If not for the guests sitting there, he would have already thrown a punch at Alan's face.

"He is right. Boun is no longer our son. We have already removed him from our family registry.  Someone like him is not welcome at my son's wedding." Saen said.

Kao's knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists to control his anger. he was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

Ann sitting next to him wasn't doing any better. Both of them loved Boun to the core and found Saen and his family's attitude to Boun disgusting.

Boun was disowned by his parents after he came out on his sixteenth birthday. The incident was no secret in the high society.

Ann and her husband Seth had taken on Boun's custody becoming his legal parents.

Mintra noticed her daughter's and grandson's anger and knew that either of them would snap at any moment if the conversation continued. She skilfully diverted the topic away from it.

The tense atmosphere started to dissolve and everyone started chatting casually.

Seth made sure that neither his wife nor his nephew lost their temper throughout the dinner.