"Baby, Dami and Dada love you a lot." Prem tried to assure his son.
"No! Dami and Dada don't love me anymore!" Bew screamed.
"What makes you think like that baby?" Prem knew the kid wasn't throwing a tantrum and was genuinely distressed.
"Both of you don't even come home anymore. You don't want baby Bew anymore!" Bew wailed.
"It is not like that baby. Dami and Dada just got a little busy with work and couldn't come back home." Prem explained patiently.
Patience was a skill that he learned after he started raising Bew. He understood well that things cannot be rushed in the kid's world.
"You know, Dami had a game this week and Dami won, na. Dami is bringing back the gold medal for you."
"Really?" Bew blinked through the tears.
"Of course, Dami is coming back tomorrow. Dami can't wait to hug our little Bew." Prem said fondly.
"Dami is coming tomorrow?" Bew asked in a small voice.
Prem nodded. His baby boy looked so adorable that he wanted to rush home immediately.
"What about Dada?" Bew was still pouting.
Prem bit his lips. He himself was not sure when Boun will be able to go back home.
He was still mad at Boun until Koi told him that there was an accident in the warehouse and a lot of goods that were supposed to be sent to the client got damaged. Boun and his staff had been working day and night to do damage control and hadn't even had time to get enough sleep.
He understood the reason why Boun hadn't shown up at his games nor contacted him. Even though he was still a bit upset, he wasn't an unreasonable person.
"Dada has got a lot of work, na. He will come home as soon as he finishes it. Then baby, Dami and Dada will have a lot of fun! What do you say?" He asked suggestively.
"Okay!!!" Baby Bew was finally pacified.
The father-son duo talked a lot over the video call until it was time for Bew to go to his daycare.
After hanging up the phone, Prem lay down to sleep. He had a plane to catch the next day.
But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get himself to fall asleep. He couldn't help but feel guilty for jumping to conclusions and being mad at Boun.
He knew of Boun's plight better than anyone else.
Boun was struggling in his company. Thanks to his villain of a father who turned almost every Board member against him and a jerk of an elder brother who spread horrible rumours about him, Boun really had a hard time gaining control over the company that is rightfully his.
Most of them were homophobic and Boun coming out of the closet wasn't helping him either.
Prem felt bad when he thought of the way he talked about Boun to Fluke. He knew that Fluke wouldn't judge Boun based on his words but still, he was unhappy that he himself was badmouthing the older.
"Prem, didn't you promise yourself that you are going to be Hia's safe space? Then why are you behaving like this?" He scolded himself staring at the ceiling.
Over the years, he wasn't the only one who changed, Boun did too. He took his therapy sessions seriously. He was driven to get over his depression.
Prem too accompanied him for family sessions. This always made Boun happy.
Boun also reduced his partying and drinking habits by a large margin. He changed from a reckless boy to a responsible family man.
Prem ended up slipping into a deep sleep as he wished that he could get back home as soon as he could.
✨✨✨
"Argh! Finally!" Boun stretched himself. He and his staff had successfully met the client's needs without creating much loss for the company.
Everyone was cheering. Just like him, they had also been working twenty-four-seven to cover up the damage done by the accident.
Half of the goods that were to be supplied to the client had gotten damaged. The client was a major one and not being able to supply the goods on time would mean losing them.
The company was left with no option but to do everything within its power to produce new goods to replace the damaged ones before the due date was up.
It turned out to be a very difficult task considering that they had to start from the basics of needing to collect raw materials for production.
Boun had been making calls here and there, to the suppliers to the factories for lending machinery and so on. It was a total madness.
"I can't believe we managed to finish the order, four days prior to the due date," Boun said with a huge smile. He turned and saw his secretary looking at him awkwardly. "What is it, James?"
"Well, Khun Boun, the due date is tomorrow" James answered.
"Huh?"
"Today is Friday," James revealed.
"What?" Boun said in shock. He got so busy with work that he lost track of time.
"You missed Khun Prem's finals," James informed with sympathy. His boss was supposed to take the flight to London on Tuesday as the Wimbledon finals were scheduled for Thursday.
Boun immediately took his tablet and searched for the news. As he expected his Pao had indeed won medals for their country.
He looked at the photos attached to the news article. His Pao wasn't smiling at all.
He then checked his phone. No calls or messages from Prem. He was sure that his Pao is super pissed at him. He himself was super pissed at him.
"James book me a ticket to London! I am going home to get my passport." Boun grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the office.
"But Khun Boun, Khun Prem is coming back today." James's words were unheard as Boun already reached the elevator.
He quickly got inside his car and drove off to his house.
"How could you, Boun? How could you? Don't you know how badly Pao wanted you there? How could you not be there for him? Damn it!" Boun punched the steering wheel to let out his anger.
His anger rose as he got stuck in the traffic. He was hoping that there would be plane tickets available.
When the lights turned green and the traffic started moving, he stomped down on the accelerator and drove like a madman to get back home as fast as he could.
Boun didn't bother parking his car in the garage. He parked it right in front of the house as he would be driving back to the airport.
It was only noon. So Bew was in school and Koi was yet to pick him up. The house was empty.
He rushed in, almost tripping on the carpet towards his room and started searching for his passport. As it was usually Prem who arranged stuff inside the room he didn't have a clear idea where his passport was.
Somehow, he found it. He picked up a duffle bag and packed some clothes and other necessities in a hurry.
All of a sudden he felt a hand wrapping around his waist.
"Going somewhere, Khun Boun?"