Belated Faith

“Attention, respected visitors. All those waiting for Flight No. 143XX, arriving from New York to Bangkok, are kindly requested to prepare to welcome your loved ones. The flight has successfully landed after experiencing severe turbulence. Passengers are now arriving at the terminal. Thank you for your patience.”

The announcement was the only thing I could hear besides the frantic beating of my heart in the tense atmosphere of Bangkok International Airport. But the moment I heard that the flight had landed safely, something inside me finally eased. My heartbeat, which had been racing with worry for hours, slowly began to calm.

He was safe. He had landed.

After six long months of waiting for the person I loved the most, I finally knew that he was here, safe and sound. And somehow, just knowing that was enough to make the whole world around me feel quiet again.

It’s been five years since we started dating. Well, I won’t say it has always been perfect. Sometimes, he would ignore me as if I never existed. And sometimes, he would come home late at night just to hold me tight and fall asleep beside me.

Our relationship has had its own share of turbulence, but somehow, through every storm, every fight, every silence, and every difficult moment, I managed to keep us going.

And today, after five long years, I feel like we’ve finally landed safely.

Because today, I’m going to propose to him.

I’m finally going to ask him to stay with me—not just for another year, or another five years, but forever.

I’ve been waiting for this moment since the very first day we started dating. And now, it’s finally here.

I even met his Favorite Jewellery Designer and had our rings custom-made—something completely unique, something that belonged only to us.

They were a pair of interlocking rings. When placed together, the two rings formed a single, continuous line around the finger, symbolizing two separate lives that had somehow found their way back to each other.

Simple, but meaningful.

I wanted our rings to carry a piece of our story—the years we had spent together, the turbulence we had survived, and all the moments that had somehow brought us here.

Lost in my thoughts, I held the bouquet I had bought for him tightly in my hands. Lilies—his favorite.

With my other hand, I shyly touched the small ring box hidden in my right pocket, making sure it was still there. Everything was ready. The flowers, the rings, the proposal… all I had to do now was wait.

Wait for him to walk out of those airport doors.

After six months of seeing him only through a screen, I was finally going to have him standing right in front of me—not virtually, not through a phone, but in reality.

I could barely contain my excitement.

I had waited long enough.

And now, I just wanted him to come outside.

Mr. Karo smiled beside me, clearly knowing just how happy and shy I was at that moment. He calmly placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, as if silently reminding me that everything would be alright.

“Young Master, calm down. Everything will be okay. It’ll be great, too. Don’t worry,” he said gently.

After another thirty minutes of waiting, the passengers finally began making their way out of the airport.

One by one, their loved ones rushed toward them. Some hugged each other tightly, some laughed through tears, and some simply stood there for a moment, as if they couldn't believe they were finally together again.

The flight had taken nearly an extra seven hours because of the weather. They had been forced to land somewhere in between before continuing their journey, and after that, they had faced terrifying turbulence.

An elderly grandmother kissed her grandson's forehead, her eyes nearly filling with tears.

Watching them, I couldn't help but feel that perhaps God had been testing all of us with the same thing—patience.

The entire receiving area was crowded with people, but he was nowhere to be seen.

My heart tightened a little.

And then, I saw him.

There he was.

One hand casually tucked into his pocket, walking as though he owned the entire world—as he always did. There was something effortlessly commanding about the way he carried himself.

Handsome. Calm. Unbothered.

And somehow, even after six months, I knew him the moment I saw him.

The crowd in front of him slowly cleared, giving me a better view.

And then I saw something I had least expected to see at that moment.

He was holding the hand of a shorter man.

Firmly, yet carefully. Almost protectively.

And he was smiling at him.

Not the small, occasional smile I had seen during our five years together. Not once in my entire life with him had he looked at me the way he was looking at that man now.

They looked so gentle together.

The man beside him had puffy, tear-stained eyes, as though he had cried his heart out only minutes ago. He gently brushed away the last remaining tear from the corner of his eyes before slipping his free hand back into his pocket.

But he never let go of the man's hand.

Not even for a second.

I stood there, frozen, still holding the bouquet of lilies tightly in my hands.

For some reason, the ring box in my pocket suddenly felt much heavier.

Mr. Karo noticed the sudden change in my expression. His smile faded slightly as he followed my gaze toward the two of them.

For a moment, he simply looked in the same direction, almost completely unbothered by what he was seeing.

Then he turned toward me and asked in the same calm, composed tone he always carried when speaking to me,

“Young Master, should we just return to the residence?”

Only then did I blink and look back at him, still carrying the same stunned expression.

“Maybe… they’re just friends,” I said quietly. “Yeah. Just friends. What else could they be?”

I tried to convince myself of it, but even to my own ears, it sounded more like a question than a confirmation.

When I turned back toward him, he was already standing only a few steps away from me.

But the smile I had seen on his face moments ago was gone, as if it had never existed.

“No one told me you were coming here to welcome me back,” he said.

I struggled to arrange my thoughts into something that sounded normal.

“I… well, I thought it would be a surprise for you.” I paused, then added under my breath, “And for me too.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

I forced a smile.

“Well, welcome back to your homeland. It’s been six whole months…”

I hesitated before correcting myself.

“Or, I should say, six months, eight days, two hours, and thirty minutes.” I added shyly and hesitated.

I quickly placed the bouquet into his hands, almost as if I wanted to get rid of it as fast as possible.

Then I turned toward the shorter man standing beside him.

“Anyway… sorry, but hello to you too. I hope you had a nice trip. Welcome to Bangkok.”

“Well, may I ask how I should address you? You must be Sak’s friend.”

I put on the same polite smile I used when meeting clients and extended my hand toward him.

“I hope we can be friends too.”

He returned the same polite, almost painfully familiar smile and took my hand.

“Well, I’m Teek,” he said calmly. “And I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for a friend.”

He gently gestured toward the man standing beside him.

“I’m the one he loves.”

Sak didn't say a word.

He simply stood there, silently accepting Teek's words as though there was nothing to deny.

Then, without turning back, he walked forward and called out to me,

“I assume you'll escort me to my mansion, as per the plan you made?”

Before I could answer, he kept walking.

As if nothing had happened.

As if my entire world hadn't just shifted beneath my feet.

I left the ring box tucked tightly inside my pocket and hurried after him.

“Yes… please, this way,” I said, forcing myself to sound as normal as possible.

I wasn't just his boyfriend of five years—or, I suppose, I should correct myself now.

I had been his boyfriend for five years.

I had also been his personal secretary for all those years, handling his schedules, meetings, appointments, and practically everything that needed to be taken care of whenever he was in the main city of Thailand.

For five years, I had known his routines, his preferences, his moods, and even the smallest details of his life.

Yet somehow, standing behind him now, I felt like I didn't know him at all.

Mr. Karo followed me silently.

But somehow, even his silence carried a certain depth. Whenever I was in shock, he knew better than to force words out of me. He would simply stay quiet and give me the time I needed to gather myself again. Perhaps, by tonight, over a few drinks, I would finally be able to clear my head enough to understand what had just happened.

The entire journey back to the Rattanakorn Estate passed in complete silence.

Sak never once tried to explain anything to me.

Not a single word.

He simply kept holding the hand of the person he didn't even bother to introduce and walked through the massive oak doors of the estate, leaving me standing behind them—confused, shocked, and completely broken.

Just an hour ago, I had been planning what I thought would be our perfect life together.

I had been holding his favorite flowers in my hands.

A ring meant for forever was tucked inside my pocket.

And now, the person I had spent five years loving couldn't even bring himself to explain what was happening.

Not even once.

I didn't stand there for long.

I turned around and walked back toward my car.

Mr. Kinn, the caretaker of the estate, noticed me and gently asked me to come inside, but I politely refused. I didn't have the strength to step through those doors again—not tonight.

Mr. Karo followed me quietly, and together we left for my residence.

My home.

My one and only safe place from now on.

The moment I arrived, I went straight to my room, shut the door with a heavy thud, and collapsed onto my bed.

For the first time that day, I finally allowed myself to stop pretending that I was okay.

I don't know when I closed my eyes, but my sleep was soon broken by a phone call.

It was Mr. Rattanakorn— Sak's father.

He asked me to come to the estate as soon as possible. He said there was something important he needed to discuss with me, and he needed to talk to me right away.

I already knew what he wanted to discuss.

The new stranger in the estate.

The person his son had held so carefully, so lovingly—the person he had called his beloved.

I answered with nothing more than a heavy, “Hmm,” before ending the call.

I went straight to the bathroom, washed away the tear marks from my face, and prepared myself for the meeting.

Another visit to that estate.

Another cage waiting for me.

After all, I was still the personal secretary of the heir to one of the most powerful families in the city—a position I had chosen for myself years ago.

I called Mr. Karo. I might need him after returning from such a tense environment, so I told him about the phone call and asked him to stay available.

When he returned, he simply looked at me and said,

“I'll wait for you outside, Young Master.”

I answered with a quiet, “Hmm.”

Then my hand instinctively went to my pocket.

The rings.

The so-called symbol of our love.

I took the little box out and looked at it for a moment before carrying it with me.

Mr. Karo glanced at it, his eyes filled with a silent question.

I didn't explain anything.

Perhaps he already understood.

Because, he didn't asked anything.

On the way back to the estate, I asked Mr. Karo to stop near the edge of the sea.

I stepped out without saying a word.

The box felt strangely heavy in my hand. I opened it one last time and looked at the rings—the future I had planned, the promise I had been carrying with me, the life I had imagined for us.

For a moment, I just stood there.

Then I closed my fingers around the box and threw the rings into the sea.

I watched them disappear beneath the waves.

Perhaps that was the only goodbye I could give to the future I had been dreaming about for so long.

I turned away from the water and walked back to the car without looking behind me.

When I reached the massive oak doors, I forced a smile at Mr. Karo before stepping inside.

The main hall was filled with members of the Rattanakorn family.

The moment I entered, every pair of eyes turned toward me.

Some looked at me with pity.

Others wore faint, mocking smiles.

And among all of them, there was only one person whose face carried absolutely no expression.

The one person I had desperately expected to show me something—anything—at that moment.

Sak.

Mr. Rattanakorn walked toward me and gently but firmly took both of my hands in his.

“Son, should we talk in the meeting room?”

I simply nodded.

One by one, the family members followed us into the meeting hall.

It was strange.

Just five years ago, we had all gathered in this very room for a completely different reason.

Back then, we had sat around this same table, discussing the future and making plans for the years ahead. Plans that included me becoming permanently tied to the Rattanakorn family through marriage to their eldest heir.

Five years later, we were gathered in the exact same room.

But this time, we weren't here to plan my future with him.

We were here to discuss something that felt like the complete opposite of everything we had once planned.

For almost an hour, I stood there like a statue.

They spoke one after another, laying out their thoughts, their opinions, and everything they believed needed to be discussed. But I barely understood any of it. Their voices reached my ears, yet none of the words seemed to make sense.

My mind was somewhere else.

Mr. Rattanakorn eventually looked at me.

“What do you think?”

I blinked, pulled out of my thoughts.

“Sorry… what?”

He repeated himself, his voice gentler this time.

“What do you think about the future now, after everything has been put on the table?”

I remained silent for a moment.

Then, in the same monotonous voice I had been carrying since the moment I saw Sak at the airport, I finally answered,

“Can I please talk to Mr. Adisak privately… just once?”

He nodded.

“Yes, son. I personally think the two of you should talk this out privately.”

We left the meeting room and walked toward the backyard garden—my favorite place in the entire estate.

I stopped and turned toward him.

He was still standing there as though nothing had happened.

That was when I finally lost my composure.

I grabbed the front of his collar, my hands trembling.

“What do you think I am?” I asked, my voice breaking. “How could you keep all of this from me for six months? Why didn't you tell me? And why won't you even explain yourself now? Why did you do this?”

He looked at me calmly.

“Don't you know why?”

His voice was painfully steady.

“At first, I thought you would be a great partner. Someone who could support me, both personally and professionally. But in the end…”

He paused.

“You're simply someone who doesn't know how to love.”

I froze.

“That was my mistake. How could I have expected someone who grew up without love to become the comfort I was looking for?”

My hands slowly loosened around his collar.

“You're emotionally distant,” he continued. “You never experienced the kind of love I needed you to understand. So how could I expect you to give me something you never received yourself?”

I stared at him, unable to process what I was hearing.

“What… what are you trying to say?”

He looked directly at me.

“A person who has never experienced family love has no love to share.”

Something inside me broke.

I couldn't find a single word to answer him.

He turned away.

“I'm going to be with him now. Find someone else.”

He took a few steps before stopping one last time.

“And I don't want to see you in front of me again. Leave your position as soon as you can.”

His voice became colder.

“Before I even forget that you were once my secretary.”

I lost every bit of myself there.

My legs gave out, and I dropped to the ground, burying my face in the soil as the tears finally came without restraint. I don't know how long I stayed there. I only knew that, for the first time in five years, I had nothing left to hold on to.

After a while, I forced myself back into the meeting hall.

Everyone was still there.

I stood before them, somehow managing to keep my voice steady and announced.

“I, Kulapeccha Hemanta, hereby call off the marriage that was previously decided, willingly and without any objection. And I am also resigning from my position as Mr. Adisak Rattanakorn's secretary.”

I lowered my gaze.

“Farewell, Mr. Rattanakorn.”

Mr. Rattanakorn immediately spoke.

“At least don't leave your position, son.”

I didn't answer him.

“I'll submit my resignation tomorrow,” I said quietly. “And I'll leave the company.”

Then I turned around.

I didn't look back.

Not at the meeting room.

Not at the people who had once going to be my second family.

Not even at the massive oak doors that had witnessed so many moments of my life.

I walked outside.

Mr. Karo was standing beside my car, waiting for me.

The moment I saw him, whatever strength I had been holding onto disappeared.

I walked straight into his arms and broke down.

I cried like I hadn't allowed myself to cry in years.

After losing my parents, Mr. Karo had been the only guardian I truly had. He had been both a fatherly and motherly presence in my life—the person I could finally fall apart in front of without having to explain why.

I don't remember the journey home.

At some point, I found myself sitting at the dining table in my residence.

Mr. Karo quietly went to bring out the drinks, following our little tradition whenever life became too difficult to swallow.

He poured my glass, then looked at me for a long moment.

“Would you care to explain what happened there?”