My Moon, Chapter 28 pg 1
My Moon, Chapter 28 pg 1
Chapter 28:
PANLI
“As time passes, we tend to feel less sad...”
“By now, there’s hardly any sadness left, right?”
“Mm... just longing remains.”
“...”
“But it’s a longing that doesn’t feel painful... because every time I think of Mom,”
“...”
“I feel warm inside... like she’s still with me always.”
“...”
“Before, I might have felt a bit lonely, but not sad.”
“Klai... now we have each other.”
“Because I has you... that’s why I am this happy.”
“...”
“And Klai believes he’ll keep getting happier.”
“I’ll make sure all of your beliefs come true.”
“...”
“And... your stepmother, is she good to you?”
“...”
“I remembers you once told me about her, but I don’t know much.”
“From what I feels... Ms. Lin is a good person.”
“...”
“Someone who tries to be a good wife, who tries to adapt to others.”
“...”
“Someone I think deserves a chance...”
“...”
“...to become part of the family.”
“My dear one.”
Panli found the conversation he had with Klaijai before bed swirling in his head until he opened his eyes in the morning. He doesn’t know why Klaijai’s words followed Panli into his dreams. If he didn’t remember that they fell asleep talking last night, Panli might have thought that conversation never happened.
Panli blinked rapidly to clear the view in front of him. The white curtains were drawn wide, letting soft sunlight stream through the glass door into his bedroom. He furrowed Panli’s brow slightly when he realized the person in his arms was gone, and Klaijai wasn’t standing on the balcony outside. Panli scanned the room, and the slightly ajar bathroom door told him Klaijai wasn’t in there.
“Klai…”
“…”
“Where are you?”
Panli called out in a hoarse voice while sitting up on the bed, then pushed the thick blanket off his body and quickly walked outside.
“KhunKlai…”
“P-Panli…”
Panli swallowed hard when he saw Klaijai standing with a good-looking middle-aged woman. She blinked rapidly, looking at Panli before shifting her gaze to the smaller figure. His eyes widened when Panli realized he was only wearing a pair of sweatpants.
“Uh, Ms. Lin… this is Panli…”
“…”
“My boyfriend.”
“Oh, I see…”
Panli quickly raised his hands to greet Klaijai’s stepmother. “H-Hello.”
“Hello…”
He sent an apologetic look to Klaijai, and the smaller figure nodded lightly. When Panli pointed toward the bedroom to signal that he’d go get dressed properly, he turned and headed back inside.
Panli grabbed a white towel and draped it over his broad shoulders before stepping into the bathroom. His hand rubbed Panli’s face in frustration as he recalled the awkward scene with the three of them. He prayed that Panli’s first impression with Klaijai’s family wouldn’t be a negative one.
Panli figured Klaijai’s stepmother must have let her imagination run wild, probably to the moon and back, because seeing him shirtless and Klaijai in just an oversized shirt and shorts could lead to all sorts of assumptions. Earlier, Panli wanted to explain that they’ve never even had sex, because he wants to respect Klaijai.
But the awkward situation left Panli speechless. He let out a heavy sigh, stripped off his sweatpants, and reached to turn on the shower. The cold water cascading over Panli’s body did wonders to soothe his burning heart.
Panli didn’t know if it was the cold water or the possessive thoughts that sparked an idea in his head. There’s a silver lining to this situation, Panli thought. If Ms. Lin misunderstood and assumed they’re already deeply involved, and if she told Klaijai’s father about it, his father would surely demand that Panli take responsibility for his precious son.
And Panli would say just one thing…
I’m ready… ready to take responsibility for Klaijai.
I’m dying to take responsibility.
Name the dowry…
I’ll call my Papa to prepare it…
Panli smirked and shook his head lightly, thinking everything seemed to be falling into place for him.
After showering, Panli stood picking out clothes for a while, wanting to look his best. He finally grabbed a white branded polo shirt and dark jeans, spritzed on Panli’s signature cologne, and headed to the living room.
Panli saw Klaijai laughing and smiling with Ms. Lin at the dining table. The sweet-faced person with a gentle smile turned to look at Panli and said…
“I thought the puppy was just going to throw on a shirt.”
“If it was just that… I’d think it wouldn’t look good.”
Panli was still standing at the bedroom door, not walking over to Klaijai, who was sitting with Ms. Lin. He never imagined meeting his lover’s family would be this tough. Right now, Panli didn’t know how to act.
“Well then, I will go take a shower too.”
“…”
“Panli, can you keep Ms. Lin company for a bit?”
Panli nodded and said, “Sure.”
As Panli agreed, Klaijai got up from the chair and walked toward him. He stopped in front of Panli, gave a small smile, then stood on his tiptoes to whisper softly in Panli’s ear…
“Ms. Lin just wants to get to know you, Panli.”
“…”
“Just be yourself… don’t be nervous.”
Panli let out a quiet sigh before whispering back, “Ms. Lin is basically my mother-in-law… how can I not be nervous, KhunKlai?”
Panli watched as Klaijai burst into cheerful laughter and gently brushed a hand across his cheek, as if to encourage him, before pulling away and disappearing into the bedroom. He swallowed the thick lump in Panli’s throat and flashed a smile at Ms. Lin, who was waiting for him. As Panli sat down on the chair across from her, she gave him a friendly smile.
“Hello again, Panli.”
“…”
“Maybe earlier we… weren’t quite prepared.”
“…”
“Nanny Jeab was saying that KhunKlai probably hasn’t had his favorite butter cookies in a while… so I volunteered to bring some for KhunKlai.”
“…”
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