Guilty as Gorgeous | Chapter 12
"I have no intention of insulting you. I only wish for my son to be exonerated, or at least have his sentence commuted, because your daughter is just as guilty for instigating him. Thas would never have conceived such a vile plan on his own."
"Everyone knows exactly what kind of man your son is—it's because he has a mother who constantly backs him up!"
"Every mother's heart is the same. Otherwise, you wouldn't be trying to protect your own child while flinging filth at my son alone. Doesn't that make us the same kind of people?"
The deep sarcasm left Khaekhai both enraged and humiliated, unable to muster a retort.
"It's not that I don't want to help, but Bancha will never let this go easily."
"If I am cornered, I will fight with everything I have. My financial power may not be equal to yours, but I certainly won't suffer alone."
That threat placed Khaekhai in a desperate position. On one side was her husband, on the other, her daughter—all while she had to wrestle with the conscience of an adult who understood right from wrong after half a lifetime of experience. Although Nisakorn insisted she hadn't masterminded the plan, Khaekhai had raised her; she knew only too well how fiercely her eldest daughter could love and hate.
With no other choice, Khaekhai braved a confrontation with her husband, leading to a heated argument.
"You may have lost all affection for me, letting any number of women insult me, but I ask you one more time—for the sake of this family. Regardless of her faults..." Her eyes welled with tears, causing Bancha's heart to sink. "Ni is still our daughter."
Ultimately, Manika's threats hit their mark. Bancha relented, reluctantly instructing the lawyer he had hired for Phutphitchaya to withdraw the charges as the complainant, leaving the law to take its course behind closed doors.
As expected, Methas soon walked free. Not a single media outlet reported the story, save for a few blind items in gossip columns that named no names.
However, the one who suffered the most was Watshon. Even though Sia Maitree knew Nisakorn had sent the wrong woman, his lecherous nature led him to subject her to ultimate humiliation. She chose not to press charges, knowing that if the news leaked, her future would be utterly destroyed.
Yet, Watshon's misfortune did not end there; it sat waiting for the day it would repeat itself, growing even worse—a consequence that only Nisakorn truly knew. For Watshon dared not tell anyone, not even Phutphitchaya...
That past had occurred over two years ago. Yet, it continued to haunt everyone involved.
Khaekhai stepped out to recline alone in the living room after dinner, lost in thought. Her sons and their families had headed home, her daughters had retreated to their private rooms, and her husband was in his office speaking with Bunphot.
"Ni is sorry about what happened at the table."
The voice of her eldest daughter at the door caused Khaekhai to lower the unread book in her hand and sit up straight.
"Ni shouldn't have raised her voice at Father."
"I was just so angry. Mother, did you know? Father had Ratee buy diamonds."
Ratee was Bancha's PA—his personal assistant who operated with a fierce efficiency, keeping his private affairs hidden even from those within the Thanaphatwanich household. She was trusted implicitly. The only person Ratee spoke openly with was Bunphot, whom Bancha trusted just as deeply.
"Sasithorn's birthday is only a few days away. Perhaps Father is finding a gift for your sister?"
"That's exactly what I suspect," the young woman said, sitting on the sofa beside her mother. Her face was clouded with a lingering resentment. "A few days ago, that woman went to see Father. I heard the staff at the company talking about these diamonds, so I checked. You won't believe it, Mother."
Khaekhai used silence and a steady gaze as her question. Her daughter made a face of utter disgust at her mother's composure.
"Shanya was born in the same month as Sasithorn—only one day apart."
"I thought she was older than Sasithorn."
"She's three years older, but born in the same month. I'm starting to wonder exactly who Father intended those diamonds for."
Khaekhai looked away, even as her own heart began to burn. She was accustomed to maintaining her decorum before the servants, refusing to become fodder for gossip. Past failures had taught her much.
"Father has many little houses. He buys houses for some, cars for others."
"But it's not the same with this one. At the very least, Father has never taken those women to dine in hotels, never let them come to the office, or allowed them to harass us. He's never driven them home or found them work. Even that man Bunphot calls her 'Miss Shanya' with every breath. In the old days, people would have thought she was the Second Mistress after you, because Father has elevated her to be your equal."
The young woman spoke of the family lawyer with blatant irritation; she had never liked him. While Bunphot was affectionate and humble toward the other children—especially the submissive Sasithorn—with her, the old servant often looked at her with a gaze of weary exhaustion, despite keeping his expression calm.
"Why are you so certain this girl is still... your father's mistress?"
"If she isn't, why would she keep visiting him and becoming the subject of gossip? She knows well enough that Thai society is dead-set against infidelity. Seeing each other this often can't just be about work. Her contract ended months ago, yet she's still in contact. What business could someone like her have with a man of Father's stature? Except for that kind of business."
"Lower your voice," Khaekhai warned, looking at her daughter as if seeing a mirror of her past self—the very thing that ensured her marriage to Bancha could never be mended. "Why can't you ever control your emotions?"
"I'm sorry. I can control them—unless it's about Shanya."
"Are you still angry that your father struck you?"
"Father intended to slap me to protect her. He called me wrong."
Nisakorn argued, her face flushed, her cheek twitching at the memory of her father's hand striking her with such violence. The leading lady never admitted to anyone, not even her mother, that she was at fault. Her obsession with winning, her vengeful nature, and her immense ego were so strong she could not allow herself to be in the wrong, even after the lessons she had learned.
Watching that woman be loved by everyone while she herself suffered was a form of torture. Because of that, Nisakorn didn't care about returning to a casual fling with Methas—using him as a hand to write 'scandalous' gossip and spread foul rumors through word of mouth, until some began to turn against the villain actress and question her behavior.
"You should forgive your father. You were the one being aggressive first."
"Even though she's the one causing you such heartache, Mother?"
"..." Khaekhai let out a heavy sigh, offering nothing more than a darkened gaze.
The mother's reaction calmed Nisakorn. she leaned in to embrace her mother's waist affectionately. Though her feelings toward her father were filled with resentment, hurt, and a bitterness that was often indistinguishable from hate, the young woman still yielded to the mother who always protected her.
"Ni is sorry."
"About the diamonds... if your father wants to buy them for someone, let him."
"But it's our money."
"We still have enough," Khaekhai frowned. "Or are you short on cash again, Ni?"
"I just don't want our family's wealth being transferred to that mistress through the things Father keeps buying her."
"You haven't had enough money to cover your expenses these past four or five months, even though you've had work constantly." Khaekhai asked suspiciously, for Nisakorn had rarely asked for extra money once her career in the industry began to take off.
"I've taken fewer jobs because I've been so stressed that my health hasn't been great," the actress made an excuse, avoiding her mother's eyes guiltily. "Besides, work in this industry... you know the expenses follow you like a shadow. I can't wear the same outfit twice, I have to change my bags every month, and I just bought a new car. Three months ago, I was in Europe. Are you angry that I'm asking for more allowance, Mother?"
"I'm worried you don't know how to manage your money. Being lucky enough to be wealthier than others doesn't mean we can spend extravagantly. You should save where you can, dear."
She lectured her, observing the evasive gaze with curiosity.
"I've been a bit too free with my spending. I promise I won't ask to borrow from you again next month."
"Everyone's expenses must be reported to your father, even if it's a loan." Khaekhai said this, but she always used her personal funds to top up the accounts instead, so Bancha never knew which of his children had financial problems. Over time, it had accumulated into a larger sum than she realized.
"We have to be frugal, yet he lavishes it all on that mistress."
"Your father has never caused us any hardship. I don't like you being this aggressive."
"Ni is just worried about our wealth."
"If you're worried, start by managing your own financial discipline before you worry about others."
"Yes, Mother."
She answered meekly, lowering her eyelids over a fierce glint. Since the incident and the final argument with her father, it seemed her mother had grown increasingly resigned, which only infuriated her daughter. Khaekhai allowed her husband to do as he pleased, even as the scandalous news of Bancha and the villain actress increased until people began to gossip openly.
With such a foul reputation, that woman still dared to show her face without shame. If left alone, it wouldn't be long before she bled her father dry and seized all her family's wealth.
If her mother wouldn't do anything... then she would be the one to act!