Guilty as Gorgeous | Chapter 24
The maid averted her eyes, clearly in disagreement. She had weathered Nisakorn's emotional storms far too often, especially lately, as the tension between the young woman and her father grew increasingly cold. She only stayed because the rest of the household was kind and the salary was far more generous than elsewhere.
"Are you really going in, Ms. Si?"
"Mhm. You head downstairs. Just in case P'Ni wants something to eat."
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?"
"I'm sure." Sasithorn gave a weary shake of her head and knocked on the door as the maid slowly descended the stairs to keep watch.
"P'Ni? Is everything alright? Can I come in?"
"Get lost! Stay the hell away from me!"
"I won't bother you. I'll just help tidy up, find you something to eat, and then I'll leave."
"Isn't tomorrow your birthday? Why aren't you off groveling to Father?"
"I was only born on one day; the others are just anniversaries. P'Ni, please open the door and talk to me."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"But I'm worried. You can vent to your sister, you know."
"I don't need a listener. In this house, aside from Mother, everyone is on Father's side. Including you."
"We're his children. When it comes to the adults' business, I don't take sides."
"Easy for you to say—you're not the one he's constantly berating like me. He even chooses a mistress over his own daughter."
"Father is a fair man. That's all in the past now. P'Ni, please don't dwell on it."
"If he's so fair, then you're saying I'm the one in the wrong."
"No one is wrong. You're just angry on Mother's behalf. I understand."
"What are you, a saint? Understanding everyone like that? Out! I don't want to talk to you. Get lost!"
"What happened, Ms. Si?"
"Uncle Banphot." Sasithorn quickly turned with a smile, offering a respectful wai to the family lawyer. "It's nothing. Are you finished with Father? I was hoping to consult you about the company's contract clauses."
"Just finished and about to head out, but I heard the noise and came up out of concern."
Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open. The owner stood there, her face a mask of thunderous hostility.
"Is it your business to be up here? You're just a corporate lackey, not a member of my family."
"I wouldn't presume to be," the lawyer, a former temple boy, replied with a calm, unbothered demeanor. "But Mr. Bancha asked me to check in. He was dressing for a gala, and since his study is directly beneath your bedroom, he heard the commotion."
"Hmph. Is Father worried about me, or something else entirely?"
"He's worried you've lacked the breeding to know how to respect anyone, to the point that you summon Banphot by the scruff of his neck as if he were your personal slave."
Her father's voice boomed as he waved the maid away. Both Banphot and Sasithorn looked visibly uncomfortable.
"A person working for a salary—no matter how fancy you call them—the meaning is still just a servant, isn't it?"
"Then I suppose you're just a servant to the network, the producers, the organizers, and every client who hires you to work for them."
"Ni didn't…" The young woman choked on her words, biting her lip. Her father was the only person who could rebuke her so mercilessly.
"Or do you care to argue? Someone like you could never lead anyone, Ni. You lack discipline, you lack self-control, and most importantly, you don't know the value of the people around you. You pay them, and you get the work, but you'll never earn their loyalty or their hearts."
The daughter bit her lip, unable to counter him despite her flushed face. Bancha then turned to his trusted lawyer and his younger daughter.
"Si, Banphot, go wait downstairs. I need a moment with Ni."
"Yes, Mr. Bancha." / "Yes, Father."
Once they were alone, Bancha stepped forward to face his daughter, whose eyes were reddening with resentment.
"How much longer are you going to act like this, Ni?"
"I don't look down on every employee. But your 'trusted associate' insulted me behind my back. He claimed that if I weren't your daughter, I wouldn't have any work handed to me. Even though I work hard and never rely on your influence!"
"When did Banphot say this?"
"Over two years ago." She tilted her chin up, harboring the sting of a 'secret' Banphot had shared with Ratee—something far more damaging that she didn't dare mention. "But you won't believe me. You'll just say I'm slandering him."
"Who was he talking to?"
"Your precious little P.A., of course. So demure to your face, but gossiping about the boss's family behind your back. How can I respect people like that? I can't bring myself to do it."
"Listen to me, Ni." Bancha stepped closer, gripping both of her shoulders. "You can't stop people from talking. Have you never spoken ill of a friend? Even your best friend?"
"Friends are different."
"Banphot and Ratee are human, just like us. They have desires; they have tempers. And you? You've been on a rampage, lashing out because you didn't get your way—both when you had problems with me and by being vulgar to the staff. Even I wasn't spared, until everyone is left dizzy by your antics."
"You have a mistress, and you side with her over your own child!"
"When will you stop looking at the world solely from your own perspective?" her father asked wearily. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are to have been born to 'your mother' and 'I'? Yet you show no gratitude for your own fortune."
Regardless of his intended meaning… Nisakorn interpreted it through the lens of the stain on her soul.
How lucky you were to have been born to 'your mother' and 'I'. 'I', not 'Father'. And 'your mother' sounded as if there were no bond of husband and wife. If she were his daughter, why must she 'show gratitude' for the fortune of having a father and a mother?
Nisakorn swallowed her bitterness.
"You don't believe me, do you, Father?"
"I believe you," Bancha nodded. "But I think Banphot and Ratee spoke because they had reached their limit with a defiant child like you. Every time a problem arises, you're busy blaming others and never looking at yourself. This attitude will make it impossible for you to coexist with anyone if you didn't have your family to support you as you do now."
"So even you think I only have work because of the family's influence?"
"Your drama producers have called me two or three times. The network executives called your mother once regarding your lack of discipline, your disrespect toward colleagues, and your difficulty in working with others. It's been weighing on her. What do you think about that?"
The question left her stunned and speechless, her face cold. She never knew that her mother's constant lectures on poise and strictness had stemmed from this. Finding out last, after the 'servants,' was a humiliation so profound she forgot the man rebuking her was her father.
"Why didn't you ever tell me? Why save it to throw in my face now?"
"Because I wanted you to grow up and adjust on your own. As for your mother, she was likely afraid you'd overthink it until you didn't want to go to work, or that you'd hold a grudge against your colleagues. But I suppose I was wrong—your character is beyond repair. Even after the expensive lesson you were taught."
"That business with the mistress ended a long time ago. How many more times are you going to throw it back at me!?"
"If it were as 'ended' as you claim, you'd have stopped calling Shanya a mistress. You wouldn't be harboring this vendetta until you're back here screaming and wailing because you think she's going to steal your man. But I warned you about Panthakant, didn't I?"
"So you do know she's out there seducing my man," she sneered, hoping for a counterstrike.
"Shanya isn't as calculating as you, Ni," Bancha said with a weary look. "If anyone is the cause of this, it's likely only the man you call 'yours.' But you'd better ask him first if he actually wants to be tied down to you. Otherwise, you'll just end up embarrassing yourself."
"Are you saying Wes would choose her over his own daughter?"
"You already know the answer if you stop lying to yourself. Sit down and get a grip. Once you've cooled off, go apologize to Banphot. Furthermore, I am forbidding you from ever addressing our employees by the scruff of their necks again, no matter their rank. Otherwise, you will regret it."
Having finished, Bancha checked his watch and turned to walk down the stairs. He left his daughter staring after him with eyes that blazed with fury. Her heart was packed with more resentment and bitterness than ever before.
Not only did he fail to see her as a daughter, but Bancha looked down on her, saw no value in her, and berated her while siding with everyone but her.
"I hate you, Father… I hate you, Shanya!"
Enough with the patience. Enough with the fear of punishment from a father who never truly saw her.
If she were his daughter, would Bancha see others as better than her? To the point of thinking Panthakant would choose a mistress over his own flesh and blood? How many times had Phutphitchaya shamelessly snatched away what should have been hers, while her father continued to take her side, forever enchanted by her charms?
She was certain that woman was intentionally blocking her path to love with Panthakant.
The slender figure turned back into the room, quickly locking every bolt. She rushed over to lift the heavy mattress with trembling hands, clutching the paraphernalia and the plastic packet hidden within. She whispered comforts to herself…
She wasn't addicted. She just needed something to soothe the stress and the burning anguish for a moment.
Tomorrow, once she defeated her father and Phutphitchaya, she would quit for good. No one ever had to know!