1 Bonheur

“ I just need you and some sunsets. ”

― Atticus Poetry, Love Her Wild

Gulf's POV

It was 7 o'clock in the morning when I heard my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered the phone not knowing who the caller was.

"Mr. Gulf Kanawut Traipipattanapong, may I just remind you what date is it? Look what time is it! We've been waiting for you for a decade already!"

I didn't let him finish talking when a certain someone snapped in my head causing me to jump out of bed.

"Is he with you?" I asked my best friend, Mild, who's probably waiting for so long since it's really hard for me to wake up early.

"Yes-" I immediately grab my shirt and run out of the room to see who's waiting for me.

"... look at how your Dada is."

"My baby! I missed you so much!" It was a sudden boost of happiness when I saw my ball of sunshine running towards me with a cute smile on his face.

He is my serotonin boost.

"Yes, Dada! I missed you too! But, can we go inside already? My feet hurt." He said while pouting which made me laugh. Patience is a word that my baby couldn't manage to perform. He must have inherited it from him. I smiled at that thought.

While looking at my 4-year-old young man, I vow to myself that I will not let him experience the same pain I did. Just by thinking of him hurting, it pains me.

He's probably the best blessing that came to me even though he's not my own.

"Dada, look! It's Mama-Lola!" I snapped out of my thought when I heard Deimos showing me Mild's phone while my mom is on call. Yes, I named him after the moon.

His father loves the moon so much that I named him after it. Well, it serves as a reminder.

"Ma, how are you? Did something happen? You didn't come with Mild and Deimos," I asked, worried that something bad came up. Usually, they come in three. Mild, Mama and Deimos. Since Deimos still needs assistance and guidance from the elders, my mother is the one taking care of him.

"Son, I'm sorry I couldn't come. Y-Your father came home." She reasoned out. I saw fear in her eyes when she mentioned my father; a fear that it would trigger me about my past.

I soon realized that I zoned out for a couple of seconds and my expression went blank so I had to fake a cough to digest the information I've just heard.

"I - Uhm, I think I should go and prepare our breakfast, Ma. I'll let Deimos talk to you." I smiled a bit and said my goodbye's before giving the phone to Deimos.

"Mama-Lola! Mama-Lola! Uncle Mild and I went to church before coming here..." I stared at him talking to his Mama-Lola happily. He's the happiest kid if you bring him to church. He would always say that he prayed to God and thanked him for all the candies he had and that he's sorry if he's being stubborn. What a cute kid.

I left him in the living room and went inside the kitchen. There I saw Mild eating almost half of what's inside the refrigerator.

"Hey! Who told you to eat half of my stock for two weeks? Aren't you aware that that's my food for two weeks?" I yelled at him and he doesn't seem to mind.

"Oh, come on! You're overreacting! Your fridge is just as small as your son," He said, playing jokes with me.

"Oh! By the way, when will you come to work? The CEO is asking me for a while already." He said and literally emphasized the word, "CEO."

What a demon! We're just working in the same company.

The reason why Deimos is here because it's the last day of my leave and also, the 8th of the month is Deimos' day.

I requested one-week leave because I just moved into a new condo, I told them to come on the last day so that I can fix my condo properly.

It took me days to pack and arrange all my stuff because I still work on my unfinished papers so that I could have the approval for my leave and luckily the CEO was kind.

If not, I'd blackmail him if he didn't approve it.

Kidding aside, his younger brother is my long-time ex.

I worked for Tong for about 4 years already and I owe him a lot.

I grabbed my phone and went to message Tong when his name appeared on the screen. I showed Mild the phone and said, "Speaking of the Devil.”

"You're crazy! That's your boss," He said and he was about to smack my head when I had the force to duck.

"Yes? Mr. CEO?" I said, teasing him.

"Hey! Oh please, stop calling me," Mr. CEO", Coconut. It's embarrassing. By the way, it's the 8th today. Is Deimos in your condo already?" He said. Look who's hating the formality but also teasing me with weird nicknames.

"If you want me to stop calling you that, then stop with the "Coconut." Do I look like a coconut?!" I replied, mocking him.

"Why? It's cute. So, my question?" I rolled my eyes and answered him.

"Yes, he's here."

"Great! Can I come? Please?" Just what I was expecting.

"Yeah, sure. Just don't tell anyone" I said and ended the call. He'll probably be hereafter an hour.

I put the phone on the table and was about to cook when I saw Mild looking at me suspiciously. He's been eavesdropping.

"What?" I asked. He's going to tease me again, I bet.

"Hmmm... Am I unaware of something, you slut?" He asked while smiling like a goat. Joke! He'll kill me.

"Bitch! You know everything. And I know what you're thinking, stop it, okay? He's taken for God's sake," I replied to stop him from imagining things between me and Tong. That's weird. He's just helping me to have a stable life and nothing else. He's only fulfilling someone's responsibility.

I've known him for a long time already but I've never felt a thing for him.

”Okaaaay." He replied, still suspecting me.

Just as I finished cooking, Tong arrived with so many gifts and so the hyper Deimos run towards him and gave him a lot of kisses on the cheeks.

"Uncle Tong! I miss you! Wow, too many gifts." The little kiddo said while still in Tong's embrace. Tong has known Deimos since he came and it's such a long story but I'm happy that he's here to support everything in Deimos' life.

"All for you, young man. So, let's eat first and play after. Is that alright, hm?" Tong asked and Deimos agreed happily.

As we gathered at the table, Deimos never fail to invite us to pray before eating and so he led the prayer.

"Papa Jesus, thank you for the food, it's my favorite! I'm really happy because I'm here with my Dada. I hope that he will find his lover soon, he's getting old already," As I heard that, I looked at him only to see that he was praying sincerely with eyes closed.

I saw Mild and Tong looking at him while smiling and both went to face me and gave me a "You're already old!" look. I glared at them but they only laughed.

"...Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Amen." As if on cue, the three of us made the sign of the cross like we weren't playing around while he was praying and started to eat.

"Baby, who taught you that, huh?" I asked.

"Uncle Mild." And pointed Mild. I looked at him intently and he just gave me a peace sign.

"Coconut, can we talk after this?" I heard Tong whispered to me. He's sitting beside Deimos and me. This must be serious because I caught the sign that he didn't want Deimos to hear it.

"Yeah, sure," I said and smiled.

After eating, Mild volunteered to wash the dishes since he said that he's the one who ate a lot. I went to clean the mess Deimos' made and wash him after. He still makes a little mess because he's just 4 years old and surprisingly, he said that he's a big boy and didn't want someone to baby him so he eats by himself.

"Dada, can you open this, please?" Deimos handed me the remote to open the television. He said that it's time to watch his favorite cartoon.

After watching for about 30 minutes already, I saw Deimos sleeping peacefully. He must be tired from waking up early, going to church, and riding the car for about 2-3 hours.

Tong appeared and said that he'll carry him to bed.

When everything is set, Tong sat beside me and started a conversation with random things until,

"I'm engaged." He said and showed me a picture of him and his girl wearing a ring on his ring finger.

"Oh my God! Is that real?" I asked out of excitement.

"Yeah, it is. Besides, I'm not getting any younger, I need to settle down." He's in a serious mood right now and I can't help but laugh because it's so unusual of him. He looked like he's ready to live peacefully.

"Why are you laughing?" He said while also forming a laugh.

"Because you're too serious, it's weird. Anyway, congrats! I'm happy for you, you're a man now! You're not a boy now, you've upgraded," I said and patted his shoulder.

"Look who fell in love with my brother who's as childish as a 3 years old kid." I heard him whispered.

"Hey! I heard that!"

"And so?" He scoffed.

"Oh, you're acting like a girl now? For your information, this is my house. But aside from that, is that what you really want to talk about?" I asked. I thought it was some kind of bad news or something. He should be happy now but why does he look problematic?

"The thing is, I will not be your boss starting the day after tomorrow because I want to start a business of my own, for my future family. I don't want to keep the family's company if ever I'll get married."

Of course, as his secretary, I already know that. He said that he wants to give the company to his brother since he doesn't want to hold any of his parents' businesses.

Wait. Don't tell me...

My eyes went wide open when I realized something that I couldn't think would happen.

"So, you're saying that," I replied as I was trying to match the situation to what I expect to happen.

He looked at me anxiously.

"Uhm, yes. He'll be back tomorrow."

No, no, no. I don't think I can. That's not possible!

I was startled by his statement.

"So, you're saying that the new CEO..." I said trying to think straight but can't. I

cannot even mention his name!

"Yes, exactly. Mew will be handling the company now."

It's like I went deaf and lost with what I heard. After almost what, 5 or 6 years? Does he want to come back? For what? Isn't he happy there already?

It's been so long, why now?