The trial of Mr Suriyon and Mr Haton became the news headline. It causes a stir not only in the business world but within the general population as a whole since the impact that Anada Holdings has in Thailand. However, with the help of Mr Tharathep, he managed to convince the other investors to remain by holding an emergency meeting to execute the motion of dismissing Mr Suriyon as the chairman of Anada Holdings. It was agreed upon that Arthit would be taking over under the mentorship of a trusted executive that the shareholders had voted on. Arthit was hesitant at first but Mr Tharathep assured Arthit that the position offered to him is his rightful place and that he has earned it. He strongly believes that Anada Holdings needs a leader like Arthit at the helm to ensure that there would not be a repeat of such incidents. Furthermore, Mr Tharathep told Arthit that it was now his chance to do what he wishes for the well-being of his employees with the full support from him.

The proposition that Wanfahmai had offered to Mr Haton, was immediately carried out after the evidences were verified. Both his wife and daughter were sent abroad to start a new life, away from the scrutiny of the public, after Mr Haton convinces them that it was his only way to protect them, now that he’s in custody. And as for Prof. Arthichard, he decided to head back to England even before the final trial were held because as much as he wanted to see his uncle being held accountable for his parents’ death, he also could not bear to see his own uncle be sentenced by the judge. However, for Arthit, he did not really have a choice to back off since he was the sole son of Mr Suriyon. He had informed his mother over the phone and updated her about what had happened. She wanted to head back to Thailand to be with her husband, but Arthit was in tears as he pleaded with her to remain there.

“Mom… Please… Listen to me this time… It’s not going to help with anything if you’re here… It will only hurt me more to see you get hurt when dad is sentenced. Honestly mom, there’s too much on my plate at the moment… And I don’t think I can add any more to it… If you wish to talk to him… I’ll see what I can do to help with that… So please… For once… Do this for me… As your son…” stated Arthit with much difficulty before he hung up the phone. Wanfahmai who was with him at that time, walked towards him and hugged him tight from the back in silence as Arthit continued to cry before she told him, “P’Arthit… You are not alone… We can get this through together…”

The sentencing for the lawsuit was scheduled first in the civil court. The people of Ratchaburi managed to be compensated for the problems that the company had caused to that province. Each family living within the stipulated radius and every single employee who had worked for the company were given their rightful share with the money that Mr Suriyon and Mr Haton had personally gained from running the factory. As for the other province that was affected before, investigations were still ongoing as most evidences were destroyed and time was needed to piece information together before a lawsuit could be filed.

After a couple of weeks, the sentencing of Mr Suriyon and Mr Haton in regards to the death of Prof. Arthichard’s parents were held at a criminal court. The final arguments between the prosecutor and the defence lawyers were heated especially Mr Suriyon’s as Mr Haton had already come to terms with the situation and was more than willing to be held accountable for what he had done, after the meetings he had with Wanfahmai and Mr Tharathep. He had told his defence lawyer to accept the plea deal, which would mean that his life would be spared, on top of the fact that he was deemed to be doing it under pressure inflicted by Mr Suriyon. Witnesses and victims that had come out upon hearing the news of Mr Suriyon’s arrest, told the court how they had suffered at the hands of Mr Suriyon in the previous court sessions. The consequences that they had to bear for going against his wishes, with the least being dismissal from the job. These incidents happened after he had just taken over the company upon the death of his brother, gaining complete control when his father fell ill due to deep grievances after he lost his beloved son, which contributed to his passing too not long after. The accounts provided by the people who had worked for him only serve to prove that he was a threat and that he had no qualms about it as long as the end justifies the means.

Arthit who had been following and listening to what his father had done became visibly shaken during the closing statement. Wanfahmai who had been accompanying him throughout the trial held onto his hand tight as they wait for the judge to issue the sentencing.

The court hereby sentenced Suriyon Suriyakkul to a life sentence, with parole after 25 years…

As soon as Arthit heard the sentencing, his body just sunk on the bench of the courtroom with his head resting on the top of the backrest. He did not even look when his father was taken away into custody. Wanfahmai turned to look at him out of concern, “P’Arthit… Are you okay?”

“How can I be… But honestly a part of me is relief that it is over…”

That day, Arthit wanted to spend some time alone and away from Wanfahmai. Even though she was worried about him, she relented because she knew that he needed personal time to accept the situation and to reflect before having a talk with his mother. She knew better than anyone how much personal time means to a person since she had experienced it multiple times. However, she would on and off text or call him to check on him. She continued to do so and would sometime drop by at his family house to cook for him, after she heard that he had dismissed all the staff that was working for him. And on one of those occasion, when they had dinner together at his house, he told her that he was going to sell the house after talking to his mother about it.

“Are you sure you want to do this, P’Arthit?”

“I don’t see a reason for me to be living here… Plus I told my mom to stay put over there in Switzerland since being here will only hurt her further… I mean if someday when she is no longer upset with my father… I can just book a ticket and fly her in… It’s been years since she has always been the perfect wife for my father… I think I just want her to live her life now… Do what’s best for her… I guess both my mother and I need to learn to live for ourselves, now that my father is out of the picture… I mean we both have to move on somehow… Set our own vision in life… Since all this while, we have been living my father’s dream as he was the head of the house…”

“If that’s the decision that you and your mother have made together, then there’s no reason for you not to… But where will you be living then? Have you decided yet?”

“I’ve already thought about that and I have an apartment in mind…”

“Oh really?! I guess you have finalised everything then…”

“Yup… I will be moving out very soon…”

“Will you need any help?”

“No… It’s fine… You still need to work… I can handle it on my own… I will be auctioning most of the item from this house anyway… To cover any future compensation claims… And by the way… I’ve already spoken to P’Chard… I’m just glad that he is still doing well… I really appreciate the fact that he doesn’t hate me…”

“How can anybody hate you, P’Arthit? Didn’t you say it yourself that people just flock to you?” teased Wanfahmai, trying to cheer him up, which it did since Arthit was smiling at her in a long while.

Arthit was finally moving into his new place. He packed his belongings and drove all the way to his new address. Wanfahmai was busy at work and Arthit did not want to bother her since she had taken plenty of leave to support him during his lowest time. When he was done moving, he then made a call to Wanfahmai, knowing that she was done for the day.

“Hello?”

Yes… P’Arthit?

“You’re done with work, right?”

Yup… Are you done with moving? Is there anything else that I can actually help you with?

“I’m all done… I didn’t have a lot to pack so I’m all good…”

Okay… Good to know… I’m about to go home anyway… So, would you like to go for dinner, P’Arthit?

“Yeah… Good idea…”

What time shall we meet?

“I’m already here…”

What?!

“Yeah… I’m here… At the carpark…”

Alright then… Give me ten…

“Take your time, Ice…”

Arthit drove to a Japanese restaurant that Wanfahmai had mentioned in one of the conversations they had before everything was put on hold after the case blew up.

“Oh? P’Arthit… Isn’t this?”

“Yep… You said you wanted to come here… And I had made reservations…”

“Auw~ You remembered?”

“Of course… How can I forget?”

“Thank you…” as Wanfahmai replied cutely.

“Is that all that I get?”

“Then?”

Arthit then pointed to his cheek, to which Wanfahmai gave him a peck before thanking him again, making him smile. They enjoyed their dinner