Gift nodded, waiting for Park to walk around and open his door before following behind, his fingers caught in the belt loops of Park’s jeans. They were just about to reach the rickety wooden steps leading to the door when it flew open. Park raised his gun at the person flying towards them but didn’t fire. Gift’s stomach fell into his shoes as he recognized the blur racing towards him.
Park lowered his weapon as Gift called out, “Mae,” a second before she barreled into him, almost taking him to the ground.
His mother was barely five-three but that didn’t stop her from grabbing Gift’s face in her hands and pulling him down to kiss his cheeks and his forehead before hugging him hard once more. She stepped back, running her hands over him, fingers stroking over the cut on his cheek, making a distressed noise.
“My baby,” she said in Thai. “I was so worried. I cannot believe that bastard sent someone after you.” Gift’s eyes went wide as his mother muttered, “Such a piece of shit.”
“Mae!”
“What? You could have been killed.” She looked around before hugging Gift once more then pulled him towards the house. Park followed behind the two, his gun hanging at his side as they walked up the steps. When Gift wrapped his arm around his mother’s waist, he felt the gun at her back. Despite her past, it was hard to associate that woman—a woman who carried weapons and killed people—with the woman he’d known for the past twenty-one years.
Once inside, she shut the door and locked it, replacing the chain. She sat in the armchair, gesturing to the couch. Park sat first and Gift sank down beside him, curling against his side, giving his mother a defiant look when her brows shot up.
She looked back and forth between the two of them then shook her head with a rueful laugh. Gift felt his hackles raise.
“Don’t look so defensive,noo. Did you think I didn’t know about the two of you?”
Gift looked at Park, who shrugged.
“Y-You did?” Gift asked.
“Mm,” she said. “I have my spies on the inside just like the other parents.”
The other parents had spies? What did that even mean? “But a part of me suspected it would happen the moment I introduced you to Park.”
“What? Why?” Park asked, flummoxed.
Anchali laughed. “Because Gift has a way of getting what he wants. He always has.”
“And you thought I wanted Park?” Gift hedged.
“I have eyes,noo. The moment you laid eyes on him, everyone else in that room disappeared. And the way Parkrefusedto look at you told me he felt the same way.”
Gift worried his bottom lip between his teeth before saying, “You’re not mad?”
She gave a tired laugh, waving a hand. “You’re both adults. Was it my wish that my child would fall for a man almost twice his age? No. But it’s not my life to live.”
Gift felt like he was dreaming. “Who are you and what did you do with my mother?” The moment the words were out of his mouth, the truth crashed in on him once more. Oh. Right. She wasn’t his mother. She saw his face fall, her confusion obvious. “Except, you’re not my mother, are you?”
Her gaze flicked from Park to Gift and back again. “What?”
“Stop it,” Gift snapped. “I’m not a little kid. Just tell me the truth.”
She looked pained as she finally said, “Noo,you’re my son. Regardless of how you came to me.”
“So, you admit it,” Gift said, choking on the words. “I’m adopted.”
Anchali closed her eyes and let her head fall into her hands. “I didn’t give birth to you, no. But you were my baby. My Gift. And I loved you so much.”
Gift’s voice cracked as he asked, “Then why did you send me away?”
“It’s complicated,” she said, shaking her head.
“Then give me the short version.”
She sighed, then gave a weary nod. “Okay. I sent you to boarding school because Marshall Kendrick hinted that your biological mother’s family might come looking for you. Knowing what I thought I knew about them, I thought sending you away would keep you safe.EverythingI did was to keep you safe.”
Gift swallowed thickly. “Who’s my biological mother?”
