Mr. Harding's flight was scheduled to arrive around late afternoon and it was only a few hours upon his arrival that Mark learned Mr. Harding's two daughters would be coming too. Last minute hotel reservations and arrangements for the two young ladies were taken care of immediately after Mark had gotten off the phone with Pisanu.
Natwara called Mark early that same morning as he was getting ready for work. He was just about to answer when he thought it better to ignore the call because right now, Natwara and the baby were not the most important thing in the world. Mark adjusted his tie, put on his jacket, and left his house before Bpa Sri, his nanny, could ask him a question.
"Wonder where he's hurrying to," said Bpa Sri to herself. "My poor young master."
"If it's not to Khun Natwara," said Noi, a young servant in Mark's house. "Honestly, I doubt that baby in Khun Natwara's belly belongs to Khun Mark."
"Really?" asked Bpa Sri, putting her hands on her hips. "How would you know?"
"Well think about it," began Noi. "Our young master loves Khun Chalida more than anything else in the world. How is it possible that he could make a mistake with that...that witch sister of Khun Chalida's? Who knows? Maybe Khun Natwara set up the whole thing."
Bpa Sri thumped Noi on the forehead.
"Nee nae! This is for your ridiculous assumptions," said Bpa Sri. "If Khun Mark hears this, he will be very unhappy."
"I was just saying," said Noi, massaging the spot on her forehead where Bpa Sri had hit her.
Natwara called Mark not once or twice, but multiple times before she decided to go up to the company and confront him. As she stomped up out the elevator, she had run straight into Nadech, her ex-fiance. It was an odd moment before either of them started speaking.
"Well," began Nadech. "If you're looking for your baby's father, he isn't here this morning."
"Where is he?" asked Natwara, looking past Nadech in case Mark was lurking around the corner somewhere.
"You're his wife not me," said Nadech. "If he didn't tell you, what makes you think he would tell me? I'm not his owner."
Natwara pushed him out of her way. She continued down the hall to Mark's office anyway. Turns out, Mark was not in his office. Natwara whipped out her cell phone violently from her purse and cursed under her breath as she scrolled down to call Mark. Again, there was no answer.
"Are you sure that baby is his?"
Natwara turned around and Nadech was leaning coolly on the side of door of Mark's office. He wore a nasty smirk on his face and the last thing Natwara wanted to do right now was be in the same room as him.
"I don't have time to answer your foolish questions," replied Natwara.
"If that baby is his, he wouldn't ignore you like this," said Nadech.
"What did he tell you?" asked Natwara, in an anxious tone.
Perhaps, they knew something that she doubted they knew.
"Nothing," replied Nadech. "But it seems that he really isn't into you so I was just assuming."
Natwara smirked and walked up to Nadech. She leaned in close to him and tiptoed so that her lips were level with his ears.
"Or maybe you're just jealous of what he has," she whispered to him.
Natwara pushed him aside and left Mark's office.
Anger built up in every part of Nadech's body. Maybe he loved the wrong woman the whole time.
Mark walked up to greet Mr. Harding and his two daughters as they exited the gate. They shook hands as Mr. Harding's two daughters whispered excitedly.
"I'm Prin Suparat," said Mark with a smile, introducing himself to the Hardings. "Welcome to Thailand."
"Brent Harding," said Mr. Harding. "And these are my daughters, Kim and Yaya."
Mark smiled and nodded professionally at the two young ladies.
"Sawadee ka," said the sisters simultaneously.
"Your Thai is very good," said Mark.
"Well we are part Thai," said Yaya.
"Really?" asked Mark, surprised.
"Their late mother is Thai," answered Mr. Harding.
"Oh," said Mark.
After taking care of the Hardings, Mark arranged a welcome dinner for them in which he and Nadech would take the opportunity to familiarize themselves with their new business partner. He suspected that if called Nadech, he probably wouldn't answer so Mark instead, sent him a message via text to inform him of their important dinner later that evening.
"He is soo handsome," said Yaya. "Don't you think so?"
"I didn't know that Dad's business partner was this young," said Kim. "I wonder what the guy named Nadech looks like."
"Let's google him!" said Yaya, excitedly.
"Do you think that is even possible?" asked Kim.
"Don't know if we don't try," replied Yaya, smartly.
And she whipped out her iPhone and googled "Nadech Kugimiya".
"Oh goodness!" she exclaimed. "He is a cutie too!"
They both giggled loudly in the bookstore.
A few rows away from them, Mark was looking at pregnancy books. Since he never had the time for or interest in Natwara, he decided to provide help to her by buying a few pregnancy slash parenting books. That was the least he could do as a responsible "father". Plus, they weren't even legally married or living together so it made him a tad bit more comfortable if she had those books.
"Khun Prin?"
Mark turned around and was surprised to see the Harding sisters.
"Hi," he said.
"Oh, are you going to be a father?!" asked Kim, excitedly.
Yaya nudged with her elbow.
"Uhh...I'm just buying these...
Mark didn't know how to reply as he was even 100% sure if the baby was his.
"No," he said finally.
He wasn't even sure if he was lying.
"I'm buying these for a friend who's expecting," he told the sisters.
"Girlfriend?" asked Yaya.
"No," said Mark automatically. "She's just a friend."
Mark noticed the books in their hands.
"So what brings you ladies here?" he asked them, changing the subject.
"Oh, we'd thought a few English-Thai dictionaries could help us out while we're here," replied Kim.
"Yeah, didn't think we'd run into you though," said Yaya.
"Yeah, what a coincidence," said Mark.
It was awkward.
"Why don't you help us pick out our dresses for tonight?" asked Kim.
"What? Huh?"
Mark was stunned. They DID NOT just ask him to do that.
"Yeah, that would be cool," said Yaya. "We try things on and you can tell us if it looks good."
"Right," said Kim. "We're having dinner with you anyway."
Before he could answer them, both ladies had dragged him by each arm, out of the bookstore after he had paid for the pregnancy books. Mark checked his watch. It was only three more hours until the dinner reservation he had made at the hotel. Now, he was unsure if he would have the time to drop off those books for Natwara.
"How about this one?" asked Yaya, twirling in the royal blue dress at knees length.
"It's nice," said Mark, standing there holding their shopping bags.
"Okay, I'll take this one too," said Yaya, followed by a wink.
She pranced away from the mirror and back into the dressing room. Then, Kim appeared from the adjacent door in an ivory dress.
"Is this one pretty?" she asked Mark.
"Yeah," replied Mark.
It was too long, thought Mark to himself. As she did with the other dresses, Kim twirled once and accidentally fell into Mark's arms. Their lips barely touched and they gazed deeply into each other's eyes. She was incredibly beautiful, thought Mark to himself.
"What is this?!"
Mark looked up and in the mirror was Natwara's reflection. She was standing there fuming behind them and Mark was pretty sure she had witnessed the whole thing.