At Petchklao Ho, everyone was filled with relief and joy upon hearing that the hostages had been rescued and were on their way back safely. The criminals had already been taken into police custody. Amid the excitent, a car pulled up in front of the house. A young man and a teenage girl stepped out, escorted inside by the mansion's security guards. Henrius Chadler's jaw dropped when he saw the teenage girl storming in with a determined stride. It was none other than his headstrong, spoiled daughter.
"Peach. How did you get here?"
Henrius asked in shock. He had specifically instructed John, the butler, to keep this matter hidden from her—not only because he did not want her to worry, but also to prevent her from causing a scene with the people involved. Especially with Id's female friend. Though Peach and Id often bickered (mostly due to Peach's stubbornness), she was fiercely protective of her brother. Now that his daughter had shown up unannounced, Henrius could already picture her unleashing her temper on Id, his friend—and possibly everyone else present.
"Dad. You're really here. I can't believe no one told about this when Id was caught up in the kidnapping,"
Peach exclaid, her tone dripping with indignation.
"Peach! You shouldn't have co here. I thought you'd gone back to playing your ga by now,"
Henrius said, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"How could I possibly go back to playing gas when I know my brother was kidnapped?"
Peach snapped, clearly offended. Her brother's safety was uncertain, and Henrius still thought she should have the peace of mind to log into her ga?
"k…"
Henrius turned to k, who was standing nearby, wearing an apologetic expression.
"Sorry, sir. I couldn't say no to her,"
k admitted.
"Never mind. Thank you for accompanying her,"
Henrius sighed, shaking his head. When he turned back to Peach, he saw her already storming over to Moddang and Aunt Im, ready to pick a fight.
"You must work for her, don't you? Let make one thing clear: your boss will never get my brother. Id is handso, cool, and the son of an ambassador. Any girl who causes him trouble like this is soone I'll make sure he stays far away from. I'll ruin her so badly that she'll lose every ounce of dignity as a businessman's daughter!"
Peach's dramatic declaration left everyone agape. Moddang's expression tightened in visible annoyance. She had never been spoken to like this before. Drawing herself up, she responded sharply.
"My young lady has never had to chase after anyone in her entire life. Ever since I've known her, it's always been others chasing after her. And your brother is no exception. He's the one who stuck so close to her that he got himself dragged into this ss!"
"Moddang!"
Aunt Im scolded her sharply, shocked by her rudeness to the daughter of the family's guest. But Moddang did not seem to care, glaring back at Peach with unwavering defiance. It seed like a confrontation could break out at any mont. k and Henrius had to step in quickly to diffuse the situation.
"Keep running your mouth, and we'll see who ends up chasing after who!"
Peach shouted as she was dragged away. Henrius, thoroughly fed up, pushed his willful daughter down onto a bench under the shade of a large tree.
"Peach, that was extrely rude. Your behavior was embarrassing. Have I raised you so poorly that you would treat our hosts like this?"
Henrius scolded her, his tone stern and unyielding.
"Oh, Dad! I'm just angry on Id's behalf. He was minding his own business and still got dragged into this ss,"
Peach retorted, her tone softening a bit but still nonsensical.
"Well, if you're going to keep acting like this, I think you should head ho and wait for news there. Id will be back soon; they've been rescued and are already on their way."
"Really? They're all safe?"
k interjected excitedly. Henrius nodded with a smile, and k grinned in relief. Without delay, he excused himself to make a call to Amy, suspecting that Moddang was probably too caught up in her joy over Chang's return to rember to inform her.
"I'm not going ho, Dad. I'm staying right here to wait for Id. I want to see the person responsible for dragging my brother into this ss."
Peach declared stubbornly. Having co all this way, there was no way she was leaving without seeing her brother and confronting the so-called culprit to her satisfaction.
"Alright but promise you won't cause any trouble. We're just going to wait for your brother and take him ho together, agree?"
"Fine. I won't cause any trouble. I'll wait for him, and we'll go ho together," Peach promised, though in her heart, she added a ntal caveat. Of course, she would not cause trouble—but no one had said anything about her unleashing a verbal storm. After all, the person who put her beloved brother through such a harrowing ordeal would not get off lightly. One round of venting would not be enough, and the next round would have to be even more intense.
.....
"Ah-choo."
Out of nowhere, Chang who had almost fallen asleep, let out a loud sneeze, startling everyone else in the car.
"What's wrong, Chang? Do you have a cold? Is the air conditioning too strong? Should I ask the driver to turn it down?"
Pichaya asked worriedly. Chang shook her head and rubbed her nose.
"Are you catching a cold, Miss? Hang in there; we're almost ho,"
16 and 17, on the duty of ensuring the safety of Chang's vehicle, called from the driver's seat and passenger seat.
"No, it's nothing. I just suddenly felt like sneezing, that's all,"
Chang replied dismissively.
"Look, there's the gate. After being cooped up in this car for so long, I'm ready to take a warm shower and collapse onto my soft bed."
He bead with relief and satisfaction. The ordeal was over, and thanks to the impressive efforts of the Special Protection Unit, those who had planned to kidnap his daughter would likely shelve their sches for the foreseeable future. However, the unresolved rift with Thankhun weighed heavily on him.
Pichaya knew he was partly to bla for not explaining things to Thankhun in the first place. But with his constant workload, he barely had ti to spend with his beloved daughter—so where would he have found the ti to sit down and clear things up with Thankhun? Sotis, Pichaya thought, business was just too boring. What was the point of being a wildly successful billionaire if he could not find ti to spend with the people he truly cared about.
"Chang, what if I step away from the business entirely?"
"Huh. What did you say, Dad?"
Chang tilted her head, not sure if she had heard him correctly.
"I said, what if I retire from the business? That way, we'd have more ti to spend together,"
Pichaya replied, pulling his beloved daughter into a hug. Chang smiled faintly and replied,
"No way, Dad. If you retired, I bet you wouldn't last ten minutes without going stir-crazy. You should keep doing what you love for as long as you can. I'm used to it already."
"Oh, Chang. Don't say that. It makes feel even guiltier. You're used to never having ti for you, that's just, ugh..."
Pichaya sounded defeated. Chang giggled softly and nudged herself out of his embrace. She shot a glance over her shoulder at the back seat, where Id was watching them with a smile.
The car rolled through the gates of Petchklao Ho, greeted by an enthusiastic crowd waiting to welco them. The only exception was a particular young girl clinging to her father's arm, ready to confront the woman she believed had dragged her brother into this ss. As the automatic door slid open, Pichaya was the first to step out of the car. Moddang and Aunt Im cried out in joy upon seeing him. Monts later, Chang followed, helping Id out of the car.
At that mont, Peach, who had been waiting with a fiery determination, decided she was ready to let loose. Even though she could not see the woman's face clearly yet, she was prepared to let her have it until she never dared to bother her brother again. The ambassador and k's jaw dropped. They tried to pull her back, knowing what she was going to do.
Striding forward with a confrontational air, Peach shook her father and k off, preparing to unleash her full arsenal of complaints. However, when Peach finally got a good look at the woman's face, her open mouth—ready to shout—suddenly let out an entirely different sound.
"Lord Chaaaang."
Peach's voice rang out, filled with adoration and awe. Everyone in the crowd froze in confusion. They all knew Peach had co here intending to pick a fight with Chang.
Chang and Id were just as stunned by her presence, though not as much as Pichaya, who turned to look at the girl calling his daughter Lord Chang with such reverence. Then he turned back to Chang with the sa bewildered expression and asked hesitantly.
"Chang have you decided on your preferences now? Why is this girl calling you that?"
"Dad, you're crazy. I don't even know her..."
Thump!
Before Chang could finish her sentence, the mysterious girl lunged forward and hugged her tightly. The sa girl Chang had just said she did not know had her arms wrapped around her as if they were long-lost lovers. Everyone stood frozen, mouths agape, as they witnessed the bizarre love-filled hugging scene unfold before them.
"Hey, you. What's the big idea, hugging out of nowhere?"
Chang protested, trying to pry the girl off. But to her surprise, the girl's grip was unshakable—no matter how hard she tried, she could not get her to let go.
"This must be destiny, bringing us together at last. Yes, I finally understand. We're soulmates."
"Huh?"
The collective exclamation of shock and confusion ca from everyone present.
"Peach, enough. Let go of Chang and start acting like a civilized person. This isn't our ho!"
Id scolded loudly as he stepped forward and easily peeled his sister's glue-like grip off Chang.
"Brother. How could you et Lord Chang and not tell ? Keeping it a secret like this is totally unfair!"
Instead of feeling remorseful, Peach turned to scold her brother.
"Wait a minute, Id, is this your sister?"
Chang asked, surprised. Id nodded, glancing at his sister, whose eyes sparkled with excitent as she eagerly waited for Chang to recognize her in-ga persona.
"So, you're Peach Blossom?"
Chang said, a small smile tugging at her lips as she realized the connection. She thought to herself that whether in the ga or out, this girl was equally spoiled.
"Yay! You rember . I'm so happy."
Peach squealed with delight and clung tightly to Chang's arm. Her reaction left the onlookers stunned. They had expected Peach to unleash her fury on Chang, blaming her for dragging Id into the kidnapping. Instead, they witnessed the complete opposite.
"That's enough, Peach. Your brother and his friend have just co back and must be exhausted. Let them rest. Let's take Id ho now," Henrius Chadler tried to reason with his headstrong daughter. He was relieved when she nodded in agreent and thought she would finally listen and go ho obediently. But he was gravely mistaken.
"That's true. Lord Chang, let take you inside so you can rest."
Peach declared, leading Chang toward the house as if they had been close friends for years.
"Peach!" Henrius and Id called out in unison. Peach turned her head away arrogantly, refusing to listen. She was not ready to leave Chang yet—not after finally eting her in person. She wanted to spend more ti with the person she liked too.
"Peach, why don't you head back first? Your dad and brother must be tired and want to rest. My dad and I feel the sa,"
Chang said gently, brushing her hand softly over Peach's head fondly.
"But I want to stay with you, Lord Chang. It's our first ti eting outside the ga."
Peach's tone softened dramatically, her deanor completely different from how she spoke to her brother. Henrius was amazed to see his usually defiant daughter behaving like a sweet, well-mannered child for soone else.
"Let's et another day. Give your phone. This is my number. We can go out together soti, but for now, everyone's had a long day."
Chang suggested, entering her number into Peach's phone. Peach took her phone back as if it were the most precious gift she had ever received. Nodding enthusiastically, she finally agreed to leave. But before she did, she leaned in and kissed Chang on the cheek, making both Pichaya and Id burn with jealousy for a mont.
Henrius apologized profusely to Chang and Pichaya before ushering his daughter back to the car. Pichaya walked them to the gate, while Chang and Id remained where they were, exchanging smiles.
"You can still handle that spoiled Peach like a pro," Id remarked.
"Well… it's not that hard,"
Chang replied with a chuckle.
"So, about the ga, what's our next step? We still have that quest to complete, don't we?"
"Oh, right. The Redemption Quest at the Heavenly Avian Temple. But let's leave it for tomorrow. We've had a long day."
"That works for . I want you to rest too, especially after everything you've been through."
"Alright then. 8 AM tomorrow morning, real-ti."
"8 AM it is."
Though their conversation was ordinary, the atmosphere between them felt unusually sweet. They exchanged smiles and light laughs, repeating each other's words. The mood might have continued uninterrupted if not for soone cutting in.
"Young man, your dad and sister are leaving now!"
Pichaya's voice interrupted, and he stepped in front of Chang as if to shield her. His expression made it clear that Id should leave before Pichaya's overprotective instincts escalated.
Id gave Pichaya a polite wai, then snuck one last smile at Chang before hurrying off to the car where his father and sister were waiting.
"Chang, you're so biased!"
Pichaya accused his daughter as they headed back inside. Chang looked at him, puzzled, not understanding how she was being biased
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