Chapter 7 "Why, Padom? Why?" Jariya's voice echoed to the top floor as Jiranan started to descend. She stopped halfway, peeking to see who it was her sister was crying and screaming over. Her mother was just coming around and stood at the bottom of the steps before seeing Jiranan. She quickly climbed up and pushed Jiranan back up to the top floor. "Don't eavesdrop," her mother scolded her. "Mommy, P'Ja is so loud that it's not necessary for me to eavesdrop." Jiranan sat down on the couch and looked at her mother. "So who's that breaking P'Ja's heart? I've never seen her cry and raise her voice like that? And over a man, for goodness sakes." Her mother gave an exasperated sigh. "That's Padom Kropath, her boyfriend. If it wasn't for you, his mother wouldn't have forbidden him to see Jariya. If I'm not wrong, he's here about that." The guilt was laid on Jiranan, she knew. But she wasn't going to cry or apologize. If no one saw her sister's worth beyond reputation, then he wasn't worth her love. Jiranan wondered why her sister was even crying over the fool. Just as she thought of that, her sister came running up the stairs, crying and slamming the door of her room. Jiranan and her mother rushed after her and watched in shock as her sister cried loudly. "Ma, he says it's off. His mother doesn't like me," she cried. "He didn't even stand up for me." Their mother, of course, tried to ease her with fake encouragement. It was Jiranan who did the opposite. "Well, he doesn't deserve you anyways," Jiranan stated. "You are too good and if he doesn't like you, lose the bastard. I'm sure a hundred guys would line the steps for you." "Yui!" Her mother shouted at her. "You should tell your sister that he'll come back to her---not tell her that it's over." Jariya screamed even louder when her mother said this and Jiranan almost laughed. When her mother yelled at her to leave, Jiranan did so. She wasn't going to stay with someone foolish enough to cry over a man like Padom. She sat in the family room on the second floor and waited until the two stopped their weeping and sorrow. It was only a man, she scoffed again in annoyance. Just then, her father returned from work. "Oh, Y---I mean, Jiranan, where's your mom and sister? I was hoping to see if they could go to a party with me tonight," he said, as she helped to take his briefcase and led him to his room. "Oh, P'Ja's crying and Mommy's calming her." "Why? What happened?" The worry in her father's voice made her wonder if her father ever worried about her in that way. "P'Ja's boyfriend, Padom, came by and broke off their relationship." Unexpectedly, her father sighed. "Good. That man was no good. Never good with promises and was quite untrustworthy." "I told P'Ja that he doesn't deserve her if he doesn't see her worth and P'Ja got even madder at me." Her father sighed and patted her head. "Jariya likes weak men because she's strong. I had hope that you wouldn't be strong and like weak men like her. And I had hoped that before, with your meekness, you might attract a strong man who's capable of running the family business." "Oh Daddy." These were not the words she would have thought her father would actually speak to her, but they touched her in more ways than one. She sat down on the bed and hugged him, noticing her reflection in the mirror. Yui was looking, she was sure. "Well," her father sighed. "Seeing that the two girls are busy tonight, I guess I'll be going to the party myself." "Daddy, I'll go with you." He turned to stare at his daughter incredulously. "But you never liked to go to parties like this." "It's okay, really. I want to be by your side and make you proud. I'll be right back. I just have put on a dress and we'll be off." In a matter of half an hour, Jiranan came out with a new red dress she had bought and her hair whipped up in the latest style. That was one talent that she had. Getting ready quick. When she went downstairs, she found her father already waiting by the car. At the sight of his youngest daughter in the satin red tube dress, he was awed to think that his daughter could ever be meek. "Um, maybe a shawl would be nice, dear." Jiranan laughed and pulled her dad's arm and got into the car. Just as the red dress made quite a phenomenon to her father, it made a smash hit at the party. Men couldn't help but turn their eyes to the woman hanging onto Mr. Manojem's arm. It wasn't his wife. It wasn't Jariya. It was only until after introduction took place that they realized it was Jiranan, the youngest of the Manojem. And she was enjoying the attention they were giving her. "I didn't expect to find you here, Jiranan." Jiranan felt her heart stop at the voice that spoke from behind her. Turning around, she faced Andrew Gregson, the man who stole her breath away with just one look. The man whom she'd win Pakjira from, she vowed. Shadow Main       Home        << Back 6       Next 8 >>

Copyright 2003 Lina Em.
This story is fictional and any similarity to real life is coincidental.
Please don't take this story and pass it off as your own, all work belongs to Lina Em.
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