Chapter 5

The golden tongs were dipped into the soft white flour and were carefully used to shape the purple dough into flower petals. Today, Sakunthara planned to make Chor muang as a late-day snack. She had arrived at Madam Warakun’s house in the morning because her mother had been rushing her since the early morning to get prepared.

However, sitting around idly made Sakunthara feel embarrassed as a person like her, who worked all the time, found it hard to sit still. Madam Warakun realized this, so she asked the young woman to prepare some snacks, and she agreed without hesitation.

One after the other, the Chor muang were placed into the steamer basket that had been lined with an oiled banana leaf. The blossoms had been crafted precisely and beautifully, befitting the owner of a Thai dessert shop who had been educated at a famous hospitality management school.

The wind blowing gently across the pier at the back of the house prompted drowsiness. However, the young woman remained seated calmly, shaping the petals of the Chor muang as though she were practicing meditation. The sound of the wind alternating with the sounds of crows and other birds made it so she did not hear the sound of the car driving into the house.

This house was divided into two zones. The front part, which faced the street, was where a large, elegant European-style house was prominently situated. It had been rebuilt after being used frequently to entertain guests. However, if one drove inside, one would see a glass house by the river, which was about the same considerable size.

The kitchen of this house was a traditional Thai kitchen that stretched out towards the deck by the river. The Western-style kitchen, on the other hand, was in the house and was used for entertaining visitors or for cooking dishes that were not too pungent.

After putting the last Chor muang, which was the late-day snack she had prepared for the young man, into the steamer basket, she carried it into the kitchen where the steam cooker was. She used a spray bottle to spritz a small amount of water onto the desserts, and then, lifted the basket onto the cooker. However, the sounds of conversation of people in the house arrested her movements and caused her to prick up her ears to listen.

She wouldn’t have paid any attention to the two people’s conversation if her name had not come up. The voice of the other speaker also held clear contempt and disrespect for her. That didn’t include the pronouns he had taken the liberty of referring to her with, without her consent.

“Thara is not that kind of woman.” The volume of the voices in the house rose to the point where she could hear them. She had no idea what had been said previously, but it wasn’t hard to guess that what had been said by that man had not been flattering to her.

“What wiles did that wench Kara use on you, Mother, that this time you would try to maneuver me into this sort of commitment?” The young man said angrily. This was after Madam Warakun had told him the date for the wedding between Sakunthara and himself, which was not something she had ever mentioned before this.

Springing this ambush on him out of nowhere made him extremely angry. He never thought his mother would go this far, and he would never ever give in to his mother.

“Her name is Thara…Sakunthara, and most importantly, she is a woman who has all the traits necessary to bear my grandchild, as well as having a good character that would make her a good daughter-in-law for someone,” Madam Warakun reiterated, but the young man didn’t pay any attention to her name. It didn’t come to his attention at all that that name was the same name as the owner of the dessert shop he had dropped in on to make purchases before coming to his mother’s house. Indeed, the box of desserts he had just purchased was still within his reach.

“If you want to tell me that a woman who would trade her body for ten million baht is a good woman, that is your opinion. As for me, a woman like that is the most worthless kind of woman. She has no respect for herself. I will absolutely not accept a gold digger who selfishly thinks only of her own comfort.”

“Pongket!” The mother’s voice scolded once more, with the fear that the young woman at the back of the house would hear, but her reprimand was useless. The more she reprimanded him, the louder his voice got, as Pongket did not know that the woman who was the central topic of their conversation was in the house as well.

“I’ve never thought that there would be some crazy wedding ceremony, and there is absolutely no need for one. Even if that gold-digging woman has duped you with her wiles to the point where she has successfully convinced you to hold a wedding ceremony, I’ll never fall for that wench’s tricks.”

“But everything has already been prepared! And Thara didn’t use any wiles to dupe me. It was I that begged and pleaded with her.”

“For what?” The young man retorted because he still didn’t see the necessity of it.

“To preserve her reputation. The people around here would most definitely not speak kindly of a nice girl suddenly getting pregnant without being married.”

“Please!” The young man burst out mockingly.

“The people wouldn’t be wrong. What nice girl would do something like this?”

“How do I explain this to you, Pong?”

“You don’t have to attempt to find words to try to paint that woman in a better light, Mother. I’ll never be persuaded by your opinions. This wedding is just a way for this woman to trap a man. If she had any shame, she would never agree to a proposal of this sort,” the young man responded in a firm tone.

Though Sakunthara could not see the look in his eyes, the words he spewed were like he had taken a burning hot metal rod and pressed it to her chest.

Her legs shook so badly she almost couldn’t keep her balance. Even though she couldn’t see his face, couldn’t see his eyes, his tone of voice and the sentences that gushed forth from him made it so she could see the sorrow that she would endure on this path she was about to walk down.

Those were the thoughts of the man who would be the father of the child she had agreed to bear. The father of the heir she had agreed to give birth to. They sliced violently through her heart. The hand that was holding the steam cooker lid shook so hard she could hardly keep her hold on it. She almost let it drop to the floor. At the same time, her other hand came up to cover her mouth to keep herself from crying out. Though she was able to control her body, she was unable to stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks.

Her honor and her dignity had been completely trampled on. In addition, the fact that she was paying back someone to whom she was indebted had painted her as a bad woman in his eyes, even though that was not at all what she wanted.

“It’s not like that,” Madam Warakun tried to explain, but the young man hurriedly interrupted his mother.

“You don’t need to explain your reasons. They won’t make anything better.”

“Take it as me begging for a favor. Think about my reputation. The people around here all know me and respect me.”

“You’re still more worried about your reputation than your own child’s feelings. If you just want a grandchild, I don’t know why you have to invest so much into this. I don’t see the need for it at all.”

“Whatever you say, Pong, nothing can be done about it. I’ve made my decision, and I’ve already finished setting everything up. It’s just a small fake wedding that will prevent scandal. You really can’t do this one thing for me?” Her voice had markedly softened. She sent her son a pleading look to ask for his sympathy once more.

The young man let out a great breath and halfheartedly nodded in agreement. “There’s nothing to be done now, is there?”

The young man’s answer enabled his mother to smile. She exhaled in relief. She knew what she was doing was her last stratagem. Pongket would never refuse, no matter how great his objections were.

The person eavesdropping behind the wall slowly moved away, raising a hand to wipe away the tears that stained her cheek. She turned back to take care of the things she had left undone. She schooled her expression to a neutral one that did not reveal any emotions. Her heart, however, still ached painfully from his cruel words.

Madam Warakun gently touched her son’s elbow. “Thanks for understanding me. Right now, she’s in the back of the house. Go get to know her a little. Who knows? You might fall in love with her and want to marry her for real,” Madam Warakun tried to tell him because she had secretly found out that her son had some rather positive feelings towards the young woman.

However, the young man’s anger made him unable to be persuaded. He barely wanted to know anything about her. Upon hearing that she was in the house preparing to meet him, an expression of irritation and displeasure appeared on his face. The feeling of having something foisted upon him made him build an even greater wall of resistance.

“You’ve actually gone to the trouble of making an appointment for her to meet me?” He turned to say to his mother before he uttered the next sentence at an even greater volume, with the intention that the mentioned person would hear.

“I wouldn’t waste my time getting to know a shameless hussy like that. I’ll leave you to try to please and pamper her at your leisure.”

Madam Warakun hurriedly struck her son’s shoulder in warning. She signaled for him to lower his voice, and he did just that.

“I’ll return to Bangkok then,” the young man said as he raised his hands in a wai to pay respects to his mother. He didn’t forget to take the bag of Thai desserts from Sakunthara’s shop with him.

“You probably wouldn’t like eating these desserts. I’ll take them back with me, too. I’ll see you on the wedding day. I’ll do this for you this one time,” the owner of the tall stature picked up the bag of desserts and spun on his heel to leave, but Madam Warakun stopped him by calling out.

“Wait, Pong!”

“Don’t waste any more time. The reason why I’m going along with you to this extent is that I’m considering your reputation.”

“But you’re being very rude to a guest. I never thought you could be this kind of person.”

“I don’t consider that woman a guest. I don’t think that that woman has any honor. A woman who trades her body for any sort of benefit could never be a good woman.”

“Pongket!” Madam Warakun’s voice reprimanded her son once again.

“What have I said that is wrong? A person who is not in love with someone, who has never met or gotten to know someone, yet agrees to marry that person and carry that person’s child without getting anything in return? That’s a little too much like melodramatic folk theater, isn’t it? If money or other benefits weren’t involved, there is no way any woman would sacrifice herself to do anything like this.”

Sakunthara’s tears bathed her cheeks once more. She quickly used the back of her hand to wipe them away and hurriedly assumed a normal expression. She let the tears flow back inside, bathing her heart, warning her to remain on the side of good in order to disprove his belittling words.

She had to put her head down and accept the label of shameless hussy from one man in order to be a grateful child and pay back the debt of gratitude to someone who had shown her generosity.

Sakunthara opened the lid to look at the desserts in the steam cooker one more time before walking back to the riverside pavilion that was set at a distance from the house. She didn’t want to be aware of any more cruel, cutting words from him. Perhaps not thinking and remaining unaware were the most beneficial courses of action.

The young woman turned her face towards the water that stretched out circuitously. Her tears were starting to well up again, forcing the young woman to raise her head to keep even more of them from spilling out. White clouds floated away, alternating with patches of indigo blue sky. It was another moment of weakness. She remembered the last time she cried this hard was when her father passed. After that, she had to be strong to serve as a bulwark for her mother. However, today, defeat and weakness were upon her again.

A cool, leisurely breeze and the surrounding atmosphere were unable to draw her attention away and diminish her misery. She allowed the tears to flow out.

Madam Warakun stood watching with a heavy heart. The young woman had sat unmoving and distracted at the pier for a half-hour without looking elsewhere. It seemed that she had likely heard something.

Madam Warakun walked over to her after allowing Sakunthara some time. She allowed her to be alone, but once the madam walked close, the young woman turned and gave her a smile. That smile helped to relieve some of the madam’s concerns, even though she still felt guilty deep inside.

“Aunt, I have to apologize. I have a customer that I have to urgently meet with. I can’t wait to meet Pongket,” she said in a cheerful voice. Her face still held a smile because she didn’t want the elderly person to feel worried. Just the issue with her son from before was enough to make a mother upset.

Madam Warakun gave a small, awkward smile at first, but Sakunthara’s solution—pretending not to know anything—made her feel better.

“Is that so? You really won’t wait to meet him first, child?” Madam Warakun’s question wasn’t delivered in quite as firm a tone as it should have been.

“I really must apologize, Aunt.”

“Well, if that’s so, then it’s no problem. I apologize to you, too, dear.”

“All right,” the young woman accepted, raising her hands to give a wai to the older person. “Please excuse me. I have placed the Chor muang onto a plate along with its accompaniments in the kitchen.”

“Thank you so much, dear. It’s a shame you didn’t get to meet Pongket.”

The young woman was able to give a small smile; it wasn’t quite a full smile because she was thinking of the young man and his words a few moments ago, so she had to force it.

“We’ll meet on the wedding day. That would be quite a surprise. You might see the groom stunned when he meets the bride, or the bride might drift off into fantasy when she sees the groom,” the young woman joked so that the older person would be amused, but Madam Warakun did not feel amused.

Madam Warakun gave the young woman a partial smile.

“I think every man would be stunned once they saw you in a wedding dress.”

“Thank you. I really have to be off now,” the young woman said again as she picked up her messenger bag and slung it onto her shoulder. With her other hand, she adjusted the strap so that the bag was flush with her body, then she raised her hands to give another wai to the elderly person as a farewell.

Madam Warakun smiled slightly at the young woman before she walked out. Once the young woman had left the area, her smile slowly faded until her expression was neutral. The young man’s words were engraved in her heart, and they would not be erased easily.

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The wide lawn of the riverside home in the Nonthaburi area had been transformed into the setting of an extravagant Thai Lanna[1] wedding. This was because Madam Warakun was originally from the northern province of Chiang Rai. She had a great fondness for traditional silk and Lanna-style embroidery. Some of the decorations in the house had been ordered directly from the northern provinces.

Sakunthara had never thought that her fake wedding ceremony would be quite this grand. She hadn’t known the details beforehand because her only duty was to try on the wedding dresses the shop brought directly to Sakunthara Thai Desserts for her to choose from.

In the space of a few days, the young woman had encountered numerous unbelievable situations, including the distressing events of several days prior. However, Madam Warakun’s consideration made her able to smile. Seeing the two elderly people were brightly smiling, their happiness shining from their eyes, she couldn’t help but smile as well.

The young woman would try to understand and find reasons to give to herself, but she couldn’t find a better solution than to create the illusion of a real wedding so that the guests wouldn’t catch them out. The older people were likely doing the same.

Sakunthara had been transformed by a famous make-up artist into a vision of beauty. The young woman was in an embroidered Lanna-style Thai costume. Over her smooth upper arm, enhancing her fair complexion, was an antique patterned silk sash. Around her narrow waist was a traditional Chiang Rai sarong, cinched by an antique gold belt that had passed through many generations of Madam Warakun’s family.

Around her slender neck was a matching set of ancient gold jewelry. Her smooth face had been enhanced by cosmetics in a nude tone, which complemented the elegant ancient outfit. The young woman stood by the window. Her eyes peeked through the gently waving curtains. The invited guests were gradually entering and reserving their places, filling up the area.

Sakunthara had no way of knowing ahead of time that the costume and the ancient gold jewelry she was wearing were items that Madam Warakun wanted to give to her to welcome her as her daughter-in-law. Though she was not truly her daughter-in-law in the strictest sense of the word, the madam accepted her as her daughter-in-law—even if later, Pongket were to marry someone else.

Booths of Thai desserts from Sakunthara’s shop were scattered throughout the area. Various types of traditional Thai desserts were artfully arranged on teakwood footed trays. The scent of Thai desserts perfumed the area. Waiters circulated serving traditional Thai herbal beverages. The plain drinks were the water that had been infused with jasmine and fragrant pandan juice. There were no alcoholic drinks.

Mrs. Tipsakun and Madam Warakun went out to greet the guests with smiling faces, their eyes full of joy. Sakunthara, the bride, couldn’t help but smile as well upon seeing the happy scene below. It was only a brief moment of happiness, however. Her smile faded when she thought of the truth of the event occurring today.

If this had been a wedding between a bride and groom who were in love, there was no doubt that the people involved would be bursting with joy at being part of such a scene. The young woman turned her gaze away from the scene below and went back into the room.

The room was a fake bridal suite to be used to see off the bride and groom. Inside, it was decorated in white, and white rose petals nearly covered the entirety of the floor. The young woman scanned the room continually until her eyes settled on the golden clock hanging on the wall. The hands began to move towards the appointed time.

Sakunthara’s heart began to flutter rapidly, and she felt a sudden, inexplicable fear as the time drew closer. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the bridal procession. Pongket had told his mother he would arrive with the procession. No one knew what he was thinking.

Three whoops sounded one after the other, followed by the boisterous, joyful sound of a long drum. That noise interrupted her thoughts momentarily. With the bridal procession drawing nearer, Sakunthara’s apprehension increased.

She was thinking of his face in the first second that he would meet her. She was also thinking of her own face when she had to confront the man she had hated even before seeing his face.

Curious, she pushed aside the curtain to peek outside the window. She craned her neck to look down at the bridal procession. From afar, she saw a young man dressed in the elegant, prominent costume of the ancient Thai people of the northern Lanna kingdom leading the procession. A smile was on his face, and his eyes were encased by a pair of polite dark-rimmed glasses.

It was certain Sakunthara had never seen him before. She had only heard his voice while she had been eavesdropping that day. She went to the window and looked hard at him, trying to memorize each detail because she knew that once they were face-to-face, she was unlikely to be able to look up at him.

She discovered that he was well-proportioned and had a handsome face. There wasn’t a trace of unattractiveness about him, save for the fact that he spoke callously, and his personality did not match the beauty of his exterior.

The guests waiting in front of the house walked over to await the bridal procession. Gold and silver chains were happily produced to create the long line of traditional symbolic gates through which the groom would have to pass.

Sakunthara took a deep breath, filling her lungs. It was time to face the truth. A knock sounded on her door, pulling her back to reality and making her turn, just as the volume of the bridal procession increased, indicating they were close.

“Miss Thara, please be prepared. I’d like to blot your face a bit more. We only have a little time left before we have to go down,” the make-up artist told her after the door opened. Two young women came in to see her and picked up the nearby make-up cases to bring with them.

The young woman smiled at the make-up artists and walked straight over to the table, lowering herself down into a sitting position and angling her body so they could apply cosmetics to her face. The make-up artists took a few moments to add some finishing touches before the two of them helped to escort her out to wait at the upper landing of the stairs, which afforded a view of the guests down below.

Sakunthara raised her shoulders slightly. Her sash had been lifted and draped elegantly over her arm. Though she was as beautiful as the daughter of an ancient ruler, her heart raced. She watched the bridal procession pass gradually through each of the symbolic gold and silver gates.

Her mother and Madam Warakun stood in front. No one knew that the person at the head of the procession was not the groom, other than Madam Warakun, his mother. The crush of people made it difficult for her to see his face, however.

That is, until the young man passed through the last gate, looked up, and smiled at her…

“Dr. Nont.” Madam Warakun’s blurting out of the young man’s name may have gone unheard by others, but Mrs. Tipsakun had heard clearly and her curiosity was aroused.

Dr. Nont, or Dr. Thananont Bowornkit, was a resident ob-gyn at a famous hospital in Bangkok. He was a close high school friend of Pongket. Due to the similarity in their appearances, casual acquaintances could mistake him for Pongket. One reason may have been because Pongket was rarely in Thailand for people to see or meet him, and the passage of years would have dulled memories somewhat.

Pongket had found a solution to his problem by forcing Dr. Thananont to take his place at the ceremony. She was thankful for that. He hadn’t wanted to be so cruel as to make his mother lose face by calling off the wedding.

The young man smiled at the mother of his close friend and handed her the envelope his close friend had left with him to pass on to the madam. “Pongket left this envelope for you, Mother.”

At that point, everyone in the vicinity realized the young man was not the groom. A whispered frenzy of gossip quickly ensued. Madam Warakun hurriedly stepped in to handle the situation, taking the young man’s hand and speaking to him in a playful tone.

“What a time for teasing, Pong! You’ve shocked all the guests with your little joke. Come now. We don’t want to keep your bride waiting. It’s almost to the auspicious hour,” Madam Warakun said to the young physician. Her eyes pleaded with him to continue on tactfully in the role of Pongket as she led him inside by the hand.

After that, the critical whispers quieted. No one actually knew what the real groom looked like. The ceremony that day was only for guests who lived in the area. There were no guests who worked with the groom and the bride herself had not told anyone about the wedding, aside from the people at the market whom Madam Warakun had invited.

As she locked arms with the young man and walked him inside, she asked the young doctor in a whisper as to the reason her troublemaker of a son had run away from this wedding. He likely intended for her to lose face.

“Where is Pongket, Dr. Nont?”

The young man pulled out the same envelope that he had just put back into his shirt pocket. He handed it to his close friend’s mother once again. He whispered back a response. “I don’t know much, because I was forced to come here as well. However, he’s detailed everything in this envelope, Mother. Pongket traveled to Germany on today’s earliest possible flight.”

Madam Warakun cried out internally at the realization. She hadn’t thought to be suspicious. In the morning, she had even talked on the phone with her son. He had even given her his agreement and asked for the exact details of the schedule from her. It had relieved her. She had never expected that her son would have an evil plan such as this.

Hearing that, Madam Warakun hurriedly fixed the situation. She raised her hands to touch both of the young man’s cheeks and said aloud, “There are still about ten minutes until the auspicious hour. I think you should have your face blotted once again. Walking all that way under the sun—my, your face is oily.”

Madam Warakun said it so that the guests in the vicinity could hear her. From then, she turned and spoke quietly to the organizing team.

“Give me a moment, please.”

After excusing herself from everyone, Madam Warakun pulled the young man by the arm into the room. She had to quickly fix things and get them through this situation. The matter with Pongket would have to be addressed later.

After the door closed, she immediately pleaded with the young man. “Dr. Nont, could you take Pong’s place in the ceremony?”

“What did you say, Mother?” The young man asked.

“Could you take part in this wedding ceremony in Pong’s place? Take it as me pleading with you this one time,” Madam Warakun clarified.

The young man immediately waved his hands in refusal. “Calm down, please, Mother. I think the solution chosen by Pongket ought to be the best choice. Please try reading the document in this envelope first. Then, you can make a decision.”

Madam Warakun pulled the document out of the envelope and read it. The text of the letter clearly laid out details and procedures, as well as her son’s thoughts. He had already finished depositing his sperm at the hospital where Dr. Thananont worked. The young doctor standing before the madam would serve as the attending physician to, and care for, the young woman until she delivered the baby.

The wrinkled hands of the elderly woman that held the sheet of paper trembled as though it weighed tens of kilograms. She slowly looked up to gaze at the young man standing before her.

“Is this Pongket’s reason? I accept his reason, and I never once thought to let the two of them have an heir the natural way. I couldn’t use my personal desires to coerce both Pongket and dear Sakunthara. If the two didn’t love each other, it would have been hard to have it happen that way.” Madam Warakun paused for a moment. She motionlessly locked eyes with the young man.

“However, my reasoning is more profound than that. Dear Sakunthara has made sacrifices to carry my grandchild. I couldn’t stand it if she had to face the scandal of being a woman who got pregnant outside of wedlock and there was no wedding ceremony. I wanted to honor her in a way that befits her sacrifice.” She stopped to exhale through her nostrils.

“And what about the feelings of my grandchild? If one day he asks who his mother is, the pictures from this day will answer all his questions. I would be able to tell my grandchild without hesitation that he was born out of love, a love that had gone through the wedding of a bride and a groom.” The madam’s voice softened and quivered.

“However, these reasons are not to be, because there will be no pictures of this wedding ceremony to tell the story of the love of two people to my grandchild. But could I ask you a favor, Dr. Nont? Could you help preserve the honor of a good woman in Pongket’s place? At the very least, she won’t be humiliated in front of the guests at this event and all throughout her pregnancy.”

“Erm.” The young man felt like he was choking on his own saliva. He couldn’t speak. He was hopelessly embroiled in the situation, cornered by the reasons Madam Warakun had raised.

“Dear Sakunthara is of the same mind as Pongket. However, she has filial piety and couldn’t refute my plea, so she agreed, even though she risks censure from the people around her. This is why I held this wedding ceremony, to protect her reputation,” Madam Warakun explained further.

“Please help out this once, Dr. Nont. It’s only a morning ceremony that won’t even last an hour. Think of it as sympathy for an old woman who wants a grandchild, and doesn’t want anyone else to get in trouble. Just sit in on the ceremony until it ends.” Madam Warakun’s sorrowful tone and pleading eyes made it impossible for him to refuse.

“All right,” the young man agreed reluctantly. He couldn’t stand to see those mournful eyes. In his life, he helped many people. He had never once hesitated if he was able to help, and what Madam Warakun asked of him wasn’t any more than he could bear and wouldn’t cause him any trouble.

Madam Warakun took the groom’s hand and led him to his seat in the ceremony. At the same time, a staff member brought the bride down the stairs. Once the young man turned to look at her, he couldn’t take his eyes off the shapely figure.

‘Beautiful…very beautiful. If any groom lost her, he would regret it. If they wanted him to be the real groom today, he would say yes,’ the young man thought to himself.

Sakunthara stopped and looked at her groom without moving. She tried to memorize his face and record it in the depths of her heart, reiterating to herself the extent of his cruelty and the mean comments he had made about her. She could still remember the words and the pain of that day very well.

[1] An ancient kingdom in northern Thailand.