Chapter 0: Prologue

    A famous blogger was involved in a severe accident. A good Samaritan reported a luxury car veering off the road and crashing into a tree. Upon assistance, it was discovered that the driver was a well-known blogger, critically injured. Initially, they were rushed to the hospital, where the staff is providing full support.

    Beep!

    A slender finger pressed the button to turn off the screen. A handsome, clean-shaven face with aristocratic features looked up at the ceiling before the pearl-colored eyelids closed, contemplating the events that had transpired.

    ‘Ramin’ could not even remember how many times he had watched that old news report in the past two months. The person in the news was him, but what happened was not an accident as many believed.

    That day, he drove out of the condo at a moderate speed. Ramin was confident he was fully aware at the time. Importantly, he was not drunk and was not driving too fast to lose control. It was because someone had secretly cut his car's brake line.

    Than, or Thanthai, his boyfriend of several years, betrayed him by secretly hooking up with his close friend. The man who once promised to love only him, who vowed to take care of him until they grew old together. But what could one expect from love at the age of twenty-one?

    Ramin and Thanthai had been together since their sophomore year in high school. They started seeing each other outside of school once they entered university, and eventually decided to move in together two months before the accident.

    Who would have thought that after giving himself completely to someone he had been with for so long, that person would start to change? Ramin finally caught Thanthai cheating on him, the person he loved and trusted the most.

    But that was not as bad as the day he intended to pack up and leave. The person making love to his ex-boyfriend on the bed that used to be his was his childhood friend. It was a cruel joke, really.

    "Hmph... Wanting someone else's things so badly you'd kill for it. Pathetic."

    Ramin let out a bitter laugh. Just because they were afraid, he would post about what happened on social media and ruin their reputation—despite having done something so despicable, they went as far as hiring someone to cut the brake line of his car while he was packing in the dressing room, hoping he would die. But unfortunately for them, he survived.

    Of course, both of them were just starting their journey in the entertainment industry. If such a scandal were to break, their careers would be over before they even began. But if they wanted it that badly, they could have just broken up with him properly. There was no need to sneak around and cheat like this.

    If someone were to ask Ramin whether he was heartbroken over what happened, he could confidently say that he was so heartbroken that he stopped being heartbroken a long time ago. Part of it might be because he was born and raised in a good family, which made him love himself too much to be stuck in an unfulfilled love.

    The more he loved others, the more he would love himself. He loved himself as much as his parents had raised him well, and he sought happiness as much as his parents had always given him.

    His slender fingers tapped to open the next video clip saved on his phone. Ramin accessed the video editing app. It was footage of various events with Thanthai and his close friend together, including the chat evidence where Thanthai texted him to break up.

    After compiling everything, the young man looked at the device in his hand for a moment. He was quite a well-known blogger, and if he uploaded it, the story would undoubtedly attract attention on the internet.

    Did they think he would act like a tragic novel protagonist who kept all his suffering to himself after being treated like this? Dream on!

    With a swift tap of his slender fingers, Ramin uploaded everything onto his page, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. Then he shut off his device and turned on the TV, feeling quite pleased. Someone like Ramin Phiphakthewakul would not let anyone bully him without fighting back.

    Knock, knock, knock.

    "Come in."

    Ramin turned to look at the door of the private hospital room. Seeing his mother enter, he immediately greeted her with a sweet smile. Despite claiming to be busy with work, she always found time to visit him every day. How could he waste his time on just one man and let his mother worry?

    "How was your walking practice today, my clever boy?"

    Kebdao placed her son's favorite snacks on the table before sitting beside his bed, asking with genuine concern.

    "It went well."

    His beautiful eyes softened as he glanced at his 'left leg,' left with only the upper part above the knee. Yes... Ramin had become an amputee due to the severe accident.

    "If it's too much, you must tell me, okay?"

    The middle-aged woman gently stroked her beloved son's head, her heart filled with worry. She vividly remembered the day she learned about Ramin's accident; her heart nearly shattered upon hearing that her son would lose one of his legs because it could not be saved.

    The child she had cherished for twenty-one years was now in such pain; how could she bear it? Even when her son confessed to being gay, neither she nor her husband, nor even his older brother, uttered a word of reproach. They only offered words of encouragement and showered him with love and warmth, just as they had from the day Ramin was born into this world.

    "I'm okay, Mom."

    Ramin replied to his mother with a smile. On the first day he woke up and realized he had lost his left leg, he could not quite describe how he felt. He was both sad and glad that, at the very least, he was still alive and had the chance to return to his family once more.

    There was no helping it; everything had already happened, and there was no chance to turn back time and change anything. From now on, it was up to him to decide how to live his life.

    "Mom."

    "What is it, dear?"

    "Can I take a break from school for a while?"

    The delicate hand that was peeling fruit for her son paused. The forty-seven-year-old woman, who always appeared youthful in Ramin's eyes, gave him a kind smile. There was no scolding, no questioning his reasons for wanting to do so.

    "Of course, I'll help you with the paperwork."

    Ramin thanked her with a broad smile. He had been contemplating taking a break from his studies for a while now. After everything that had happened, he found himself weary of everything. It was not out of sadness, but rather a desire to try something new, hoping to finally discover what he truly wanted to do.

    One month later...

    Ramin walked into the large house, supported by his older brother, Phasin. Inside, his father, Phisut, and mother, Kebdao, were waiting for him. He had not been home for a long time, so the housemaids and gardeners were eagerly waiting to welcome him back.

    "Welcome home, son."

    Ramin walked into his father's embrace with a smile. This was one of the reasons he was not overly sad. Despite the difficulty of accepting his disability, Ramin adapted surprisingly quickly. Even the doctor and the nurse hired by his father could not help but admire him.

    "Hey, Dad, don't go kissing me now. You didn't even visit me at the hospital."

    Ramin playfully pushed his father's face away, not seriously. In truth, his father visited often, but it was usually when Ramin was resting, so they missed each other almost every time. He was not upset because he understood how busy his father was. Still, his father managed to find time to visit, and Ramin just wanted to tease the old man a bit.

    "If you're sulking like this, then the gift I prepared for you is going to be wasted."

    "Don't let Dad win, little brother. I've got a gift for you too."

    Phasin pulled his younger brother into a hug, preventing their father from grabbing Ramin, sparking a small war in the living room that brought laughter to everyone in the house. If Ramin were a bit smaller, he might have been scooped up and run away with.

    "Be careful not to let your brother fall, Sin."

    "Got it, Dad."

    Ramin laughed softly, feeling happy. When they were tired from playing, he clung to his mother, eagerly waiting for the gifts from his brother and father. Earlier that morning, Phasin had taken him to the university to officially drop his classes. Everyone in the house knew he wanted to travel and relax, and of course, no one scolded him even a little.

    The gifts from his father and brother were not all that different; one gave him a credit card, while the other handed him a check. It was not anything complicated, but he was pleased because it meant he now had the funds for his trip.

    "Are you sure you want to go alone? I can take time off to go with you."

    "No, I want to go by myself."

    Ramin shook his head vigorously. Having his brother along would be nice, but he wanted to try doing something on his own. Fortunately, no one objected because everyone believed Ramin could take care of himself.

    By the afternoon, his parents had left for work, leaving only Ramin and Phasin to help him pack. He had not decided where to go yet, but there were provinces he was interested in visiting. He figured he would find a place to stay once he got there. Ramin felt that this spontaneity was exciting.

    "Does your leg still hurt?"

    "It doesn't hurt anymore, but if I stand or walk for a long time, it does a bit."

    He replied calmly before picking up his phone, which he had not used in a while, to check the social media updates. After uploading everything, he had not followed the news. No one in the family mentioned it, unsure of what Ramin was thinking, afraid of reopening old wounds.

    "Looks like there's a lot of backlash."

    Ramin read the news with a calm expression, his face betraying no emotion, which made Phasin feel the urge to pay attention. Everyone in the house knew about Ramin's car having its brake lines cut, and they had evidence to press charges, but Ramin had stopped them. Although Phasin did not understand why, he complied with his brother's wishes.

    Someone like Ramin would not let the culprit get away easily. He had to have some plan in mind to delay things for this long.

    "Why didn't you let me report them to the police?"

    When the truth came out, the Phiphakthewakul household was furious, especially Phisut, their father, who was ready to risk his life to confront them. Ramin was the apple of their eye, cherished for twenty-one years. Who were these people to dare harm him?

    Seeing his brother's thick eyebrows knotting into a frown, Ramin could not help but reach out his slender fingers to massage them until they relaxed. He was going to take action, but it just was not the right time then.

    "Wait until the backstabbing scandal dies down in a couple of months, then you can give the evidence to the reporters, Phasin."

    Push them down, wait for the enemy to regain their footing, and then strike again. This was Ramin's way of getting even.

    Slender fingers traced circles on the cover of an old diary. Inside, it recorded stories of him and his close friends, including many tales about Thanthai. It was a volume he had written specifically to capture memories of friendship and love, separate from the one dedicated to family.

    His light brown eyes dimmed as he recalled the good times that had once been, even though the ending was not as beautiful as he had hoped. Time changed, people changed, and nothing lasted forever. In the end, he decided to put it down and continue packing.

    "Could you throw this away for me, P’Sin?"

    Goodbye... to all the stories between the three of us...