Rule No. 1: Don’t be too emotional : Chapter 15

I’m gonna live forever

I’m gonna learn how to fly, high I feel it comin’ together

People will see me and cry…

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As Thee’s voice faded, I felt a high-pitched ringing in my ears… long and echoing until it drowned out everything else. The phone slipped from my hand, but I scrambled to grab it, pressing it back to my ear.

“What are you saying?”

“Jane, I know it sounds unbelievable. But look at me-I have nothing left to lose. Why would I lie to you?” I tried to find my bearings in the darkness closing in on me.

“How could it be P’Jane, Thee? How could he be involved with you?”

“I knew him the same way everyone else did. I went to him for help.” I didn’t understand.

“You went to him for help with your studies?” Thee had always been top of the class. Why would a genius like him need help from P’Jane? It made no sense. Thee looked pained, as if the truth was a heavy weight, but finally, his eyes softened. He really had nothing left to lose.

“Jane, I’m not who you all think Iam.”

“What do you mean? You were the Student Union President. You were perfect. Every professor loved you. What is the truth?!”

“The truth is what you’re seeing right now in this cell, Jane! The truth is… I have nothing!” Thee’s anguished shout silenced me.

“I was just a country kid trying to make it in the big city. I manufactured a new image-rich, smart, perfect, kind. I wasn’t that scrawny kid who got bullied his whole life anymore. I was ambitious, but Bangkok isn’t easy. I realized in the first semester that I wasn’t the smartest person anymore. Maintaining grades while doing a million activities… it was too much.”

“Then one day, I realized I couldn’t finish studying in time, and the volunteer club’s accounts had to be done in two days. I heard rumors about a man on campus. I didn’t know if they were true, but I was desperate. So I asked… I asked P’Jane to get me the final exams for every subject.”

“I don’t know how he did it, but he did. It was like a dream. That semester, I got straight A’s. Everyone praised me. I became the best in the year… and I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stand not being that perfect person. So I cheated, every single time. I never did it on my own.”

“Are you saying… P’Jane stole exams for you this whole time?” Thee closed his eyes tight.

“Not exactly… The first time, he gave me a handwritten paper. But when I asked again, he said he didn’t have time. He gave me a university staff login instead… I tried it, and it worked. I could see every exam for every faculty. He didn’t say another word. Whether I looked or not… that was my choice. But he ‘pointed the way for the squirrel.’ Of course I looked.”

“But he didn’t steal them for you! You went in yourself!”

“Jane! Think! Where did he get that login? If he didn’t steal it or spy to get it, how did he have it? It wasn’t legal. Stop taking his side!””… ”

“I was stupid. I was intoxicated by the praise. Because P’Jane said he didn’t want money, I forgot the truth-that I owed him. I forgot that no one helps for free. His smile made me feel so safe. Then, one day, he came to collect. He asked for a favor in return.”

“What did he ask for?” I gripped the phone until my knuckles turned white. My voice was a whisper.

“What?”

” He said it was just a simple request.” My heart hammered against my ribs.

” He asked me to resign as Student Union President.” I couldn’t believe it.

What would P’Jane gain from that? But Thee continued.

“Yes. He wanted me to step down because… someone else had asked him for the position. But the Union was my life. I couldn’t let it go. I told him I’d give him money instead-any amount.” “And that made P’Jane furious. Beyond livid. Because I broke our initial agreement. He cut me off completely. Blocked me on everything. I was terrified. I tried to reach him, but I couldn’t. And shortly after that… I ended up in here.”

“But that has nothing to do with P’Jane! You’re in prison for embezzlement and statutory rape!”

“How would anyone else know my secrets if not him? You have no idea, Jane-he has eyes and ears everywhere. Even in this prison, he has people. I never escaped his gaze!”

“It’s not related!” I yelled, refusing to accept it.

“You did this to yourself! P’Jane has nothing to do with your ruined future. You chose to log in. You chose to take the money. You chose to be with that girl!”

“Yeah, I know I did it!” Thee screamed back, tears welling in his tired eyes.

“But my whole life collapsed because I thought he was my ‘back.’ I trusted him. I told him everything. He knew I lived with my sister, he knew my family wasn’t rich. He made me feel safe. I thought we were on the same side… but I was just a pawn in his business. The moment I didn’t give him what he wanted, he stabbed me until I was finished. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to end up like me.”

“This is crazy. I don’t believe you!”

“Jane, believe me. Get away from him. He’s kind, right? He’s so good to you? When he smiles, you feel warm inside? That’s not the real him. He’s never been anyone’s brother or friend. Why would he love you? Someone like him doesn’t know how to love. He only finds use in people.”

“Stop… ”

“If you don’t believe me or Putt, go find Professor John Thornton at this address… ” Thee spoke rapidly.

“Go talk to him. Ask him about Mr. Jane Patrick Palakorn, the former ‘Ace’ of Harvard Law School. Then your eyes will finally be opened to who your ‘P’Jane’ really is… ”

“Shut up! I’m done talking to you. I’m going home.” I slammed the phone down and ran out. I ended up at the home of Dr. John Thornton, a retired psychologist. I lied and said I was a student doing an interview about Harvard. After a while, I showed him a photo ofP’Jane. The old man’s hands shook so hard he dropped his teacup.

“You… you know Jane Patrick?” his voice trembled.

“Yes. He’s my senior. He said he left Harvard because he hated law.” Thornton’s eyes widened.

“What… Jane Patrick is here? In Bangkok?” He grabbed my shoulders.

“You need to stay away from him. And for your information, he didn’t ‘leave’ Harvard. He was expelled.” I sat at a tram stop later, dazed. Thornton told me P’Jane was a legend at Harvard-a student with a photographic memory and a sky-high IQ-who was kicked out for an “incident” with another student. Thornton himself had to retire early because of P’Jane. When I asked why he complied with P’Jane’s demands, the professor only said: “I owed him a favor. I had no choice! If I didn’t, he would come after me!” I missed the family dinner. I was walking toward Parking Lot B to find a taxi when I saw him. P’Jane. And he wasn’t alone. He was with Jui-the girl he claimed he didn’t even know. I watched from the shadows. Jui was crying, begging. P’Jane stood with his hands in his pockets, his face cold. He forced her into a car with her abusive ex-boyfriend, James. He was “returning” her to James because James now owed him a favor. P’Jane’s smile as he watched them drive away wasn’t the smile of my boyfriend. It was the smile of the Soul Hunter. P’Jane parked his BMW at a high-end club. He grabbed a baseball bat from the trunk and walked into the VIP section. He didn’t go to dance. He went to the fire exit, where someone was waiting. He lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around his face. He looked at the young man standing there with a small, chilling smile-the kind where the eyes stay dead.

“So, Putt,” P’Jane said calmly.

“I heard you took Jane to talk to Thee?”