Pasco sat alone in his sparse apartment in Bangkok, staring out the window at the skyline. The city's lights blurred in the distance, a stark contrast to the chaos inside his mind. He had always wanted to make his father proud, to follow the architect's path his family had paved for him. But tonight, the weight of those expectations felt like an iron chain around his heart.
He closed his eyes and was transported back to a
different time—back to the warmth of Phnom Penh.
The memory of Debbie flooded his senses: her
smile, her touch, their laughter under the stars.
They had talked about a future, a life where nothing
could stand in their way.
"You're going to make it, Pasco," Debbie had said,
her eyes filled with belief. "We'll build something
great together. No matter how far apart we are,
we'll make it work."
But time and distance had shattered those dreams.
His father had always told him that success came
first, love second. And Pasco, weak and insecure,
had chosen his father's path over the girl he had
once loved more than anything.