Sawitree Chotirat was Grandma Sa's real name. She had once been a military housewife, but after her husband passed away in the line of duty, she returned to her hometown to raise her only daughter, Nongkran, without remarrying. The compensation she received back then was not substantial, so Grandma Sa turned to selling Thai desserts to support Nongkran until she was grown.
Nongkran only completed Maw Saw 3 (Grade 9) before asking Grandma Sa if she could go to Bangkok to find work while she was still young. Seeing other families with fathers while she had none, Nongkran felt a lack of warmth. Despite Grandma Sa's tireless efforts, Nongkran still felt unhappy, leading her to choose to leave her grandmother.
Several years later, Nongkran returned with her five-month-old daughter, Khaohom, whom Nongkran had named Rinlada Chotirat at the time. When Grandma Sa asked about the baby's father, Nongkran refused to say, only crying and vehemently cursing him as irresponsible.
During that year, Nongkran stayed, caring for Khaohom but doing nothing else. After just three months, Nongkran claimed she had to return to work to earn money to send back to Grandma Sa to raise her daughter. However, she only sent money for a few months before all contact ceased until the present day.
Grandma Sa, with no way to contact her daughter, had no choice but to sell desserts while raising her granddaughter under difficult circumstances. Fortunately, Khaohom was not a fussy baby; she was easy to care for and never bothered Grandma Sa, which made it impossible for her to abandon the child. Even though people who knew the story often advised Grandma Sa to take the baby to find Nongkran, she always refused.
Many years passed, and when Khaohom started school, things became somewhat easier for Grandma Sa. She sold Thai desserts and gained many regular customers. Grandma Sa's desserts were both affordable and delicious, even if they were sometimes too sweet for some people's taste. But because hers was the only dessert stall in the district that customers enjoyed frequenting, Grandma Sa had enough income to support her granddaughter.
Grandma Sa raised Khaohom until she finished high school and went on to study in Bangkok. Although the expenses were very high, Grandma Sa never gave up. She took out all her savings to support her only granddaughter through her bachelor's degree. Due to their humble background, Khaohom consistently worked part-time jobs while studying to help ease Grandma Sa's burden.
Many times, Grandma Sa found herself pondering her own fate. Since losing her husband, Grandma Sa felt like she was without family or friends. Her own parents in Tha Phae refused to acknowledge her daughter, forcing Grandma Sa to use her husband's death compensation to buy the current house and land. Grandma Sa was not unattractive in her youth; she was quite sweetly beautiful, and many men courted her back then. However, Grandma Sa felt she was a single mother and did not want her only daughter to have a stepfather. Her neighbors watched Grandma Sa's life and couldn't help but pity her. They did what they could by patronizing her stall to ensure she had income to raise her child.
When the incident with Nongkran occurred, the neighbors could only watch from afar. Many gossiped negatively about Nongkran to Grandma Sa, but out of pity for her daughter, Grandma Sa never criticized Nongkran for bringing her child to be raised by her.
Now that the same thing was happening with Khaohom, Grandma Sa could only believe it must be her own karma from a previous life that caused such misfortune in the lives of her daughter and granddaughter.
Khaohom's occasional vacant stares deeply worried Grandma Sa. She kept thinking about how she could help her granddaughter. But from everything Khaohom had told her, Grandma Sa could only grasp that her granddaughter had been mistaken in believing that man loved her, leading Khaohom to fall deep enough to give him her heart and body.
Grandma Sa sadly felt that she had failed to teach her granddaughter well, resulting in Khaohom being deceived by a man and having to return to her heartbroken. Now that Grandma Sa was old, she could only temporarily let go of the entire matter. Since it had already happened, Grandma Sa couldn't bear to see her only granddaughter suffer too much. She often inquired and told various stories to help Khaohom stop dwelling on the past.
Khaohom's condition improved somewhat after confiding everything to her grandmother. Her frequent absent-mindedness gave way to a noticeable increase in cheerfulness. Perhaps because Khaohom was able to release what she had kept bottled up inside to the person who loved her, Grandma Sa, and also because she was busy making and selling desserts at the market. Seeing and interacting with many different customers made Khaohom feel that her life was not so bad after all. She was determined to sell desserts to support her grandmother and herself until she no longer had the strength, hoping to heal the heartache from her past love. Khaohom tried not to think about her past experiences. She wanted to start a new, happy life with her grandmother.
Khaohom's dessert stall received much praise from customers. Word spread that the vendor made delicious desserts and was beautiful, too. Many single men frequented her stall and tried to flirt with Khaohom. Unfortunately, she didn't reciprocate, leaving them heartbroken. Grandma Sa could only watch the young men buying sweets from her granddaughter with amusement. She thought Khaohom's mental state must have improved greatly after selling desserts for almost a month.
"You're not interested in any of those young men, dear?" Grandma Sa asked with a subtle, aging tease.
"Oh, Grandma! I'm not ready for love again anytime soon. It's better they go find other nice girls," Khaohom replied with a sweet smile.
"My Khaohom is just as good as any other girl. You're overthinking this," Grandma Sa shook her head in disagreement.
"Haa. Let's leave this matter for now, Grandma. I just want to sell desserts and take good care of you."
"Alright, alright. Whatever makes you happy, Khaohom. Look, customers are coming again, dear," Grandma Sa alerted Khaohom when she saw a regular customer walking their way.
"Understood, Grandma. Tell me what you want to eat today, my desserts are almost sold out," Khaohom smiled sweetly at her grandmother before turning to await the customer approaching her stall.
Grandma Sa smiled to herself, receiving such affectionate care from her only granddaughter. She felt the atmosphere at home was much better now than before. Having Khaohom around made Grandma Sa no longer feel lonely as she did when she was alone.
Grandma Sa's old house had only one ancient television. The only phone was an old push-button model bought decades ago. Even when Khaohom offered to buy her a new one, Grandma Sa refused, thinking she didn't need it for anything other than receiving calls from her granddaughter. Only occasionally would Grandma Sa call Khaohom.
Grandma Sa had lived frugally since she was young. Despite having the burden of raising her granddaughter for many years, Grandma Sa had managed to save some money without Khaohom's knowledge. Grandma Sa hoped this money would be useful for her granddaughter after she passed away. Grandma Sa did not want Khaohom to struggle, so she had saved it all along.
Khaohom, who resigned to return home, also had savings. She used to receive frequent and generous special payments from Alan. Khaohom only brought the car and the money she had to start over here. She did not bring any of the valuable jewelry or clothes he had bought her. Khaohom left the key to that house with her former boss, asking her to pass it on to Alan's secretary when they returned to Thailand in the future.
Khaohom did not want anyone to look down on her, suggesting she used her body to catch Alan. She knew her status was on a different level from his. But during the five years she spent with Alan whenever he was in Thailand, Khaohom couldn't help but delude herself into thinking he might have feelings for her. It wasn't until the day she learned he was to be engaged to another woman that Khaohom realized with bitter clarity that she had been worthless, no different from a plaything, just as he implied.
In the past, Khaohom had lived entirely according to Alan's wishes. Whatever he wanted her to do, wherever he wanted her to go, or whatever he forbade her from doing, Khaohom never refused and always complied. She eventually felt that everything she did for him was not her true self.
Now that Khaohom was back living with her grandmother, she wanted to return to the cheerful and friendly person she was as a child. Khaohom wished to completely forget Alan as soon as possible, but she knew this would take some time, as her emotional wounds were still fresh. Everything was deeply embedded in her mind. Khaohom would let time slowly heal her heart until she could forget Alan.