Neo pov:-

I am Neo Wattarakul, soon-to-be Neo Rittavath. Right now, I’m sitting in the marriage hall dressing room, dressed in a groom’s suit, waiting for the moment when everything will start—when the wedding will finally begin.

And here’s the thing: I’m not marrying a girl. No bride, no flowers for her—just a groom and… another groom.

I’m not gay. I’m not straight. Honestly? I have no clue which gender I prefer for romantic relationships. My dad, Mr. Watt, never let me—or my elder brother —have any relationships. So here I am, about to marry a boy, and probably looking like a deer caught in headlights.

Now, if you’re wondering why my dad is marrying me off to a guy… well, this all started from a stupid pact signed fifteen years ago between two powerful mafia families: the Rittavath and the Wattarakul.

I remember the pact clearly—it said my brother kai will marry Darin from the Rittavath family. End of story. That deal was closed. But apparently… someone “modified” the pact. Now it says that both Wattarakul children must marry both Rittavath children.

Can you believe it? Someone actually changed the words of the pact, but instead of figuring out who did it, both mafia families are blindly following it like angels from heaven dictated the change themselves. I mean… really? Idiots. That’s my own family, by the way, being idiots. And here I am, stuck in the middle, having to obey whatever they decide.

The nervousness inside me feels like it’s eating me alive. Why shouldn’t I be nervous? It’s my wedding day, for crying out loud. And the most ridiculous part? I don’t even know anything about my husband—all I know is his name: Mr. Ravin Rittavath

I’ve never seen him, but the name alone… the sound of it… makes me imagine a 54-year-old man, bald, fat, and probably grumpy. Is that what I’m marrying? An old man? Nooo… no way. I’m still in university. I cannot marry some old dude. This is insane.

“Neo,, Neo , Neo,” a voice calls, jolting me back to reality.

The voice dragged me out of my spiraling thoughts and daydreams.

It was Sirin, my friend—always loud, always full of energy. Alongside her were krit,run,tonkla,pao and my cousin tawan, all here to give me strength, to ground me when my mind was running wild.

Sirin eyes were full of concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft and filled with concern.

I forced a small, faded smile, trying to hide the storm inside me.

"I… I’m fine," I muttered, though I wasn’t even sure if I believed it.

Then came a sharp knock, knock, knock at the door.

My heart skipped. No… it didn’t just skip—it leapt, pounded, and raced all at once.

Could this be it? The moment I’ve been dreading and anticipating? The moment they’d finally call me into the wedding hall?

My palms felt sweaty. My legs trembled. And somewhere deep inside, a tiny, stubborn part of me whispered: Brace yourself, Neo. This is it.

Neo POV:--

The door creaked open, and a young man stepped inside.

For a second, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest—

Was it him?

But then I exhaled in relief.

Oh, thank God. It wasn’t my mysterious soon-to-be husband.

It was Darin Rittavath— my brother-in-law, or rather, my husband’s brother.

Not going to lie, Darin looked stupidly handsome in that red suit. The color suited him too well, and that effortlessly charming smile of his could calm down a storm. For a second, it almost worked on me too.

My friends—karun,kritsana,sirin,

tonkla,pao —and my cousin tawan quietly slipped out to give us some privacy.

The door clicked shut behind them with a sharp “click”, leaving me alone with Darin.

He leaned against the doorframe, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“So, how are you feeling? Nervous… or on the verge of a heart attack?”

I sighed dramatically. “Both. At the same time.”

Darin chuckled. “Should I call you Neo, my husband’s brother, or my brother-in-law?”

I groaned. “Darin, please stop teasing me. I’m already having a mental breakdown here.”

“Alright, alright,” he said, hands raised in surrender, a smile still tugging at his lips. “Take a deep breath, groom-to-be.”

I obeyed. One. Two. Three deep breaths. It helped… a little.

“Hey, Darin,” I said after a moment, curiosity creeping in, “can you tell me something about your brother? Like… how he looks, his personality, if he’s nice or mean?”

Darin and I had always been close—more like friends than in-laws.

We’d done all sorts of stupid things together: sneaking out for midnight snacks, judging random people at parties, binging horror movies until 3 a.m.

He had a heart of pure gold—gentle, warm, and loyal. It honestly baffled me that my brother,Kai , couldn’t see that. he was always buried in his mafia work, wearing that cold, emotionless mask.

But that’s a whole different story.

And it hurts.

We haven’t talked properly in years… and I still don’t know when exactly he drifted so far away from me.

Darin's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Hm…” He hummed thoughtfully before saying, “In personality, he’s a total copy of your brother—cold, calm, calculated. But in looks?”

He smirked. “Young, handsome, charming, adorable… though obviously not as handsome as me or my husband.”

I snorted. “Yeah, yeah, sure. I just hope he’s not what I’m imagining—a fifty-four-year-old bald man with a beer belly.”

Darin froze for half a second, then burst out laughing.

Like—really laughing. He was holding his stomach, tears forming in his eyes.

“You’re killing me, Neo! My little brother, a fat bald old man? No way!” He could barely breathe between laughs. “He’s damn handsome, trust me.”

“Okay, okay, stop exaggerating,” I said, rolling my eyes. “He’s not that handsome. You sound like you’re promoting a model brand.”

Darin finally stopped laughing, his grin softening into something genuine.

“Neo, I’m serious. He’s handsome. And when you see him for the first time…”

He leaned closer, lowering his voice.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll be mesmerized.”

“Oh really?” I said dramatically, crossing my arms. “We’ll see about that.”

He chuckled, eyes gleaming with mischief. “If you’re so confident, let’s make it interesting. A bet. Your first reaction decides who wins.”

Oh, now that caught my attention.

“You’re on,” I said with a smirk. “one million dollars.”

One million meant nothing to our families.

Millions, billions, trillions—it was all part of the mafia life.

But what wasn’t normal was us—the people stuck living inside those deals.

Darin’s grin widened. “Deal.”

We both said it at the same time, our voices in perfect sync.

“Deal.”

Neo pov:-

Darin straightened his suit. “Alright, don’t panic, okay? My brother isn’t going to eat you alive. Relax. I need to go check things in the hall.”

I smiled faintly and nodded. “Thanks, Darin.”

For a few minutes, his presence had actually made me forget all the chaos swirling inside me. I watched him walk toward the door, reaching for the handle—

—but before he could open it fully, someone from the other side pulled it open too fast.

They collided, and the person almost fell backward, but Darin caught them instinctively, arms firm and quick.

It was kai.

My dear brother.

Wow. What a scene.

Darin holding kai in his arms, their eyes locking, air thick with awkward romantic tension—if that wasn’t straight out of a drama, I didn’t know what was.

If I had my phone right now, I’d totally snap a picture of them like this.

Not to “admire” it, of course.

Purely for blackmail purposes.

“Are they going to stay in this position for life?” I muttered under my breath, watching Kai and Darin frozen like mannequins.

Finally, they snapped out of it—straightening up, awkwardly adjusting their posture, too nervous to even glance at each other.

Darin cleared his throat. “I’ll… head out. You two can talk. Bye.”

He turned toward the door, relief written all over his face, but Kai voice stopped him mid-step.

“Wait… rin (darin)” he said, his tone softer than usual. “Can you wait outside for few minutes? I need to talk to you - But before that, I need to speak with Neo.”

Both Darin and I froze.

Wait—what? Kai wants to talk to me? The brother who treated me like I didn’t exist for years?

For a second, I actually thought I was dreaming. Maybe today isn’t cursed after all. Maybe this wedding… isn’t just about the pact.

Oh god, thank you. Thank you so much.

I was so happy I could’ve danced right there in my groom’s suit—even if the world thought I’d lost my mind.

Rin blinked in surprise, then gave a small nod. “O-okay,” he said, a faint, hesitant smile tugging at the corner of his lips before he stepped out.

The door clicked shut, and suddenly, the room felt too big. Too quiet.

Kai and I stood there, surrounded by thick silence. The air between us was heavy, awkward—like there were a thousand words waiting, but neither of us dared to speak first.

Finally, he broke the silence.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice cold but careful.

You know, I thought I’d be tired of that question by now—everyone’s been asking it since morning—but hearing it from him… it hit differently.

For the first time in years, he was actually talking to me. He cared. Even if his tone didn’t show it, his eyes—those guarded eyes—gave him away.

Something inside me cracked open. My throat tightened, and warmth burned behind my eyes. I could barely speak.

“I–I’m fine,” I managed, my voice small, trembling.

He let out a soft, uninterested “Hmm.” But I could see his jaw clench, like he was holding something back.

Silence again.

Then, out of nowhere, He asked, “Do you love someone else?”