Astrid let out a deep sigh. "Not for the past five years! Charlie and I have only been together for about a year and a half-and this was after I left Michael and Charlie filed for divorce from Isabel."
"Then it is true! That's why Isabel Wu would go berserk and try to attack you! You broke up her marriage … you broke up her family!" Felicity muttered through her tears.
"Mum, Isabel Wu's marriage to Charlie has never been a happy one. I had nothing to do with their breakup. If you want to know the truth, she has been cheating on him for many years, with numerous men-"
"That still doesn't give you any excuse to be Anna Karenina! You're still being unfaithful! You're both still married to other people under the eyes of the law and God! Goodness me, what will Bishop See think when he gets wind of all this?"
Astrid rolled her eyes. She didn't give a rat's ass what Bishop See thought.
"So now what? You're going to move in to that 'love pad' with Charlie after the divorce and live in sin?"
"That's the other lie … it's not our love pad. Charlie started building that house long before we ever got together. He bought the land after his first separation from Isabel-four years ago!" Astrid took in a deep breath and steeled herself-it was the time to come completely clean with her parents. "But I suppose you should know that Charlie and I do intend to get married when our divorces are finalized, and I will likely be spending more of my time in Hong Kong."
Felicity looked at her husband in horror, waiting for him to react. "You suppose we should know? You're planning to get married this year and you only tell us now? I cannot believe you would actually marry Charlie after all this. Disgraceful … so disgraceful!"
"I really don't see what's so disgraceful about this, Mum. Charlie and I are in love. We've both acted entirely honorably throughout a very difficult time. It's just unfortunate that Isabel had another breakdown, that's all."
"That breakdown! Those obscene things she said about you in front of the whole world-I have never felt so humiliated in all my life! And those poor ladies! How can I ever look the Sultan of Perawak in the face again? We almost killed his poor mother."
"Auntie Zarah is just fine, Mum. You saw it yourself-her hijab was so encrusted with diamonds, hardly anything got through. She was more in shock because the laksa wasn't halal."
"That Charlie Wu-this is all his fault that our names are being dragged through the mud!" Felicity continued to rage.
Astrid sighed in frustration. "I know you've never liked Charlie or his family-that's why you broke us up in the first place all those years ago. But things have changed now, Mum. No one cares about their lineage and all that nonsense anymore. The Wus are no longer considered nouveau riche. They are an establishment family now."
"Establishment my foot! Wu Hao Lian's father used to sell soy sauce on a bicycle!"
"That may be how they started out, but they've come a long way since Charlie's grandfather's time. Charlie has created one of the most admired companies in the world. Look at your new phone-the screen, the casing, I'm sure at least half the components are manufactured by Wu Microsystems!"
"I detest this phone! I never know how to use this stupid thing! I swipe and swipe and instead of making a phone call, some silly video of an Indian granny singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' keeps appearing on my screen. I have to ask Lakshmi or Padme to make every damn call for me!" Felicity was seething.
"Well, I'm sorry you still don't know how to use your smartphone. But that has nothing to do with how the Wus are perceived these days. Look how much money Mrs. Wu gives to that church on Barker Road-"
"Those Wus are frightfully common, and they prove it all the more by giving an obscene amount of money to that church. They think their dirty money can buy their way into heaven!"
Astrid just shook her head. "Stop being unreasonable, Mum-"
"Your mother is not being unreasonable," Astrid's father cut in, speaking up for the first time that morning. "Look at what's happened. Until today our family was able to enjoy the privileges of total privacy and anonymity. The Leong name has never appeared in the gossip columns, much less something as silly as this … this … I don't even know what to call this idiotic Internet thing."
"And you're blaming Charlie for this?" Astrid shook her head, not seeing her father's logic.
"No. I am blaming you. Your actions, however unconsciously, have led to this. If you had never gotten entangled with these people, our lives would not now be under the spotlight."
"Come on, Dad, you're making a mountain out of a mole-"