Ket Siong gave her a sidelong glance, smiling a little. But he only said, “If you want to have those with your noodles”—meaning the neglected bean sprouts—“you’d better keep working.”
“OK,fine,” said Renee. She felt suddenly, absurdly happy.
They were quiet for a while, Ket Siong chopping vegetables—he’d even brought a knife sharpener with him—and Renee working through her pile of veg.
It was Ket Siong who broke the silence. “Did you manage to see your family?”
“Yeah.” Renee nipped the root off a bean sprout and tossed it into a bowl. “Dad’s pretty mad at me. And my brother doesn’t know whether to send me a Fortnum & Mason hamper or a turd in a box. But it was worth going.”
“They’re angry about the Freshview deal?”
“It’s not just that.” Renee paused. “You know, Dad’s devoted his entire life to Chahaya. He spent more time growing the business than raising us. He was asking me to take over his life’s work, and I turned him down. Of course he’s unhappy with me. I get it.”
Ket Siong said, “I wish your family put in as much effort to try to understand you.”
The look in his eyes made her shy. Renee looked down at her phone and saw a notification on the screen. “Oh hey, Nathalie’s sent a voice note. Do you mind…?”
She put it on speaker so she could keep going with the bean sprouts. Nathalie’s voice filled the room.
“Happy birthday, babe. I hope you have had a perfect day andgot yourself a nice treat or three. My present is on its way, I ordered it online. We need to go for cocktails very soon, I have so much to tell you about my nemesis. Are you free next week? Let’s go to the Savoy, we need to cleanse it of Andrew’s presence. I will bring sage and sixty litres of bleach. Don’t worry about that yowl, it is only Thomas whose father is very cruel, he is giving him a bath. I have to go, but let me know when you can go for drinks, and I want to know all your news. How is it with Virtu and your family whom I hate, and have you started sexting with that knobhead Ket or are you still pretending you are just friends?”
The voice note ended before Renee could pause it. She bent her head over her bowl, avoiding meeting Ket Siong’s eyes.
“She really doesn’t like me.” Ket Siong sounded more puzzled than offended. It was probably a novel experience for him, being disliked.
“It’s only because she thinks you’re two-timing me,” said Renee. “Can I tell her about Stephen? If she knew you were having coffee with Low Teck Wee’s daughter that time, that might help. I don’t want her to hate you, if you’re going to be my boyfriend.”
This elicited a much stronger reaction from Ket Siong than overhearing himself being called names. He stiffened, his knife hovering midair above the chopping board.
“Am I your boyfriend?” he said.
“I have a vacancy,” said Renee lightly. “Would you like to fill it?”
Ket Siong put down the knife, wiped his hands on a tea towel, and came over to her. Renee was feeling a little too exposed to want to look at him directly, but once she glanced up, she couldn’t look away. Under his gaze, fearlessly loving, her levity seemed cheap, revealed for the flimsy protection against hurt it was.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered.
Ket Siong put his arms around her, drawing her close. She could feel the steady beat of his heart under her cheek. She closed her eyes.
“I’ll try not to,” he said. “I’ll try my best.”
Epilogue
Christmas Day
“What do youthink?” said Renee.
Ket Siong had stayed over at her flat the night before, relying on the somewhat thin excuse that Renee might need help finding his place on Christmas Day. They’d said they’d arrive midmorning, so they could help Ma and Ket Hau prepare the lunch, but Ket Siong was regretting that agreement. They were running late.
He’d been imagining a luxuriously slow start to the day, involving a protracted lie-in. Instead, he’d spent the morning sitting on Renee’s bed while she stressed out about what she should wear for two hours straight.
This dress was black, with a pattern of blowsy white roses. It had long sleeves and a square neckline, low enough to reveal an enchanting glimpse of cleavage. Renee smoothed the fabric over her hips.
“It’s nice,” said Ket Siong. Watching the movement of her hands, he wondered if that was something he could offer to help with.
Renee glared at him. “You said that about the last one, too.”
“But they’ve all been nice,” said Ket Siong, bemused. Renee didn’t usually need reassuring about her appearance. “You always look nice.”
