𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 ── 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔. ✔︎

𝟬𝟬𝟭

          RAMONA LOVED ITALY! it was so relaxing. Today the sun was out and about. She was heading back home from her annual Venice branch inspection, like every other year. She suddenly received a call. Nicholas. Ramona grinned and picked up the phone, "Hey, Gor Gor. What's up?" she asked

"Hi Romi, I have to ask you something─"

"Oh I already know. You want to know if I think you should bring Rachel back to Singapore,"

"How did you already know that?"

the details had already begun to spread far and wide, circling the globe like a virus set loose. After Celine Lim (Parsons School of Design fashion major) e-mailed her sister Charlotte Lim (recently engaged to venture capitalist Henry Chiu) in California, Charlotte called her best friend Eloise Ma (Sir Benedict Ma's youngest daughter) in Singapore and breathlessly filled her in. Eloise texted eight friends, including Carmen Kwek (granddaughter of Robert "Sugar King" Kwek) in Shanghai, whose cousin Amelia Kwek had gone to Oxford with Nicholas Young. 

Amelia simply had to IM her friend Justina Wei (the Instant Noodle heiress) in Hong Kong, and Justina, whose office at Hutchison Whampoa was right across the hall from Roderick Liang's (of the Liang Finance Group Liangs), simply had to interrupt his conference call to share this juicy tidbit. 

Roderick in turn Skyped his girlfriend Lauren Lee, who was holidaying at the Royal Mansour in Marrakech with her grandmother Mrs. Lee Yong Chien (no introductions necessary) and her aunt Patsy Teoh (Miss Taiwan 1979, now the ex-wife of telecom mogul Dickson Teoh). 

Patsy made a poolside call to Jacqueline Ling (granddaughter of philanthropist Ling Yin Chao) in London, knowing full well that Jacqueline would have a direct line to Cassandra Shang (Nicholas Young's second cousin), who spent every spring at her family's vast estate in Surrey.

 And so this exotic strain of gossip spread rapidly through the levantine networks of the Asian jet set, and within a few hours, almost everyone in this exclusive circle knew that Nicholas Young was bringing a girl home to Singapore. 

"I have my sources, Gor Gor," Ramona replied nonchalantly. "But I want you to think about it, is this really what you want? To take things to the next level?"

"No. Well . . . maybe. This is just a summer holiday."

"Come on, this is not 'just a summer holiday.' That's not how women think, and you know it. You've been dating seriously for almost two years now. You're thirty-two, and up till now, you have never brought anyone home. This is major. Everyone is going to assume that you're going to—"

"Please," Nick warned, "don't say the m-word."

"See—you know that is exactly what will be on everyone's mind. And, I can guarantee you it's on Rachel's mind."

 "I just want to show Rachel my part of the world, that's all, no strings attached," Nick tried to explain. "And I guess part of me wants to see how she'll react to it."

"By 'it' you mean our family," Ramona quipped.

"No, not just our family. My friends, the island, everything. Can't I go on holiday with my girlfriend without it becoming a diplomatic incident?"

Ramona paused for a moment, trying to assess the situation. This was the most serious her brother had ever gotten with anyone. Even if he wasn't ready to admit it to himself, she knew that on a subconscious level, at least, he was taking the next crucial step on the way to the altar. But that step needed to be handled with extreme care.