When Rosalind asked with concern, she explained that an outlet in her house had caught fire, burning the kitchen.
The fire hadn't been large. Mrs. Laurent's son and daughter-in-law were home and quickly put it out.
Rosalind reminded her to be careful with electricity and to replace any aging outlets.
Mrs. Laurent was now full of regret. "I should have replaced them last year when your place caught fire. I was just hoping for the best, and that's what led to this!"
Rosalind and Noreen both froze.
"My place caught fire? When? Why don't I know anything about this?" Rosalind was completely bewildered.
"It was around this time last year," Mrs. Laurent said. "Your kitchen caught fire. You weren't home at the time. It was Noreen's boyfriend who saw the smoke and climbed from my place to yours to put it out. It was so dangerous. I was sweating bullets for that young man. I mean, it's the twelfth floor. If he had slipped, it would have been a disaster."
Last year… boyfriend…
Noreen's heart lurched.
The only one Mrs. Laurent knew was Seth.
Mrs. Laurent then realized her mistake and quickly clarified, "Well, ex-boyfriend now. Noreen told me last year they broke up. I thought it was such a shame at the time. He was such a nice young man. A real pity they broke up."
Even Rosalind hadn't known about this.
But she did remember that during that period, Seth had often come to see her and had even replaced all the outlets in her kitchen.
At the time, she had been angry on Noreen's behalf and had been quite unfriendly to Seth, saying many harsh things.
Fearing that Noreen would dwell on it, Rosalind quickly changed the subject. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be. They've broken up, so it's best they go their separate ways. But you should really be careful with fire and electricity in your home from now on."
Mrs. Laurent nodded vigorously in agreement.
Back at the apartment, Rosalind carefully observed Noreen's reaction.
Seeing that she was calm, she let out a small sigh of relief.



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