When Nina returned, Aurelia casually asked, "Who was that on the phone? Your mom?"
"No," Nina shook her head, "It was a classmate."
"Oh." Aurelia had thought perhaps Sheryl had come back.
Nina tried hard to maintain her composure, taking Mira by one hand and Kane by the other. "Let's go, guys. Time for some fun." She wanted to forget all about the incident.
As the sun began to dip in the sky, they all went out to a restaurant for dinner.
They sat by the window, where they could enjoy a seafood feast while watching the sunset over the ocean.
At the next table, some diners were discussing the day's grisly news.
"Did you hear about the guy who was killed? He brought his mistress on a vacation, and when his wife showed up, he hit her. In a fit of rage, she poisoned both him and the mistress. I was at the scene. It was horrific. They bled everywhere, eyes wide open. They definitely didn't die in peace."
"Serves the cheater and his mistress right, but it's a shame about the wife. She'll probably get the death penalty and they've got two kids at home. I heard the eldest is only four, and the youngest is barely two."
"The wife was too impulsive. She should have just divorced the guy instead of creating a lose-lose situation."
"What do you know? This is about preferring to shatter than remaining whole yet flawed. If all women were that fierce, no man would dare to cheat."
Aurelia overheard their conversation and immediately thought of the trio she had seen beneath the palm trees. Could it be them?
The wife seemed so meek and cried after being hit, not daring to fight back. Who would have thought she'd resort to poison?
Was this a case of a desperate rat trying to bite a cat?
It was such a pity that Beverly, the gossip enthusiast, wasn't there. She would have delved into the story, uncovering every last detail.
Nina turned pale, with her palms sweating with nervousness. She wiped them surreptitiously before picking up her fork again to eat.
She wanted to go home, not stay here, but it was too late, and her dad would never agree.
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