When Rosalind asked with concern, she exined that an outlet in her house had caught fire, burning the kitchen.


    The fire hadn''t beenrge. Mrs. Laurent''s son and daughter-inw were home and quickly put it out.


    Rosalind reminded her to be careful with electricity and to rece any aging outlets.


    Mrs. Laurent was now full of regret. "I should have reced themst year when your ce caught fire. I was just hoping for the best, and that''s what led to this!"


    Rosalind and Noreen both froze.


    "My ce caught fire? When? Why don''t I know anything about this?" Rosalind waspletely bewildered.


    "It was around this timest 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 ce 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 rified, "Well, ex-boyfriend now. Noreen told mest 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 oftene to see her and had even reced 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.


    After they finished packing, Noreen went to the supermarket to buy


    some fresh shrimp and


    to make shrimp wontons with Rosalind.


    home


    Rosalind packed three boxes and asked Noreen to take them to Wade.


    Noreen didn''t refuse. She took the wontons and left.


    Wade''s new residence wasn''t far from his old one, and the route took her past Seth''s former home.


    The frame of the house had been rebuilt, and the basic structure seemed much the same as before.


    But because Seth was in prison, construction had stopped, leaving just the bare frame standing there, a stark contrast to the luxurious vis surrounding it content


    When Noreen arrived at the Harcourt residence, Wade was in the living room carefully wiping the


    photograph of histe wife wy


    soft cloth.


    This was the first time Noreen had seen Mrs. Harcourt''s face.


    She was beautiful.


    Seth resembled his mother about seventy or eighty percent, with the remaining part being his own unique charm.


    "Seth looks a lot like his mother," Wade said to Noreen, his gaze on the photograph gentle. "His personality is just like hers, too."


    "Both stubborn."


    Wade and Mrs. Harcourt had always had a wonderful rtionship; they were a legendary couple in the business world.


    That''s why Mrs. Harcourt''s sudden death had been a devastating blow to Wade.


    He had almostpletely fallen apart.


    And that was why Noreen felt Seth was so cruel.


    How could he bear to make an elderly man suffer the pain of losing a loved one again?


    "Mr. Harcourt, haven''t you tried to persuade Seth to get awyer? What if there''s still


    a chance?"


    Wade sighed. "Of course I have. I tried a long time ago. He won''t listen. He''s incredibly stubborn."