“Speak of the devil.” He sighed heavily as Rhea’s picture flashed intrusively. She had been calling him all through the night and then again this morning. No doubt fixated on events of last night and looking for reassurance while interrogating him. She had done this a lot these past months. He had avoided answering, knowing fine it was alcohol fueled at first and now it was probably not wise to pick up after ignoring her until noon.

“Answer it. She’ll show up here otherwise and make a scene. You know how she gets.” ZhengLi warned, knowing that the sweet and calm side of Rhea was only half a picture and...