Page 107 of The Friend Zone Experiment

“I can imagine.” Renee dug her thumbs into her temples, pushing her hair back. “So my dad told the firm to fire your mom.”

Ket Siong nodded.

Renee was remembering being in his narrow room at halls. Ket Siong saying,I have to go back,refusing to look her in the eye.

“That’s why you had to break off your studies,” she said.

He shrugged. “We were already stretched. It was better for me to go home.”

It wasn’t a denial.

“Oh my God,” said Renee. “Ket Siong, this is terrible. No wonder you resented me.”

He’d been so different, after coming back to his room. Renee could summon his expression even now, could recreate every detail. It was the way he’d flinched away from her, like he couldn’t bear to look at her, much less touch her.

Even now, the memory stung. Even with an understanding of Ket Siong’s reasons, and Ket Siong himself gazing at her with his heart in his eyes.

The change had been so complete and shocking. She’d felt like a piece of garbage, thrown aside.

“I couldn’t understand why you were acting that way,” she said. “I thought I’d made a mistake. Like I’d pushed you into it, or something.”

“No,” said Ket Siong. “I think I fell in love with you the day we met. When you sat next to me at Nathalie’s piano. Do you remember?”

Renee had asked Ket Siong to teach her the Mozart sonata he’d played for her. She remembered watching his fingers on the keys, trying to reproduce what they did, complaining when she fell short. Ket Siong had tried to help, showing her what she should do with her hands, taking her through each bar. He had been utterly charming.

“A pretty girl sitting next to you, letting you show off,” said Renee. “You never had a chance.”

“No,” Ket Siong agreed. He reached out and took her hand. “The day we first kissed… I’ve never forgotten it. What happened with your father didn’t make a difference to how I felt about you. I knew it wasn’t your fault. But I felt I owed it to my family to break things off.”

He traced the veins in Renee’s wrist with his index finger. The touch was light, barely there. Every brush of his fingertip against her skin sent a shivery thrill racing from the back of her neck down her spine.

She swallowed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ket Siong’s finger paused, resting against the thin skin of her wrist, just over her pulse.

“I promised my brother I wouldn’t tell anyone,” he said. “I’m sorry, Renee. I know I hurt you. I didn’t feel I had a choice, at the time. I’ve always regretted it.”

His hand was large and warm. It felt right, cradling hers. Renee never wanted to let it go.

She made to disentangle their hands. Ket Siong released her, sitting back. She didn’t want to see hurt or wariness in his eyes, so she didn’t look up.

“I wish I’d known,” said Renee. “But I get it. I get why you did it.”

A thread had come loose on her jumper. She played with it, twirling the thread around her finger before letting it go.

“But what’s changed?” she said. “My dad’s still the reason your mom got fired. I don’t agree with everything he does. It’d be more accurate to say I disagree with almost everything he does. We have different values. And…” She hesitated. “I don’t think this thing with Chahaya is going to happen.”

“You don’t think he’ll choose you?”

It was hard to read Ket Siong’s tone of voice. Renee couldn’t stop herself from sneaking a look at him.

He was waiting for her answer, clear-eyed and calm. She could tell him anything, and he’d listen.

“I think my chances are pretty good,” she said. “We got the deal, and I’m still on speaking terms with my brother. I’ve done everything Dad wanted. That doesn’t mean he’ll go for me, but…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever happens, I don’t think I want to do it.

“I don’t want to run Chahaya,” she repeated, and knew it was true. It was the first time Renee had admitted it to herself. “It’s not even about the Freshview deal. I mean, that’s what got me thinking about it. But if I took on Chahaya, I’d have to give up Virtu. I couldn’t keep running it myself. I could hire somebody else to do it, but… and I’d have to move back to Singapore. Back to dinner with the family every Sunday.”

She tipped her head back, closing her eyes. “Oh my God, you can’t imagine. There was always some stupid fight, every time. Su Beng or Su Khoon would start squabbling about Chahaya, or money, or something dumb one of them did. And I’d be right in the middle of it, this time around. No way out.”

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