Twenty minutes before, at Camellia’s house.

She was drinking water in the kitchen when her mother and aunt entered. “The food was fantastic,” Pakinam remarked.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Layla said, known for her love of cooking without the help of the maids or Camellia when there was a gathering at her house. “However, I’d like to see you cook one day.”

“Keep wishing, honey; I’m not going to ruin my beautiful hands in the kitchen.” Camellia chuckled at her aunt’s reaction; Nadine’s mother, Pakinam, was not a fan of cooking; she had an outgoing, self-centered personality. She was more concerned with her social standing than with anything else.

Camellia’s phone kept vibrating. When she looked at it, she noticed the voice messages from Nadine. She walked out of the kitchen and into the garden to listen to them. “Lena is on her way to your house, Camellia. I want you to take a letter from her and don’t let anyone see her.” — “Call me when you get it,” Nadine said, her voice shaking.

Camellia was perplexed, but she phoned Lena’s number to find out where she was. “Lena where are you?” she asked after Lena answered the phone.

“I’ll be right there. what exactly is going on? why did she request this letter from me?” Lena appeared surprised. “She called me, and her voice was strange, and she told me to write a letter of termination for Adam, and the letter was bizarre” — in the background, the sound of a car door closing — “I’m outside, could you come out now, she wants me to give it to you in person.”

Adam began working for Nadine’s family corporation the day they graduated. Both were engaged and planning to marry. Camellia pushed open the door, revealing Lena on the other side, clutching the letter.

She tried to persuade Lena to come in for a cup of tea, but she politely declined because she had left her friends, who were about to go to the movies. Lena handed Camellia the letter before returning to her car and driving away.

Layla was leaving the kitchen when she met Camellia halfway. Camellia’s gaze shifted between the letter and her mother, who noticed her perplexity. “Who came?” Layla asked.

“It was Lena, she needed her to get some work papers,” Camellia explained.

“This girl is becoming a workaholic like her father,” Layla said as she walked into another room.

Camellia examined her mother’s moving body before opening the letter when Layla was not nearby. “Shit! She’s really firing him” — she went upstairs to her room, took her phone from her jeans back pocket, and called Nadine to find out what was going on — “Nadine! what happened?”

“I’ll tell you everything, just do what she told you,” Nadine said calmly before cutting the call, leaving Camellia even more confused.

“What?!” Camellia said, looking at the phone.