"I… am not sure how I should feel about my friend seducing my sister's boyfriend…" Rina released a soft sigh.
"What?" Leah turned to Rina.
"What?!" Rosse turned to Rina.
"Wait, what?" Suzan turned to Rina.
"What, what?" Rina asked with a confused look on her face.
"Lucy's step-brother is your sister's boyfriend?"
"Yes." Melinda replied instead of Rina.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Maybe she is just assuming things like always."
"I am not. I confirmed it when I met him."
"Wait, really?" Leah, Rosse, and Suzan were clearly shocked after learning that.
"Does Lucy know?" Suzan inquired.
"She is his sister. Obviously, she is aware of it."
"Uh huh. I don't think she is." Rosse shook her head.
"Why would you say that?"
"Because she is crushing on him! It's obvious that she loves him. Oh my god! Am I the only one who can't see this ending well?"
"Why are you freaking out like this?" Rina still couldn't grasp the seriousness of the situation.
"You should be freaking out the most. He is going out with 'your' sister! She might take her anger out on you."
"How am I responsible for this? This is her personal matter with her brother and my sister. They can fight all they want. And isn't this Rudy's fault to begin with?"
"Well…"
"I think it's natural to tell the family members that they are dating someone. Given, his parents are not strict. I know Joe is a simple man and he wouldn't interfere in Lucy's or Rudy's private life.
And according to what Lucy has told us about Rudy's mother, she seems to be a nice mother. So she wouldn't mind it either. And let's be honest, it's usually the daughter's relationship that irks the parents.
They wouldn't say anything if their son is fooling around with girls, but if it's the daughter, they suddenly bring up morals and whatnot. I say they should treat their children equally. But of course, my parents are dead already, so I won't have to worry about it."
Rina stated casually.
"You are wrong. My parents aren't like that," Rosse retorted.
"Same. They support me in my every life decision. They are letting me become an actress and even paying for my fees."
"You know my parents well, Rina. You live at my house."
"...."
"Hey…" Rina squirmed and muttered, "That's not fair. If you all gang up on me like that, I would look like an idiot trying to spread hate."
"You bitches!" Lucy stormed to them. "You all started eating without me!"
Leah smirked from the corner of her lips. "Well, you were taking so long, so Rosse thought you might have gone for the number two."
"Eww! Don't talk about disgusting things while we are eating!"
Lucy sat with them, and they began eating.
The girls looked at one another, questioning whether to inform Lucy that Reina and Rudy were an item.
Melina gave them a signal and asked them to pipe down.
"Say Lucy…" She placed her hand on Lucy's thigh. "What would you do if you found out that your brother has a girlfriend?"
She took a bite from a hotdog and responded, "He already has one."
'So she knows…' the girls thought inwardly.
They all felt stupid when the matter ended in an anti-climatic way.
Lucy chewed and swallowed her bite before saying, "Her name is Alice. She is his childhood friend."
"Hmm?"
"Rudy's girlfriend. Her name is Alice."
Rina and the girls exchanged confused glances.
"Did he say that?" Melinda was the one to ask.
"No. But it's obvious if you look at them."
"Maybe you are wrong?"
"I could be. Not that it matters."
'She is awfully calm about this. Still. Alice and Rudy must be close since they managed to fool Lucy into thinking that they are a couple.'
Rina had lots of questions, but she decided not to ask them since it wasn't her place to get involved in her sister's private life.
'But if Alice and Rudy are truly an item, that would mean he is using Reina to grab her fortune. That would be bad. I need to keep a closer eye on him. I know sis and how hard-headed she is.
Even if I tell her that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she wouldn't believe me unless I give her solid proof. Thus, I need to gather multiple proofs first. Luckily, I am friends with his sister, so it should be easy.'
Rina wasn't aware of the debt her parents had left on Reina's head, and since Reina didn't want to burden Rina, she didn't tell her. Not knowing that it was Rudy who saved her from the collapse of her life.
After a while, the girls had finished their meal and decided to take a break in the shade of the umbrella before diving back into the pool.
Rosse pointed her finger at the pool house far away and asked, "All that land belongs to your parents, right?"
"Yes. In fact, they owned more than what we currently have, but they sold half of it since they had too much."
"Wow. And your sister plans to make the world's biggest amusement park here?"
"That's the plan, but I am sure as hell it would take years, if not a decade, to build it," Rina responded sarcastically.
"And a lot of money…
Rina had no interest in taking over the water park like Reina did. She wanted to start her own business and live a different life compared to Reina.
"What's that thing over there?" She pointed at the pool house. "Is someone living there?"
"Yes. Sis told me it's the engineers who would be helping with the amusement park."
"I see."
Lucy, who was silent the whole time, looked at the pool house and wondered, 'The amusement park will never be built. It didn't happen. From what I remember, the owner of this water park— Reina — went bankrupt, and she had to sell everything to pay the debt.
I could tell or hint Rina about this tragedy, but that would do nothing. If her sister had to sell everything, that means the debt was high, probably millions, if not more. Warning them about this would change nothing.
I can't help them either. I don't have money. So it's better if I let them enjoy the remaining life they have.'
Of course, that would have happened if Rudy had never met Reina. Everything would have been different.
