"Gerald?" Karenina looked at Gerald, her face pale. Clearly, she didn't realize that Gerald had been standing by the door, listening to their conversation all along.

Gerald approached and sat beside Ariana. "Hi, sister-in-law. Long time no see," he replied casually. "Didn't your informant tell you about my presence here?" he added, still in his relaxed manner.

Ariana chose to ignore both of them and uncovered the stainless steel cloche that had been covering the food since earlier. The cloche, ...