Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

CHAPTER THREE
THE PENINSULA HOTEL, LOS ANGELES
“It’s as baffling to me as it is to you,” Alex Leong said, stirring the ice cubes in his scotch
glass with his finger. “Astrid’s never left Cassian for this long a period before. I can’t
imagine what’s going through her mind.”
From his chair on the rooftop bar, Charlie gazed out at the palm trees that seemed to
line every street in Beverly Hills. He didn’t know if Astrid’s brother was truly sincere or
putting on a performance, especially since he knew that Alex—long estranged from his
parents—was especially close to Astrid. Trying a different tactic, Charlie said, “I’m worried
Astrid’s had some sort of breakdown and she’s unable to get help. She’s been MIA for five
weeks now. You’d think your parents would be the least bit concerned.”
Alex jerked his head indignantly, his Persol sunglasses reflecting against the setting
sun. “I am the last person to answer this question, since I haven’t spoken to my father in
years.”
“But surely you know them well enough to know how they might react?” Charlie
pressed on.
“I was always the black sheep of the family, so I suppose I was more prepared when my
parents took out the knives. But Astrid has always been the darling princess. She’s been
raised her whole life to be absolutely perfect, to never put a wrong foot forward, so it
must have really hit her hard when things didn’t go so perfectly. Astrid’s scandal makes
me look like a saint at this point—I can’t begin to imagine how they must have reacted,
the things they must have said.”
“She did tell me that her parents ordered her to go into hiding. But if they adore Astrid
as much as I know they do, I don’t understand how they could be so coldhearted. I mean,
she’s done absolutely nothing wrong! None of this was her fault,” Charlie tried to reason.
Alex leaned back in his chair and grabbed a fistful of wasabi peas from the little bowl on
the table. “The thing you have to understand about my parents is that the only thing that
matters to them is their reputation. They care about appearances more than anything else
in life. My father has spent his whole life crafting his legacy—being the elder statesman
and all that shit, and my mum just cares that she’s the queen bee of the establishment
crowd. So everything in their world has to be according to their exacting standards. They