Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

she saw the kind of man he really was. You know, before I left her last night, Auntie Cat
told me something else she’s never told anyone—what happened the day that Ah Ma died.
She was the only one in the bedroom with her when she passed.” Nick’s voice became a
little choked up as he recounted his aunt’s words:
When I first got to Singapore, your grandmother told me that the spirits had been
visiting her. She said that her older brother, Ah Jit, had come, her father had been in the
room. Of course, I thought that all the morphine she was on was giving her
hallucinations. Then on the afternoon she died, I was sitting at her bedside when her
breathing started becoming more and more labored. I watched the monitors, but
everything seemed fine and I didn’t want to raise the alarm just yet. Then suddenly
Mummy opened her eyes and gripped my hand. “Be a good girl, give up your chair for
him,” she said. “Who?” I asked, and then I saw this look on her face, this look of pure
love. “James!” she said in this joyous tone, and that was her last breath. I swear to you,
Nicky, I felt him. I could feel my father’s presence in the room, sitting on that chair, and I
could feel them leave together.
Rachel sat on the edge of her bed, blinking away the tears. “Wow. I’m getting chills. It’s
starting to make sense now…why your grandmother was so opposed to our marrying.”
“She felt that her father had been right to choose my grandfather for her, and she
should have obeyed his wishes all along. That’s why she was so adamant that I obey her!”
Nick said.
Rachel nodded slowly. “Yes, and think about how she found out that my mother had an
affair with a man out of wedlock, and that I came from that relationship. It must have
brought back all her own fears and her guilt over her affair.”
Nick sighed. “It was so misguided, but she thought she was protecting me. Let me show
you something. It fell out of one of her diaries.” Nick took out a small folded letter and
handed it to Rachel. Embossed in red below an ornate coat of arms were the words:
WINDSOR CASTLE
My Dear Su Yi,
I cannot begin to express my debt of gratitude for all you and your brother
Alexander did during the darkest days of the war. Allowing Tyersall Park
to be a safe haven for some of our most essential British and Australian
officers played no small role in saving countless lives. Your acts of
heroism, too many to recount here, will never be forgotten.
Sincerely,
George R.I.
“George R.I….” Rachel looked at Nick incredulously.
“Yep, Queen Elizabeth’s father. He was the king during the war. Rachel, you won’t