A yellowing maple leaf floated above Renata's head before settling on her hair. Wilson picked it up and threw it, patiently waiting for Renata's answer. "Can we talk about this after the test?" Renata finally opened her voice.

"No. The test will start next Wednesday and last until Saturday, and then we will have a holiday for a week. That means we will meet again on the first of December. No. " He adamantly shook his head. "Not a chance. I need to know now, Renata. "

She shoved around the scattered leaves with her right leg; the pointy edge of her right shoe got dirt all over it. "Promise me, you won't react or do anything related to anything you will today." She sighed as she stared into his eyes.

Wilson frowned, "I'm not going to promise you anything without knowing what the problem is first. Just tell me, Renata. I think I can handle whatever you are going to say."

She glanced at the far river, opposing his face, "I hate Meghan."

Wilson's curiosity was at its peak; he couldn't fathom how it was related to him. She finally continued, "You are related to James, so you always remind me of him and Meghan. You have no idea how many times I wanted to tell you, to ask you, or to discuss this. But you are so close to him, so I hesitated. I'm not sure how you would react if I told you. "

Renata sipped her coffee a little and told him how Meghan asked for bags or a discount from her the other day. "Not only was she an entitled jerkwad, I think she had sex with Lyle in his car that Saturday. Lyle's Porsche is a double-seater; can you imagine how disgusted I was along the way in that car? " This was also why she concluded that Meghan might learn about her being the future owner of Rosaline Perlée from Lyle and spread it around. Gosh, how much she hated it, and Meghan for it.

Wilson gaped as his eyes were about to fall off from their sockets, "Wait. Are you sure? Do you have any proof? "

Renata pointed at her nose, "That day, Meghan told me she was wearing Vera Wang perfume; I think the name is Flower Princess(?). On our way to the first destination, the aquarium, no girlish scent I smelled from him or his car. After we left the Mystick Village, on our way to our next destinations like the theater and the restaurant, my nose could distinguish the perfume aroma in his car. But I only recognized it as it was when we sat in the theater next to each other. That, or Lyle likes to wear girly perfume. Another point was that they were texting at almost synchronized time in the theater. During our date, Lyle was constantly texting; I didn't give a flying freak, I just didn't care. When I started to suspect them, of course, I paid more attention to him and Meghan then. They were typing on their BlackBerrys in the cinema at almost the same time. Do you have any better theories? "

Stolen story; please report.

He contemplated her theories; it did make sense, "Weren't you and Lyle together all the time?"

"Not all the time. I was in this jewelry store, and he left me to go to the toilet. And gosh, did he get lost in the loo or did he get lost in some coochies? Here are photos of those receipts. " She gave him her BlackBerry while she chronologically detailed her date. Wilson could see from the time stamp on each cash receipt that there was a significant time Lyle left Renata alone, in a crowded place. And God knew what dangerous situation she could be in. Not that he was that concerned about her, maybe a little.

12.49 pm - She had lunch with Lyle at a pizza place, $69.95.

2.17 pm - Jewelry store, $220 (-)disc $10, so she paid $210

2.34 pm - Coffee and a doughnut, $8.65

2.56 pm - Merchandise, $51 for his tumbler and T-shirt

8.48 pm - This receipt shouldn't be related to the Meghan-Lyle story, but $ 97.85 for 3 items? Oh, tips included. This restaurant & bar was expensive. Were they drunk?

Renata continued rambling, "And he wasn't back for another 5 minutes or so when I got back to James's table from that merchandise store. Meghan was not there either. You tell me, what do you think he was doing for more than 45 minutes? Taking a dump while standing in line? "

"Why did your father send you these receipts? Wait, You spent almost $450 in a day? That was insane. "

"OK, that's not the point here." Renata rolled her eyes at him. "Lyle was gone for a long time; Meghan was separated from James all the time. His car didn't have that perfume smell earlier in the day, but I could smell the perfume on him and the car after we finished shopping in the Mystick Village. And they were texting almost at the same time when they were in the theater. He parked his black car in quite a secluded lot. I thought he was worried if other people's cars scratched it, but that might not be the reason. His windows were also all black; it would be difficult if people tried to peep inside. Come on, Wilson!! Don't you think it's possible? "

"Yes, I believe they were having an affair. And thank you for the J.A.R.V.I.K. tumbler and T-shirt. How thoughtful of you? Your $51 was well spent. " If not for this Meghan-Lyle thing, Renata would be elated by his sarcastic tone, since it was her purpose to give him those. "Was your father not angry at you for spending that much in a day?"

Renata showed him the fading four welts on her calves. "My father took the receipts, to remind me in the future not to spend that much in a day. I was curious about how long Lyle was disappearing on me, so I asked my father to send me those photos. I thought I could calculate it by seeing the time stamp on the receipts. " She additionally recounted the whole story of her date with Lyle in the restaurant, including the fight, how she ended up in the police station, and why her father punished her.

Wilson unconsciously touched her welts, making her blush. "Did your father abuse you?" He asked with genuine concern.

Renata puffed out her chest, "Don't speak of him like that; he is not abusive. Strict, yes. He did that out of love, to pull me back to the right track, to keep me from straying away." She finished her coffee in a gulp and said, "If a father is abusive, he would hit out of hate. Usually, it won't end with just light welts like I had. "

"Can he discipline you with words, no hitting involved?"

"When we ride a mule, a donkey, or a horse, we tend to hit their backs too. Now you tell me, which one is harder to steer: the mule or me? "

He didn't need to think; the answer was obvious. "Point taken." Wilson also gulped the last sip of his tea, "So, when are we going to tell James about all this?"

Renata whipped her head to face him and said, "Are you crazy? No, I'm not going to say anything to him. And you are not too; this is why I didn't want to tell you in the first place. "

"Of course, we have to. How could we let James be used by that Sea Witch? "

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