Rich People Problems (48 page)

“I can't wait to see the bride. I wonder which designer she chose to do her gown?” Jacqueline Ling said to Oliver T'sien at the reception before the intimate wedding ceremony. Two hundred guests invited by the happy couple's families milled about the Andalusian Cloister, enjoying cocktails and canapés while admiring the mesmerizing light installation created by artist James Turrell in the columned arcades surrounding the courtyard.

“Let's make a bet,” Oliver ventured.

“The way you're rolling in money these days, I'm not sure if I want to bet against you. Congratulations on your new commission in Abu Dhabi, by the way.”

“Thank you. It's just one palace for now. The princess was so impressed by what we did here that she's put me on an embarrassingly large retainer. Anyway, let's make the bet for lunch at Daphne's the next time we're both in London, and my money's on Giambattista Valli,” Oliver said.

“Okay, lunch at Daphne's. Well, I wager that the bride's gown will be designed by Alexis Mabille. I know how much she adores his work.”

The string quartet that had been playing suddenly stopped as the door at the far end of the courtyard opened to reveal a dashing young fellow in a tuxedo holding a violin to his chin.

“Oh look, it's Charlie Siem! He's popping up everywhere these days, isn't he?” Oliver commented as the absurdly handsome virtuoso strolled along the arcade playing Elgar's “Salut d'amour.” The doors at the other end of the arcade opened slowly, and Charlie strolled through, turning around to beckon the guests to follow him as he continued to play. Outside, a pathway lit with thousands of votive candles led from the rose garden past the stunning new saltwater swimming pool lined with thirteenth-century Moorish tiles into the wooded area of the estate.

Following the musician as he ambled along merrily playing his violin, the guests oohed and aahed when they reached the lily pond, where black wooden chairs had been arranged in a crescent along one side of the pond. Hundreds of pale pink lanterns hung from the trees, cascading down branches and mixing with thousands of hanging vines that had been festooned with white dendrobium orchids, peonies, and white jasmine. A beautiful arched bridge built just for the wedding extended from one side of the pond to the other, covered entirely in different-hued roses, making the whole bridge appear as if it had been painted with impressionistic brushstrokes like one of Monet's bridges at Giverny.

After the guests had settled into their seats, four cellists placed in the direction of the four winds began to play Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G major as the wedding procession began. An adorable little flower girl dressed in a gossamer white Marie-Chantal gown scattered rose petals along the central aisle, followed by Cassian Teo, who ambled up the aisle in a white linen suit (but barefoot), focused intently on not dropping the velvet pillow bearing the wedding rings.

Next came Nick and Rachel walking arm in arm. Eleanor swelled up with pride as she watched Nick, dashing in his midnight blue Henry Poole tuxedo, escort Rachel, who Eleanor had to admit looked glowingly beautiful in a sublimely simple eggshell pink silk crepe gown designed by Narciso Rodriguez.

“
Aiyah
, it's like their wedding all over again,” Eleanor sniffed to her husband, dabbing away a few tears.

“Minus your crazy helicopter invasion,” Philip quipped.

“It wasn't crazy! I saved their marriage, those ungrateful kids!”

Nick and Rachel parted at the end of the aisle as they took their places as best man and matron of honor on opposite sides of the bridge. Suddenly, a grand piano became illuminated behind the bridge, giving the effect of floating in the middle of the pond. Sitting at the piano was a young man with slightly disheveled strawberry blond hair.

Irene Wu gasped out loud, “
Alamak
, it's that Ed Saranwrap! I love his music!”

As Ed Sheeran began singing his wildly popular love ballad “Thinking Out Loud,” the groom, looking sharp in a bespoke tuxedo from Gieves and Hawkes, walked up to the middle of the bridge with the American pastor from Hong Kong's Stratosphere Church. And then as a full band assembled at the far end of the pond emerged to accompany Ed in his song, the bride made her grand entrance at the foot of the pathway.

The guests rose from their seats in unison as the proud father of the bride, Goh Wye Mun, nervously escorted his daughter Peik Lin up the aisle. The bride wore a strapless gown with a fitted white bodice and a long train skirt of ruffles appliquéd with pale pink silk roses. Her hair was swept up into an elaborate braided bun and crowned with a vintage pearl-and-diamond tiara from G.Collins & Sons.

Jacqueline and Oliver looked at each other and said in unison, “McQueen!”

As Peik Lin glided past them, Jacqueline nodded approvingly. “Sublime. Sarah Burton does it again!”

“We both lose, but we can still have lunch at Daphne's. Of course, you're treating, Jac—you've got more fuck-you money than I do,” Oliver said with a wink.

Peik Lin walked up to the middle of the bridge, where she was met by the pastor, who looked a little too disturbingly like Chris Hemsworth, and the man she was about to marry—Alistair Cheng.

Nick and Rachel beamed joyously as the couple exchanged their handwritten vows, while Neena Goh, dressed in a gold-sequined Guo Pei gown with a plunging neckline, wept noisily. The Young sisters—Felicity, Catherine, Victoria, and Alix—glared at the mother of the bride with varying degrees of disapproval while shedding their own discreet tears.

“I can't believe my baby Alistair is getting married,” Alix sniffed to her sisters. “It seemed like only yesterday he was crawling into my bed, too afraid to asleep in the dark, and look at him now.”

“Well, the boy was smart enough to marry a woman as capable as Peik Lin! I must admit I am quite impressed with what she and Alistair have done with Tyersall Park,” Felicity said.

“I'm impressed by what they
all
did!” Catherine interjected. After all, it was she who cast the tiebreaking vote between the sisters one year ago when Nick had come to them with a radical new proposal hours before they were about to sign the sales contract with Jack Bing.

The result of Nick's proposal had now come to life as the just completed Tyersall Park Hotel and Museum, which preserved the main house as a historic landmark while breathing new life into it as an incomparably elegant new boutique hotel run by Colin Khoo and Araminta Lee. Set among nineteen acres of lush gardens in the immediate vicinity of the main house were forty guest villas exquisitely designed by Oliver T'sien in partnership with Axel Vervoordt. Beyond this rose Tyersall Village, a forty-five-acre community of sustainable housing specifically designed for artists and middle-income families, built by Goh Developments—the construction company owned by Peik Lin's family.

“I think Father would be proud of Nicky. I don't think he was ever truly comfortable coming home every night to this decadent palace, when he spent the whole day being a doctor to the poorest people on the island,” Alix said approvingly. From the row behind the sisters, Cassandra Shang leaned in and whispered, “I'm told every single house in Tyersall Village sold on the first day of offering, because for so long no one with less than ten million dollars has been able to afford a house with a garden in Singapore! But apparently the people living in those big houses along Gallop Road are furious that the hoi polloi are now moving in to this tony neighborhood!”

“I don't mind what they did with Tyersall Village, but all those Buddha heads in the garden have got to go!” Victoria huffed. “I wonder if Peik Lin had anything to do with that. Those parents of hers look like they could be Buddhist.”

Felicity shook her head. “I don't think Peik Lin was involved. I think the Buddhas belong to the secret investor who chipped three billion in to Nick's venture. I just wish I knew who it was!”

When the ceremony had concluded, the guests proceeded to the wedding banquet at Alexander's, the ravishing new restaurant in what was formerly the conservatory managed by Araminta Lee's Sublime Hospitality Group. Su Yi's prizewinning orchid hybrids commanded the space, but now they sprang out of handblown glass vessels suspended from the ceiling. Lit by candlelight, the hundreds of orchids seemed to dance in the air like celestial creatures over the long wooden seventeenth-century refectory tables.

Eddie was the first to clink his wineglass and propose a toast to the newly married couple. “Peik Lin, I want to officially welcome you to the Cheng family, even though you know that you've already been welcomed into our hearts. And Alistair, my baby brother, I've never been more proud of you than I am today, and I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you and cherish you! I love you, brother!” Eddie said, crushing Alistair into a tight bear hug as he began sobbing into his collar.

Sitting at the family table, Astrid turned to Fiona. “Is Eddie okay?”

Fiona smiled. “He's fine. After Ah Ma died, I forced him to go see a therapist. I gave him an ultimatum—either he went, or I would leave him. At first he was very resistant, but now it's completely changed his life. And ours too. He's given up all his mistresses, he's become totally devoted to me and the kids, and he's really learning to process his feelings in a healthier way.”

“Well, it's been more than a year since I've seen him, so it does seem like quite a transformation,” Astrid noted, watching as Eddie continued to soak Alistair's shoulder with tears.

“You know my Eddie. Whenever he does anything, he goes all out. Anyway, how have you been? I see that island life suits you well—you look amazing!” Fiona remarked, as she admired Astrid's golden tan, naturally sun-streaked hair, and new style, which seemed like a perfect fusion of laid-back beach chic with imperial splendor. Astrid wore a simple indigo-dyed sarong-wrap dress with an incredible pearl choker that was comprised of crisscrossing vertical ropes of pearls starting from just underneath her chin and cascading down to the middle of her chest.

“Thank you.”

“The choker is just
beyond
! Is that one of Ah Ma's pieces?”

“No, it's from Chantecler Capri—a birthday present from Charlie.”

“I have to ask where you got that dress. It looks so refined, and yet somehow so relaxed!”

Astrid gave an almost bashful smile. “Actually, I made this dress.”

“You're joking? I thought you were going to say this was Yves Saint Laurent from some obscure resort collection in the eighties.”

“Nope, it's Astrid Leong Resort Wear 2016. I've learned to sew, and I'm also creating my own fabrics. This is actually a bamboo cotton, hand-dyed in ocean water.”

“My God, Astrid, it's amazing! Can I buy a dress from you?”

Astrid laughed. “Of course, I'll make you a dress if you like.”

“I guess you aren't bored in paradise?”

“Not at all. I'm absolutely in love with my life in Palawan, and every day's an adventure. Charlie and I have also started a school, partnered with this wonderful arts-focused school in Brooklyn called Saint Ann's. Charlie's discovered a new passion—teaching! He's leading all the math and science classes, and Cassian's one of the students. The boy's never been happier being in a classroom with no walls and a constant ocean breeze. You really should bring the kids for a visit sometime.”

Charlie came strolling up with two flutes of champagne for the ladies. “Thanks, Charlie. So are tonight's nuptials inspiring you two?” Fiona teased.

“Haha. A little bit, maybe. But right now I just enjoy living in sin with my gorgeous lover. Plus, it infuriates my parents to no end,” Astrid said, giving Charlie a long, tender kiss just as her mother glanced over in their direction.

After the banquet, the bride stood on the top steps of the rose garden with her back to a gaggle of excited women ready to catch her bouquet. Peik Lin threw it up in the air with gusto, and the bouquet of lilies of the valley made an almost perfect arch, landing right in Scheherazade Shang's hands. The crowd cheered wildly as Scheherazade blushed.

Catching Carlton's startled expression, Nick said teasingly, “The pressure's on now!”

“No shit.” Carlton nodded grimly, before breaking into a huge grin.

An ornate outdoor ballroom had been created on the great lawn, complete with marquetry floors and enormous standing baroque mirrors placed strategically around the perimeter so that the dancers could feel as though they were whirling through the ballroom at Peterhof Palace. As the band went into full swing and the guests took to the dance floor, Nick, Rachel, and Kitty stood off to the side admiring Colin and Araminta's two-month-old son, Auberon.

“He's sooooo cute!” Kitty cooed at the wriggling infant. “Look, Harvard, you were just like this not too long ago.”

“Was I ever that little?” Kitty's three-year-old boy asked.

“Of course you were, darling! You were my little pea pod!”

“I think we should probably get Auberon home. He's getting a bit fussy, and he'll never go back to sleep with the music,” Araminta said a little anxiously to Colin.

“Okay, okay. Hate to dash off so early, guys, but Mummy calls the shots now.” Colin looked around apologetically. “But hey, this evening marks an auspicious start to our venture, don't you think? Two of our partners got married in grand style, and everything went off without a hitch! Tyersall Park Hotel and Museum is going to be the premier event space in Singapore!”

“No, it will be the premier event space in all of Asia!” Kitty insisted.

“Oh, I forgot to mention—I've just received an inquiry from a certain European prince who wants to buy out the entire hotel for a week to throw a huge birthday bash!” Araminta said.

“We're attracting royalty already! Maybe the Countess of Palliser will hire it out for her next big gala,” Rachel said with a slightly naughty smile.