“Morning, Cat,” Astrid greeted.

Cathleen looked up at her with a strange expression. “They’re still eating. Sure you want to show your face today?”

Astrid figured that Cathleen was referring to the Isabel Wu fiasco the other evening. With all the attention focused on her grandmother, the incident had gone unmentioned by her parents, but she knew that wouldn’t last long.

“It’s now or never, I guess,” Astrid said, bracing herself as she walked toward the breakfast room.

“Godspeed,” Cathleen said, grabbing her battered Jones the Grocer shopping bag* as she went out the door.

Breakfast at Nassim Road was always served in the glassed-in summer porch adjacent to the drawing room. Boasting a circular marble-top teak table from the Dutch Indies, wicker chairs cushioned in whimsical monkey-print chintz, and a profusion of hanging ferns from the Tyersall Park greenhouses, it was one of the loveliest rooms in the house. As Astrid entered, her elder brother, Henry, gave her a dirty look and got up from the table to leave. He muttered something under his breath as he passed by, but Astrid couldn’t make out what he said. She glanced first at her father, who was sitting in his usual wicker chair methodically slathering a piece of toast with gooey Marmite, and then at her mother, who sat in front of an untouched bowl of porridge, clenching a wadded-up ball of tissue in her hand, her face red and puffy from crying.

“My God, did something happen to Ah Ma?” Astrid asked in alarm.

“Hnh! I think the question should be: ‘Will you finish your grandmother off with another heart attack when she reads this?’ ” Felicity chucked a sheet of paper onto the marble-top table in disgust.

Astrid grabbed the sheet and stared at it in dismay. It was a printout from Asia’s most popular online gossip column:

DAILY DISH FROM LEONARDO LAI

THE BEWITCHING HEIRESS AT THE CENTER OF THE ISABEL WU SOUPGATE INCIDENT!

For those of you who have been following the scalding scandale involving tech billionaire Charlie Wu’s wife Isabel that almost caused an international incident between Malaysia and Hong Kong, fasten your seat belts, because boy do I have some shockers for you! We all know that Charlie and Isabel announced their separation in 2013, and informers tell me they’ve been privately negotiating the terms of their divorce ever since. At stake is a share of the Wu family fortune, their heritage mansion on Peak Road, and custodial rights of their two daughters. But a close friend of Isabel tells me, “It’s been terribly hard for Isabel. She suffered her recent breakdown because of the emotional stress of the divorce and that other woman involved.”

Yep, you heard that right. SHOCKER NUMBER ONE: Daily Dish can now confirm that that other woman is none other than Astrid Leong Teo, the model-pretty wife of hunkalicious Singaporean Venture Capitalist Michael Teo (who I think missed his calling as a Calvin Klein underwear model) and mother to a seven-year-old boy, Cassius. Yes, Charlie and Astrid have been having a torrid, secret affair for the past five years, and in fact, SHOCKER NUMBER TWO: that incredible Tom Kundig–designed house currently under construction in Shek O that everyone thought was Leo Ming’s new private museum is actually going to be Charlie and Astrid’s love pad once they can legally shack up! (Astrid and Michael Teo are apparently headed to divorce court too.)

The stunning seductress Astrid may be an unfamiliar name to Hong Kong readers, but she has an extraordinary backstory: According to my trusted Singapore insider, Astrid is the only daughter of Harry Leong, who officially is the chairman emeritus of the Institute of ASEAN Affairs. Unofficially, he’s one of Singapore’s most influential political power brokers who—my sources tell me—also happens to head S. K. Leong Holdings Pte Ltd, the secretive corporate behemoth that is rumored to own the Bank of Borneo, Selangor Mining, New Malaysia Post, and Palmcore Berhad, one of the world’s largest commodity traders. And that’s not all—Astrid’s mother, Felicity Young, hails from one of Singapore’s most pedigreed families. “The Youngs are in their own stratosphere. Cousins to the T’siens, the Tans, and the Shangs—they are related to practically everybody who’s anybody, and Felicity’s mother, Shang Su Yi, owns Tyersall Park, the largest private estate in Singapore,” my insider reports.

Schooled in London and Paris, Astrid moves in the most rarefied circles and counts among her friends deposed European royals, A-list fashion designers, and celebrity artists. “How can Isabel compete with that? Izzie isn’t some filthy-rich heiress—she has an important career as a legal advocate for Hong Kong’s poor and downtrodden and is busy raising her two daughters, not jet-setting around the world, sitting in the front rows of fashion shows. No wonder she would suffer a breakdown! Of course Charlie would be swept up by the ultra-glamorous life of Astrid—he was seduced by her once before.”

Which leads us to SHOCKER NUMBER THREE: Back in their college days, Astrid and Charlie were actually engaged, but the union was broken off by her family because the Hong Kong Wus weren’t deemed worthy enough by those snooty Singaporeans! It seems like the star-crossed lovers have never gotten over each other, which has led to this big ugly mess. Stay tuned to Daily Dish for more shockers to come!

Astrid sank into a chair, trying to collect herself after reading the incendiary column. She was so upset, she didn’t even know where to begin. “Who sent you this?”

“What does it matter who sent it? The news is everywhere now. Everyone knows your marriage is on the rocks, and that you are at fault!” Felicity moaned.

“Come on, Mum. You know it wasn’t my fault. You know how careful and discreet I’ve been for the past couple of years as we’ve been working out the divorce. This article is nothing but a stream of inaccuracies and lies. When have I ever sat in the front row of any fashion shows? I’m always backstage helping out. Look, they even got Cassian’s name wrong.”

Her mother looked at her accusingly. “So you’re denying everything? You’re not having an affair with Charlie Wu?”

Astrid let out a deep sigh. “Not for the past five years! Charlie and I have only been together for about a year and a half—and this was after I left Michael and Charlie filed for divorce from Isabel.”

“Then it is true! That’s why Isabel Wu would go berserk and try to attack you! You broke up her marriage…you broke up her family!” Felicity muttered through her tears.

“Mum, Isabel Wu’s marriage to Charlie has never been a happy one. I had nothing to do with their breakup. If you want to know the truth, she has been cheating on him for many years, with numerous men—”

“That still doesn’t give you any excuse to be Anna Karenina! You’re still being unfaithful! You’re both still married to other people under the eyes of the law and God! Goodness me, what will Bishop See think when he gets wind of all this?”

Astrid rolled her eyes. She didn’t give a rat’s ass what Bishop See thought.

“So now what? You’re going to move in to that ‘love pad’ with Charlie after the divorce and live in sin?”

“That’s the other lie…it’s not our love pad. Charlie started building that house long before we ever got together. He bought the land after his first separation from Isabel—four years ago!” Astrid took in a deep breath and steeled herself—it was the time to come completely clean with her parents. “But I suppose you should know that Charlie and I do intend to get married when our divorces are finalized, and I will likely be spending more of my time in Hong Kong.”