"Come, come. Tell us! This is better than the taiwanese drama airing at 7pm on tv!" Breathed Gossip Aunty Number Two.

In a conspiratorial tone, the Gossip King continued "So apparently the romance was fraught with ups and downs. The husband stuck by her because he was really in love with her. If I didn't know any better. Maybe she bewitched him! Anyway, she gave birth to that hyper child. And things turned for the worse."

"Huh?! You mean things got worse?!" Gossip Aunty Number One gasped.

"Listen and stop interrupting! So basically after she gave birth to that child that things got worse. Apparently, this is what I heard from my other cousin's brother's daughter who works in the hospital, that she had a bad case of depression."

"She really is very unlucky! Her whole family is unlucky." Gossip Uncle Number 1's fan still went strong. This time as if he could fan off the bad luck as if said bad luck would follow him just by him listening to the story.

"Yes, yes!" Agreed Gossip Aunty Number One.

"Hello! Let me finish the story!"

The Aunties and Uncle looked apologetic "Sorry! Please continue!"

"So I heard from the vegetable seller at the market who heard from his sister's cousin's uncle who knows her from her current workplace that she kept accusing her husband for stepping out on her and not loving her anymore because she was "disfigured" by the birth and she is "disfigured" for life." 

The Gossip King was milking it for all it's worth and enjoying the attention. After all, who knows when such a juicy story would come rolling around again. 

Aunty Number One looked utterly displeased and was stewing with the jealousy she was trying to hide. "How can she be "disfigured"?! She still looks so hot even after childbirth! Even I have nothing to say about her great figure." 

"Yes! That little weight gain is expected. Anyway, she was too thin before. She looked super hot the last time I saw her. Childbirth agrees with her." Gossip Aunty Number Two quickly agreed.

"And, and, and get this. So I heard from my niece who is in the same class as the poor daughter. She comes to school with bruises all over." The Gossip King paused for effect.

Gossip Uncle Number One looked confused and asked "I thought she loves her daughter a lot?" 

"Yes, yes! They seem like a loving mother daughter pair, especially after the father died. She showered that hyper daughter of hers with too much attention and toys and what nots. Not that she needs to be spoiled any further." Gossip Aunty Number One was quick to add.

Gossip Aunty Number Two looked thoughtfully at the scene before them.

"She always dresses the girl in such pretty clothes. But the long sleeves. I have always wondered why she would always be dressed in long sleeves. This explains it. We live in such a hot country. Those long sleeves and high necks must have been so stifling! Seems like they were. In more ways than one." 

"No wonder!" Uncle Number One decided to quickly chime in, in case he looked unknowledgeable in front of the rest. "Maybe it also explains all the screaming and shouting that keeps coming from that house." 

"Yes! That house is so noisy all the time!" Agreed Aunty Number One.

She paused and added "Don't forget the breaking of glass!"

"Yes! Yes! Have you seen their rubbish pile outside? Sometimes it's filled with so many broken items" said Gossip Uncle Number One.

Gossip Aunty Number Two once again trotted out her sympathetic expression "Oh my poor soul." 

"You mean no one called the police before this?" The Gossip King, who lived two streets and almost half a kilometer away, asked.

"Why? It's not our problem." Gossip Uncle Number One said firmly.

"Yes! It's better to mind our own business." Gossip Aunty Number One was quick to affirm.

Gossip Aunty Number One continued "And if she moves out on her own before we have time to call the police, that would have been even better! She should go be some other neighbourhood's problem."

"Yes! We cannot lower the value of our neighbourhood with police calls and perceived disturbances. After all, we are an upscale neighbourhood! I don't know how long it would take for the stain of this murder to wash off from our neighbourhood." Gossip Uncle Number One looked annoyed, as if everything was an annoyance, and that he was saintly for putting up with it.

Gossip Aunty Number One mused "I hope the value of our neighbourhood and my house doesn't drop because of this incident…"