After the Clouds

Winona could not bear to watch the three of them any longer. She walked alone to the back garden.

Her phone buzzed.

Winona swiped up on the screen, and a text message popped up.

[Dear passenger, your flight will depart in eight hours. Please board on time.]

Winona's face broke into the first genuine smile of the day. She put away her phone and prepared to go upstairs to pack her luggage.

She had barely taken a few steps when she ran into Ella.

Ella smiled and blocked Winona's path. "Ms. Warren, you're the hostess of this party. Why are you out here all alone?"

Winona knew Ella was not as innocent as she appeared on the surface.

Otherwise, she would not have gotten Winona's contact information on her very first day back in the country. She would also not be posting photos with Asher and Carter on social media every few days.

"Ms. Levine, just say what you want to say."

Ella stared at her for a long moment before letting out a soft laugh and dropping the pretense. "Ms. Warren, you're a smart woman. Asher and I were passionately in love back then. He proposed to me 100 times. If it wasn't because I wanted to wait before getting married, the position of Mrs. Rhodes would never have been yours.

"If you're smart, you'll file for divorce now. At least you can leave with some dignity."

Although Winona had already decided to divorce, that did not mean she could tolerate provocation from a mistress. Her expression turned cold immediately. "Ms. Levine, my marriage with Asher is none of your business. You're an outsider."

Ella casually examined her manicured nails. "So what? Even though I rejected him 100 times in the past, he still can't forget me. You've seen it these past few days. The person Asher loves is me. Even your own son is closer to me. He wants me to be his mother.

"I just said one thing. I told him that if you ate walnuts, I could become his mother. And he actually went and did it."

She looked Winona up and down with a trace of mockery on her face. "I just didn't expect you to be lucky enough to survive. What a shame. I wanted you, the unnecessary one, to disappear sooner."

Winona stared at Ella in disbelief. Her nails dug deep into her palms as fury burned in her chest. Carter feeding her walnut cake had been Ella's doing all along.

"Ella, how could you—"

"You're the one who took my place!" Ella interrupted coldly. "If it weren't for you, I would be Mrs. Rhodes."

From the corner of her eye, Ella noticed Asher and Carter walking toward the garden. She immediately replaced her vicious expression with a pitiful, vulnerable look.

"Ms. Warren, Asher and I are in the past now. Why are you being so aggressive?"

Her eyes instantly reddened, and her voice choked with emotion.

Winona frowned, confused by the sudden change.

The next instant, Ella ripped a tear in the matching T-shirt she was wearing. Before Winona could react, Ella lunged forward and grabbed her wrist.

Winona was caught off guard as Ella dragged her into the pool beside them. Winona had nearly drowned as a child and had a natural fear of water. The water came surging toward her. She instinctively thrashed her limbs, trying not to sink.

Asher, who had rushed over, jumped into the water without hesitation. Winona struggled to reach her hand toward him. "Save... Save me."

However, the next second, she watched helplessly as Asher swam quickly toward Ella on the other side. He did not even glance at her.

An anxious shout came from the shore. "Dad, Ella's over there! Hurry and save her!"

At that moment, Winona could clearly feel her already broken heart crumble into dust. Even at this life-or-death moment, the father and son only had Ella in their hearts.

Winona had no strength left. She slowly closed her eyes as her entire body sank into the darkness.