Chapter 6
Unable to bear watching their happy tableau any longer, Wendy slipped into the back garden.
Her phone vibrated.
“Dear passenger, your flight departs in eight hours. Please arrive on time.”
A genuine smile touched her lips for the first time that day.
She pocketed the phone and turned to go upstairs to pack—only to find Chloe blocking her path.
"Ms. Wendy," Chloe said sweetly, "you're the hostess tonight. Why are you out here alone?"
Wendy knew better than to trust that innocent tone.
After all, this same woman had found ways to add her on social media the day she returned to China and had been posting photos with Maxwell and Arthur ever since.
"Miss Chloe, just say what you came to say."
Chloe studied her for a long moment, then let out a soft laugh. Her mask slipped.
"Ms. Wendy, you're a smart woman," she said. "Back then, Maxwell proposed to me a hundred times. The only reason I didn't marry him was because I wasn't ready. Otherwise, that Mrs. Woods title would've been mine."
"If you're wise, you'll file for divorce soon. At least you'll leave with some dignity."
Though Wendy had already made up her mind to leave, that didn't mean she'd endure such provocation.
Her expression hardened. "Miss Chloe, my marriage is none of your concern."
Chloe toyed idly with her nails. "And yet, even after a hundred refusals, he still can't forget me. You've seen it—he loves me. Even your son adores me, wants me as his mother."
"I only had to tell him that if he ate that chestnut cake, I could be his mom. And he actually did it."
Her eyes glinted with mockery. "Pity you survived. I'd hoped you'd disappear quietly."
Wendy froze. Her nails dug into her palm, fury rising like fire.
So it had been Chloe who'd told Arthur to give her that cake—the one that nearly killed her.
"How could you do this—"
"Because you stole my place!" Chloe's tone turned sharp. "If not for you, I would be Mrs. Woods!"
Then, catching sight of Maxwell and Arthur approaching, she instantly changed her expression—tears brimming, voice trembling.
"Ms. Wendy, please, I don't want to argue anymore," she said pitifully.
Wendy frowned, confused by the sudden shift.
Before she could react, Chloe tore her shirt, grabbed Wendy's wrist, and screamed.
"Ah!"
A splash followed. Wendy plunged into the pool.
The shock of cold water stole her breath. She had almost drowned as a child, and terror seized her limbs.
"Help... help me... " she gasped, thrashing weakly.
Maxwell dove in—but swam straight toward Chloe.
He didn't even glance her way.
"Dad, Aunt Chloe's over there! Hurry!" Arthur shouted from the edge.
In that moment, Wendy felt something inside her shatter completely.
Even when her life hung by a thread, they still chose Chloe.
Her strength drained away. She closed her eyes and let the darkness take her.