The Evening Wind Never Reaches the Morning Mist

I was just back from a prenatal checkup at the hospital, one foot barely inside the door.

Antony Delgado stopped ahead of me, his voice empty of any feeling.

Candice Pruitt is back. Let's get divorced.

All right. My answer came without hesitation, and Antony turned, frowning at me.

I'll give you thirty million as compensation. Enough that you'll never want for anything the rest of your life.

"All right." One word again.

That one rattled him. He caught my wrist.

"You don't have any other conditions?"

I looked at him like a startled rabbit.

"Let me ask you something. You're sure you don't want the baby I'm carrying?"

...

His brow knotted tighter. He turned away sharply and bit out two words. "I'm sure."

I let out a soft breath, and before he could disappear from sight I said, "Don't worry. I'll move out as soon as I can, so it won't get in the way of Candice moving in."

Antony stopped short, turned, his face darker than before.

He came storming back like a gust of wind.

"Althea Mason, can't you at least make a scene?"

"If I did, would you not divorce me?" He'd backed me into a corner, and my eyes stung with heat.

My question seemed to hit somewhere raw in him.

He shook his head as he stepped back. "No."

I let out another long breath. This time he turned and walked into the bedroom without looking back.

After he left I went to the guest room. My things had been packed into there a long time ago.

Candice had come back a week earlier. I'd known this day was coming.

I'd packed my luggage early. I didn't have muchone suitcase was more than enough.

The next day we went to the county clerk's office. The moment the divorce papers were in my hand, Candice came over on Antony's arm.

"Lena, don't blame me. You two were the ones who wronged me first. I hadn't even left yet, and the two of you were already sleeping together."

"I'm back now. It's only right that you two divorce. Besides, Antony gave you plenty in support. You didn't come out short."

I gripped the strap of my bag, not looking at either of them, only nodding. "Right. I didn't come out short. I've got things to do, so I'll go."

I didn't wait for either of them to say anything more. I turned and left.

Candice and I had once been the closest of friends. Before she went abroad, one accident had put her in bed with Antony, and now that she was back, I was the one who should step aside.

Antony hadn't woken yet when I left the apartment. I brought my suitcase out too and left it in a locker at a nearby mall.

Now I was going to pick up my luggage.

I'd only walked a few steps when a text alert came through.

I glanced at it. It was from Antony: Why didn't you wait for me this morning?

I could almost feel a burning stare landing on my back.

I ignored him, didn't reply, and blocked him as I walked.

After picking up my luggage I decided to make a trip back to my hometown first. I was just about to get in the car when my phone suddenly rang. It was Antony, of all people.

I didn't answer the first time. He called again, as if he wouldn't stop until I picked up.

My phone rang over and over. People around me were staring.

Before I could block him, he called again.

I had no choice but to lower my head and answer. "Hello? Antony, what exactly do you want?"

There was a short silence on his end. Just when I thought he wouldn't speak, he suddenly opened his mouth again. "Come get the things the family bought for you. Now."

That tone, the same brutality as always.

"Those things are yours, not mine. I never used any of them. If they're an eyesore to you, just throw them out."

"Throw them out? Someone as fond of money as youdon't you know everything I bought is worth a fortune?"

The same venom he always had.

"Get your ass back here and take them."

He hung up right after. I sighed helplessly, and had no choice but to give up, for now, on going home.

The truth was, I didn't want to go back at all. I was afraid of running into them there.

When I got near Antony's place, I checked from a distance to see whether his car was there, whether the lights in the house were on.

Only after I was sure no one was around did I dare go in.

Since Antony had called me a money-grubber, fine. All those designer bags, the clothes, I'd take them and sell them.

Antony really wasn't home. I grabbed the things and left, and once I was out of his place I called Summer McClain.

"Summer, is it okay if I come to yours?"

Summer is my other close friend. She comes from money, she's beautiful, and these days she owns a bridal boutique.

"Of course it's okay. But tell me, did you get divorced?"

I knew there was no hiding it from her. "Yeah."

I didn't realize my voice caught a little when I answered.

"Where are you? I'll come get you." As she spoke, I heard a door opening on her end.

I knew there was no stopping her, so I gave her the address.

The evening wind in Ashford City carried the briny smell of the sea, a little salty.

Summer got there fast. I heard her sports car from a few hundred yards off.

The car pulled up and she was out in a flash, looking me over head to toe first, and only after she was sure I was fine did she start cursing Antony and Candice.

"Those two lowlifes. You're the victim here. If Antony hadn't forced himself on you back then, would you ever have married him? He's shameless. When Candice left he moped around like a whipped dog, and now that she's back he's fawning over her like one all over again. The day I run into those two, I swear I'll tear them apart."

Summer laid into Candice without holding back. The two of them had never gotten along.

Summer is a genuine heiress from a prominent family, while Candice is only an adopted daughter of the Delgados.

They'd actually known each other for a long time, but they'd always been sworn enemies.

After I met them, I became close with both, and the whole time they kept right on looking down on each other.

Once I was in her car she asked, "So the divorce is done. How much is Antony paying you in support?"

She wasn't asking because she cared about the money. She just didn't want me getting shortchanged.

"Thirty million." It was already more than enough for me, enough to raise the child on later too.

"With Antony's kind of money, that's not much." She said it, but it was fair enough. Otherwise she'd have gone straight into cursing.

"Lena, you don't need to be afraid. Stay at my place, don't worry about a thing. My home is your home. If you want to work, I'll find you something. If you don't, I'll take care of you."

Summer started the car. The way she was talking now was nothing like the woman who'd just been tearing into Candice and Antony a minute ago.

I knew Summer cared about me, and it moved me.

So I didn't want to hide the pregnancy from her either.

"Summer, actually, I'm pregnant."

The car had only just pulled out when Summer stamped down on the brake with a screech, and both of us pitched forward at once.

Her head nearly hit the steering wheel. I hurried to check if she was all right, but her attention was somewhere else entirely.

"Pregnant! Does Antony know?"

Her reaction was pure worry for me. The ease that had just come over her face was gone, tight with tension again.

I nodded. "He knows. He even went with me to the prenatal checkup. We agreed he won't take custody of the child..."

Summer cut me off. "You're still planning to have the baby? Althea, are you out of your mind? Antony is a scumbag. You seriously want to have his child?"

I knew Summer cared, that she was worried for me. But the child was growing inside me, and I really couldn't bring myself to do it.

I calmed her down first, then slowly began to tell her the truth.

"When I went in for the checkup, the doctor told me it might be triplets."

"Triplets!"

The second Summer heard the word, her whole face lit up.

Her eyes dropped to my belly, and she kept murmuring, "Then we're keeping them, we're absolutely keeping them. I'll raise them with you."

That night Summer took me back to her place and treated me like a national treasure.

Watching her bounce between excitement and helplessness, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Summer, you really don't have to do all this. You're starting to make me nervous."

Summer wasn't hearing any of it. From the moment she found out I was carrying triplets, she bought me a mountain of maternity things.

Then for days on end she ordered baby supplies online.

Getting everything ready long before the babies would arrive.

She wouldn't even let me go back to my hometown.

"Lena, you're at a critical stage right now. You're not going anywhere. You stay right here in my house."

I knew Summer's temper. This was her way of looking out for me.

I thought it over and agreed.

After I brought back the things Antony had bought me, I figured I had no use for them, so I listed some of the bags for sale online.

I had to admit, the things Antony bought held their value well. High prices, and they sold fast too.

Summer couldn't care less about that little bit of money, but she didn't want me holding on to anything Antony had given me either.

Maybe it was the triplets, but my belly was growing so fast you could see the difference by the day.

And since I had almost no morning sickness, Summer hired a dedicated nutritionist for me. I ate well every day, and I filled out quite a bit myself.

I stayed in Summer's house all day. After I got pregnant I stopped using my phone and computer much, so a lot of the news online reached me late.

One day Summer came home in a huff, unhappiness written all over her face.

"What's wrong, Princess Summer? Who's got the nerve to make you this mad?"

I went over to tease her on purpose. Summer never had any temper around me.

"I'm going to lose it. Candice, that shameless woman, is getting engaged to Antony next month. She came to my shop today for me to pick out her wedding gown. She even named me by name to design the dress she'll wear at the wedding. Ha, as if I'd bother with her."

So that was it. Summer wasn't the type to turn down money, and I knew what really set her off was that the person was Candice.

"She's handing us money. Are we going to push it away? Antony's willing to spend on her, so why not make a nice profit off it?"

I comforted her, and after that her anger cooled a good bit.

"It's not really the gown order I'm mad about. If I wanted her money, that's easy enough. I could just take the order and hand it to my people."

"What I really can't stand is that smug look of hers. A girl the Delgados adopted, and now she's latched onto their only son and thinks she's flown up the branch to become a phoenix."

"And honestly, is there anyone that shameless? Back when she was going abroad, she begged you to marry Antony. The moment she comes back, she forces her way in. What's a homewrecker who climbed her way up got to be so proud of?"

Just as I thought, most of that anger was on my account.

"I'm fine. Antony and I are already divorced. However they want to flaunt their love is their business. I just need to take care of myself."

I talked her down a while longer, and on the surface at least, she let it go.

Hearing that they were getting engaged didn't stir much in me anymore.

That day I was reading like always when a local number came up on my phone.

I answered, and the last person I expected on the line was Candice.

"Lena, it's me. I know if we called from a number you recognized, you'd never pick up."

"You dropped off the map after you and Antony divorced. Antony's been so worried about you."

Hearing her say that, I felt like my head might split open.

"Whatever you want, just say it. You don't have to talk in circles."

Whatever we'd once been, we were long past the point of calling each other just to chat.

Candice came right back with it. "In two weeks, Antony and I are getting engaged, and I'm inviting you. You absolutely have to come. If you'd insisted on staying married, I could never have come back and married Antony myself."

The way she said it turned my stomach. She thought she was thanking me. What she was really doing was pressing on the wound.

"Lena, you really have to come. You disappeared these past days, and Antony and I both feel terrible about it. Now that I've found you, on the day of our engagement, you simply must be there."

"I don't have time"

"Lena, if you don't come, Antony and I will both be so disappointed."

She cut me off. Clearly she wasn't going to let it go until I agreed.

"Fine. I'll think about it."

"You have to come. We'll be waiting for you."

Candice finally hung up, and my ears finally got some peace.

The truth was, hearing they were getting engaged did affect me, at least a little.

Summer came home that afternoon in a foul mood too, because she'd also heard that Candice and Antony were getting engaged.

She let off a stream of complaints, and I didn't hide it from her. "Candice called me. She invited me to their engagement party."

"What? That little tramp really has no shame. Lena, what are you thinking?"

Summer knew where the lines were. Before anything else, she asked what I wanted.

The truth was I didn't want to go at all.

Before I could get a word out, Summer jumped in. "Lena, Candice is doing this because she's counting on you being too scared to show. The more she pulls this, the more you should go, and throw it right back in her face."

I'm not someone who cares about coming out on top. Even so, all I said was that I'd think about it.

The next day was my prenatal checkup. After the appointment, I'd just stepped out of the hospital and was waiting for a car at the curb when a car came straight at me.

Thank God my reflexes were quick and I got out of the way. The driver was stopped on the spot by some kind strangers passing by.

He was taken to the local police station, and the result that came back from questioning was that Candice had put him up to it.

The fury shot straight to my head, and right then I decided I was going to their engagement party.

When I told Summer, she was fully behind me. Of course, I didn't dare tell her about what had happened at the checkup.

I didn't know how Candice had found out I was pregnant, but what she'd done infuriated me.

If I didn't do something about it, I'd almost owe her an apology.

Their engagement party came around fast, and Summer and I showed up in full glamour.

Summer had prepared my gown, and it hid my belly perfectly.

The moment I walked into the party, the murmuring started.

Candice had her arm looped through Antony's, greeting guests.

When Antony saw me, he visibly froze. The whispering in the crowd was already starting.

"How does that Althea Mason have the nerve to show up here?"

"Right? She really can't take a hint. She looks like she's put on weight, hasn't she. Maybe she came today with a kid in tow to blow up the engagement party?"

These people had quite the imagination.

Candice saw me too. She took Antony's hand and came walking toward us.

She smiled at me with clear ill intent and made a point of looking me up and down.

Her gaze settled last on my stomach.

"Lena, you look heavier, and you're wearing flats. Don't tell me you're pregnant. You and Antony have only been divorced a few days, and it's already showing?"

As she spoke she reached out to flip up my skirt. I couldn't get out of the way in time, and my round belly landed right in Antony's line of sight.

His face changed in an instant. When Candice went to lift it again, I quickly covered myself.

But my other wrist was locked in Antony's grip. "Althea, you've only been pregnant a few months, so how is your belly that big? Are you carrying more than one? Or did you get pregnant long before?"