"You should just leave," the butler whispered after a moment of hesitation.

By the time Leonel left the villa, it was already dark.

But instead of going straight to his car, he went to the place where he and Alexis had planted a maple tree together. The maple tree had since been removed and replaced with a field of tulips.

The tulip leaves had withered when winter came.

As he stood there staring at the tulips, the butler suddenly appeared beside him and whispered, "This is all Mrs. Fowler's idea. She manages the garden by herself now."

Leonel immediately felt a lump forming in his throat.

"Is she doing well?" he asked in concern.

The butler sighed softly and shook his head. "How can she do well?" he asked with a shrug. "She's been exhausted for the past few months over Miss Fowler... Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Douglas. I shouldn't have told you about that."

Immediately, the butler turned around and hurried off.

Now, only Leonel's lonely figure remained in the garden. He crouched down slowly and gently touched the withered leaves.

He was sure that there would be flowers all over the place in the spring.

But he wouldn't be able to enjoy that beauty by then.

Right now, he was ready to leave. He had come in a hurry, so he had not even brought his coat. His thin and lonely figure trembled as the cold wind blew through his clothes. When he reached out to grasp the car door handle, the cold wind suddenly blew into his mouth, causing him to cough uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, Daniel was staring at him from some distance away, with Ollie right beside him.

It had been long since Leonel set eyes on Daniel. He really wanted to hug the child, but he didn't know if Daniel would allow him. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity until Daniel suddenly ran off. But not long after, Leonel heard the sound of a child crying softly behind the bushes.

He quickly let go of the door handle and made a beeline towards where Daniel was while trying his best to be as light-footed as possible. Still, his footsteps caught Daniel's attention.

Seeing him approach, the child quickly wiped away his tears and glanced at him briefly before walking away with Ollie.

Leonel followed and called after him softly, "Daniel!"

Daniel stopped when he heard his father's voice. After hesitating for a moment, he turned around to face him. He had a complex expression on his face as he loudly confronted Leonel, “If Mom was angry, you should have gone to console her. Why did you go and meet another woman instead? Why did you make Mom cry? She is no longer how she used to be. I hate you!"

Then he burst into tears again.