Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

At the start of the year, Briony bought a new place right next to her studio in the Dolphin Cove complex.

It was a spacious apartment-about fifteen hundred square feet, three bedrooms in all. She took one room for herself, gave another to her mother, and converted the smallest into a cozy study.

The apartment came fully finished, but Briony had hired an interior designer to redo the decor. The renovation wrapped up three months ago, so she could move in with nothing more than her suitcase.

After dropping off her luggage at the new apartment, Briony headed straight back to her studio.

She worked late into the night, pushing herself until sheer exhaustion finally forced her to the break room.

After washing up, she collapsed onto the narrow bed and drifted into a deep sleep.

But that night, her rest was anything but peaceful. She tossed and turned through

a jumble of dreams, waking up in the morning with no memory of any of them- just a dull ache behind her eyes.

Rubbing her temples, Briony shuffled into the bathroom to get ready for the day. When she came out, her phone was buzzing on the nightstand.

It was Stewart calling.

She ignored it.

She could guess it was about Irwin.

She'd already made up her mind to get a divorce-it was best to make a clean break.

Irwin was Rosita's biological child, after all. Given some time, Briony was sure Irwin would grow attached to her real mother instead.

she'd changed and slipped her phone into her purse, Briony set off

department, inside Dr. Stella's private

the ultrasound, you're at five weeks and four days," Stella said, handing Briony the

on the grainy

to a tiny shadow on the printout, "-it looks

looked up. "Are

weeks, I can only see two gestational sacs," Stella explained gently. "If, at around seven weeks, we can detect two heartbeats, then we'll know for sure it's twins. And with two sacs, they're most likely fraternal-maybe even a boy and a

thin, pale line as she clutched the

Briony's resolve

all, these were her own children-possibly twins. Anyone would find

that, these

all about Briony's feelings

was anyone else in the world like Briony who would spend five long years loving a man, quietly, faithfully, even knowing that he might ask for

Briony had loved humbly but with open

Stella suspected he had never truly been invested, not even from

about it," Briony said after a long pause, lifting her gaze to meet Stella's. "I'll let you know

with tears, confusion

as you decide before twelve weeks, it's

Briony tucked the report into her bag. "Please don't tell anyone

"I won't."

to get back to work, and