Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Briony blinked, her gaze steady. "Do you know why I rang the doorbell at

Southcreek Manor today?"

Stewart offered no reply, his silence stretching between them.

She continued, “Because ever since the moment I signed the divorce papers and moved out, Southcreek Manor stopped being my home. When you visit someone else's house, you ring the bell. That's just common courtesy."

Stewart's brow furrowed. "If Irwin hears you say that, he'll be upset."

Briony let out a soft laugh, the swirling snow doing a fine job of hiding the redness in her eyes.

"You really do live up to your reputation, Stewart-the brilliant attorney everyone admires and fears. You certainly know how to twist the knife."

He remained stone-faced, refusing to argue. To Briony, that look meant only one thing: he couldn't even be bothered to explain.

In the past, she would have felt crushed by that-hurt, even. But now? Not anymore.

be said, if only to finally

That my

on you." Stewart hesitated, then added, "In his heart, you're someone Rosita could never

laughed. "If you know how important I am to him, why did you say those things to him? You want him to understand that blood family is irreplaceable, but you

a look, her voice icy. "Don't you realize how

heavy sigh. "Irwin and Rosita are his real mother and son. Rosita's depression-well, reconnecting with Irwin has always been her biggest

shot back. "Me stepping aside was my way of making space for

gaze darkened, unreadable in

to Briony like the most natural kind of

I was concerned—even if there was no love, I believed we were at least family, that we trusted and cared for each other. But you hid Irwin's parentage from me. You

hard,

know our marriage was always a transaction. But even in a business partnership, I deserved to know the facts. But you-Stewart, you kept me at arm's length the whole time. Or maybe you just thought I was too

thought of you as an