Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

The police had received a tip from a concerned citizen: someone had found a cell phone and a pair of shoes by the river.

By the time Briony and Stella arrived at the station, the officers were already reviewing security footage.

A young female officer handed Briony a sealed evidence bag. Inside were the phone and the shoes, and she asked Briony to identify them.

The phone was Julia's.

And those shoes... Briony recognized them instantly. She'd just bought them for her mother on a shopping trip a few days ago.

Briony's heart dropped, but she shook her head in denial. "These aren't my mom's. They're not..."

"Bryn, please," Stella said, choking back tears as she tried to comfort her. "We have to cooperate with the police—maybe Julia just went somewhere else afterward, okay?"

Briony stared at the phone and shoes before her. After a moment, she closed her eyes in despair. "They're my mom's."

The officer offered a gentle reassurance. "Don't panic. We're reviewing all the security footage along the river. As soon as we know something, we'll tell you."

Briony nodded numbly, her hands clenched together so tightly they had turned white.

There were several cameras installed along the riverbank, and the police soon confirmed what they feared: Julia had jumped into the river at 7:19 p.m. the night before.

The footage showed Julia standing at the water's edge for over an hour before she finally climbed over the guardrail.

getting dark; the camera couldn't capture

her mother on

that endless hour, what had her mom been

give her an

While her mother had been wandering the riverbank, what had Briony

her mom on a little getaway to Sunwave Bay

could even buy the

footage as Julia climbed over the railing, arms

The water rippled,

like that, Julia was

her eyes, clutching her chest as she slowly sank to the

world was

threw her arms around her.

anything else. What comfort could she

person in the world

was vacant and hollow,

her whisper, barely

I have to find her. I