Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Briony ignored her and focused on her own meal, barely glancing up.

That New Year's Eve dinner was shrouded in an uneasy, suffocating silence.

Stella ate in tears, each bite swallowed with more saltwater than food.

Briony, on the other hand, managed to eat quite a bit.

But as she cleared the table, she suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth and bolted for the bathroom, where she threw up everything she'd eaten.

Stella panicked, but Briony just offered a faint smile and murmured that she was simply tired.

It was barely nine o'clock-hours still to go before midnight.

Stella gently supported Briony, helping her to bed.

In the past three days, Briony had barely slept a wink.

And if Briony was awake, Stella couldn't rest either.

Given the state Briony was in, Stella refused to leave her side. She'd called their parents earlier to explain, and they understood, reminding her to take good care of Briony.

Once Briony lay down, exhaustion overtook her and she drifted off almost instantly.

she knew it, she

long had passed when Briony, half-dreaming,

awake, drenched in sweat, tears streaking

Boom! Boom! Boom-

of fireworks, bursting in brilliant color. The new year had

was dim and quiet. Briony glanced over at Stella, who was fast asleep. Carefully, Briony slipped out from under the covers

She needed

...

by the river, the city was alive with noise and celebration. Families

and slippers, Briony wove unsteadily through the revelers toward

tradition to welcome the new year with wishes and

lanterns until her vision blurred with tears.

with it, the dam she'd held for three

Year's. Why aren't you coming home...

laughter and cheers filled the night, but Briony gripped the railing, calling for her mother

and desperate, was swallowed

how she called, there would never be an

grief tore through her. Her mother

no longer

fresh wishes into the