Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

"No," Briony answered, her voice calm and even. "Whether I look for him or not has nothing to do with him anymore."

Gwendolyn White studied her, searching for any flicker of dishonesty across Briony's face.

But there was nothing.

Briony remained composed, unruffled.

Gwendolyn sighed softly. "But you know, Bryn, your godfather and I—we can't help worrying about you. We're afraid you'll never move on from Stewart's death."

"Godmother, even if Stewart were still alive, I wouldn't have gone back to him." Briony stared into her glass of wine, swirling the deep red liquid. "It's just... now that he's gone, I can't help but feel a bit of regret. But it's not about love. It's just— he shouldn't have left this world like that..."

"Bryn, it's only natural to feel regret," Gwendolyn said gently. "Not just for you. Even I-whenever I think about Stewart, or look at those two kids, there's always this strange ache in my heart."

"I'm not keeping myself single out of loyalty to Stewart," Briony said, her eyes lowered as she watched the wine shimmer in her glass. "The regret I feel isn't about love. It's about the waste of it all. Our nine-year marriage-it wasn't really as important as I thought. I just feel Stewart deserved a better ending. But that ending, it should be about the kids. Not about me."

"I understand." Gwendolyn set her glass down and moved to Briony's side, wrapping her arms around her.

"Your regret comes from the fact that he was finally ready to get treatment, and then... that happened. Bryn, you keep thinking that if you'd been a little more firm that day, if you hadn't agreed to take Stewart and the kids to the amusement park, maybe it wouldn't have happened at all."

Briony leaned into her godmother's embrace, closing her eyes.

She didn't argue. She didn't answer.

Gwendolyn gently stroked her hair. "Oh, Bryn, people have their own destinies. You did everything you could."

her eyes closed, a glimmer of

me if I still resented him. I do

left Stewart with regret, sending him from this

only thing he felt from

who sealed the

of family and the soft haze

time in months. Her tears came

could she not

She was devastated.

would teff Stewart herself: I don't blame you anymore. Let's just

Eve, Briony's phone lit up with a flood of holiday messages. Some were from business partners,

a voice message—a cheerful one, squeezed in

a New Year's

happiness

midnight.

with Aster in the background, babbling

out the ones from close friends and replied to each,

By the

finished, it was late faded, and