Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

In truth, Lorna understood the situation better than anyone.

"I'll handle the rest with the police," she said, looking gravely at Briony.

Briony nodded.

Cedric Clarke's eyes were rimmed red as he glanced at her. "What about the kids? How are you going to tell them?"

Briony hesitated a moment, then spoke softly. "Let's keep it from them for now. Today, Stewart just told them he had to go abroad for a while and they're already upset. Let them settle down a bit. I'll wait for the right moment to tell them the truth."

Cedric struggled to keep his composure, but his voice still caught. "Stewart always said he didn't want a funeral. He just asked me to scatter his ashes at Pearbrook. But now..."

There was nothing left of Stewart to bury-his life had ended in a violent crash, with not even a trace of him remaining.

Not even his last wish could be fulfilled.

The abandoned pier was far, far from Pearbrook-so far it might as well have been another world.

But could they really let Stewart drift with the tide into the endless sea?

ached with every breath. He still couldn't accept that the stubborn, headstrong

trembling, "but you still have two

gaze, silent for a long moment. At last she said, "Let's give him a cenotaph, at the very least. You can decide whether

I just want there to be a headstone. That way, when the kids are older, they'll have somewhere to go each year to remember their father-a place

He can't be buried in the Wentworth family plot anymore,"

words fell like a stone, and the room

spilled down his cheeks. He wiped them away with his sleeve, voice shaking. "Fred is heartless! Doing this is like erasing Mr. Wentworth's whole existence. I grandmother always said that when a

to continue, burying his face in his hands. The tall

for years; every bit of his success was owed to

Carl, Stewart was more than a boss-he was

like Stewart-proud,

the loss all the more real

with tears-even James, who had never liked Stewart,

listened quietly as Carl

a moment,

were never really to Stewart. He has