Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

"Stewart!"

Cedric Clarke finally lost it and shouted, "Can you stop being so damned

negative? Dr. Riley said if you'd just stay in Switzerland for treatment, there's still a chance "

"A five percent chance." Stewart looked at him, dark eyes bleak. "That's too low, Cedric. Don't try to talk me into it anymore. Just let me leave with some dignity."

Cedric stared at him, stunned.

"I want to go with some dignity. If the pain gets too much at the end, I'll apply for assisted dying in Switzerland. Carl Shaw will handle everything after I'm gone-no funeral, just a simple cremation. I'm sorry, but I'll need you to scatter my ashes over Pearbrook. It's close to Bryn's new place..."

"Stewart, shut up!" Cedric exploded, voice raw and furious. "To hell with your funeral plans! The minute I sort things out here, I'm hauling you back to Switzerland and handing you over to Dr. Riley. You're going to get treatment, whether you like it or not!"

Stewart's lips twitched into a faint, resigned smile as he met Cedric's glare.

"This is the best I can hope for, Cedric. Please, just this once, help me with what I'm asking."

Cedric froze, unable to process what he was hearing. He stared at Stewart in disbelief.

This was Stewart-once so proud and unyielding, now hollowed out by illness, his spirit battered by regret. He'd always seemed larger than life, but now, half- reclining on the wide bed, he looked fragile, helpless.

In Cedric's memory, Stewart had never asked anyone for anything. He was the proudest man he knew. Even that dark summer years ago when his own mother, Fiona, manipulated and abandoned him-he'd never begged, never lowered himself.

him

end things on his own

before he could even speak,

you... have you wanted to die for a long

closed his eyes, refusing to

on, as if he'd discovered an answer he'd been searching for all

didn't even try to dodge, did you?

Stewart said nothing.

refusing to accept what he already

You can make it up to Briony, but you can't just give

just dying then and there," Stewart rasped. "But then I remembered the divorce wasn't final. If I died, Bryn would be a widow, and on top of that, she'd be accused of murder. I

his throat. "So you know all that,

"We're divorced now." Stewart's

smile

be

bitter, fleeting. "She