Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Beneath the streetlamp, the man advanced, each step deliberate and unyielding.

Briony stood her ground, refusing to flinch or retreat.

Four years had passed, yet it felt like an entire lifetime had slipped away.

Stewart's gaze lingered on the woman before him-her expression cool, distant. His eyes flickered with a tangle of emotions. She was alive.

Just as he'd suspected all along, and honestly, he wasn't surprised. For the past two years, he'd kept a careful eye on the art world, piecing together enough clues to realize that Leilani was, in fact, Briony. But he'd never made a move to find her.

Because Stewart believed-no, he was certain-that as long as Briony was alive, as long as they weren't divorced, she would eventually come back to him.

He'd imagined a hundred different ways their reunion could play out. But he never pictured this—standing together in the cemetery where their child was buried.

Stewart stopped, his brow creasing as he looked at Briony. "If you wanted to visit our son, you could have just told me," he said, his tone clipped and out of place for the moment.

Briony's lips pressed into a thin line. That was certainly one way to begin.

Cedric Clarke, anxious to keep the peace, hurried forward. "Stewart, let me explain―"

Stewart's eyes snapped to him. "So you've always known where Briony was, and you kept it from me, didn't you?"

Cedric hesitated, caught off guard.

"Cedric, this is between me and my wife," Stewart said curtly, pushing him aside. "You're crossing the line."

Cedric stumbled back, steadying himself with a sigh. "I know I was wrong to keep it from you, but please, don't lose your head. Now that you've seen each other, just talk it out for once-don't make things worse!"

But Stewart wasn't listening.

"You'd rather go to Cedric than come to me.

and cold. "If I could choose, I wish it was you buried here instead." She paused, then added, "And by

quietly, "Is the

could answer, Stewart pressed on, "It's not what you think with Rosita. That

her own hands. She's my enemy. And you-you always took her side. You betrayed me over and over for her. Stewart, to me, you're no different from her. You're

you answers

interrupted again, her eyes glinting with scorn. "And what's that going to look like? Suppose I say I want Rosita ruined, want her to pay for everything she's done, want

I can promise you." Briony let

Provoking him like this was just her way of making her

wanted. So what makes you

me shackled in this marriage?

Briony brushed past him

as he turned and reached out to grab

me!" Briony snapped, her anger boiling over as she slapped

into hers. "I've seen our daughter," he said quietly. Briony

smile curled Stewart's lips. "Silverlake. Old Town. Little Stars Academy. She's adorable. And her drawings are

at him, her voice trembling with fury. "She's my daughter. Mine, and mine alone. She has nothing to do

on a divorce," Stewart replied, his black

Crack-

even harder. "Four years, Stewart, and

blow, but he only smiled faintly. "I keep