Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Stewart sensed something was off. "What's going on?" he asked.

Judd glanced at Briony, then back to Stewart, his tone resigned. "The mayor meant well-he wanted to tidy up Mrs. Hudson a bit so her family wouldn't be upset when they saw her. But Mrs. Hudson refused to cooperate."

Briony's anxiety spiked. "What does that mean?" she pressed Judd. "What's happened to my mom?"

Judd looked uncertainly at Stewart.

A crease formed between Stewart's brows. "Take us to her."

"Alright. Come with me," Judd said, turning and leading the way toward a small gate at the edge of the yard.

The gate opened into the mayor's barn.

Briony hurried after him, hope flickering stubbornly in her chest. It couldn't be that bad, she told herself. It just couldn't.

But reality hit her hard the moment she stepped inside.

Huddled in the corner of the barn was a woman with sallow skin, her body curled in on itself. She wore tattered clothes, her hair tangled and matted with straw. Her face was so dirty that only her eyes were visible.

by lightning. No...

but someone

wife, Farrah, held her back. "She's not in her right mind. She doesn't

up in Briony's eyes. She looked at Farrah

course it's good for you to take her away. But she's strong. Over these four years, she

voice trembled. "Why? Why is she like this? What happened to

her head. "I wish I knew. Four years ago, the fishermen found her washed up on the shore, barely alive. They sent my husband to check on her. He's a kind man he brought her back here. She had a terrible fever for a week. The island doctor came several times and said

straw and talking to herself. It took all my patience to coax her back inside. But the

Briony listened, the

all too

mother had lost

years, living in

away and moved toward the woman in the

you hear what she

off his hand and turned to glare at him, her voice cold. "She's my mother. Even if she hits me or bites me, I'm still taking her

a living, breathing person-not an animal. She

get her out," Stewart insisted, grabbing her arm again, his grip unyielding. He wasn't about to