Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Jeannie looked at Irwin, her hazel eyes warm with a gentle smile.

"Irwin, do you know why your father doesn't want you to be around your mother?"

Irwin shook his head.

"It's because he's worried she might be a bad influence on you."

Irwin froze, startled.

"Do you remember how old I was when I first came to Southcreek Manor?"

Irwin nodded. "I remember. I was five."

Jeannie smiled softly. "Right. And do you remember how, back then, you used to have nightmares all the time?"

Irwin thought hard, vague memories surfacing. He nodded slowly.

"But I can't really remember what those nightmares were about."

"You were just a little boy then-it's normal that you don't remember everything." Jeannie's voice was patient and kind. "You would cry in the middle of the night, and when I asked you what was wrong, you told me everything. At the time, I thought it wasn't my place to say much-after all, they were your own grandmother and mother."

at her, his voice small. "Ms. Radcliffe, what did I tell you

gave you a 'magic stone.' She asked you to hide it under Mom Bryn's bed. She said if you did that, the baby growing in Mom Bryn's tummy

pupils widened

fade with time, but others, especially the ones that leave a mark, never truly disappear. As Jeannie spoke, a vivid image formed in Irwin's mind him, small and

have a baby boy, and then the baby

said with a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "That wasn't a magic stone at all. If I'm not mistaken, it

frowned in confusion. "What's a radioactive

off strong radiation," Jeannie explained gently. "It's illegal here your grandmother must have gotten it from abroad."

calm. "Prolonged contact can cause cancer. And at the time, Mom Bryn was pregnant.

up in Irwin's eyes. "Was it my

don't think that way. Yes, you put the stone there-but you were just a child. You had no idea what it

to piece it together. After a

because of

expression grave. "Your grandmother is your mother's mother. She wouldn't have done

his face. "Why

baby, her