Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Tears streamed down her cheeks, one after another, as if a string of pearls had snapped.

"Mario, sweetheart, it's Mommy. I'm so sorry-I didn't protect you. These four years... you've suffered so much..."

Her words came out broken, choked with sobs, her voice trembling and tumbling over itself in confusion.

Tears blurred her vision. Briony tried desperately to see her son's face, blinking hard to clear her eyes, but her sight kept swimming in and out of focus. Again and again, her emotions overwhelmed her; she couldn't control herself.

Little Mario looked up at her, then slowly lifted his small hands. Gently, he reached out and wiped the tears from Briony's face with his tiny fingers.

That simple gesture broke Briony even more. She wept harder, repeating over and over, "I'm your mom, Mario-I'm your mom..."

At last, something seemed to click for little Mario. In a small, careful voice, he called her, "Mommy."

The moment Briony heard him say it, all her restraint shattered. Four years of pent-up grief spilled out in a flood of sobs.

"Thank you—thank you for being alive..."

Carol, standing nearby, dabbed at her own eyes. "Ms. Kensington, it's all over now. You found each other-that's what matters. Don't cry anymore, or Mario will start worrying."

He was still so little. Maybe he couldn't quite understand why his mother was crying so hard just then, but he knew tears were never a good thing.

He wasn't like little Nina, with her sweet words and ready reassurances. But Mario he was thoughtful in his own quiet way.

Seeing his mom's tears wouldn't stop, he pulled a few tissues from the box and patiently wiped them from her face. One after another, the tissues grew damp, but still her tears kept flowing.

his dark eyes wide and helpless

managed to squeeze out a

Briony froze in surprise.

she hadn't heard him, Mario repeated,

look-your son's worried

boy. She wiped the last of her tears away and managed a shaky smile. "I won't

looked into her eyes, studying her for a long moment, and

smile and, despite everything, found

...

the

ham

Car

placed a

Brione taken

relayed the news to

let out a breath, feeling the tension leave his

going to take

at Stewart, his mouth twisting into a cold smirk. “And what if

narrowed his eyes. "We both know

pistol from his waistband and leveling

wouldn't kill