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.

dark eyes wide and helpless as

a long moment, he finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "Mommy, don't

Briony froze in surprise.

she hadn't heard him, Mario

spoke up, too. "Bryn, look-your son's worried about you

sniffled, gazing at her remarkably mature boy. She wiped the last of her tears away and managed a shaky smile.

eyes, studying her for a long moment,

of his smile and, despite everything, found herself

...

of the men waiting

ham

Car

a call

Brione

relayed the news

let out a breath,

to take for you to hand over the last dose

into a cold smirk. “And what

his eyes. "We both know

Garry shot to his feet, yanking a pistol from his waistband and leveling it right at Stewart's

really think I wouldn't kill you if I wanted