Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

"Utter nonsense!" Stewart's scowl deepened. "Bryn doesn't understand any of this. Ferdinand's obsession with her is my fault-how could you just let her go back to him?"

"But Ferdinand has already set his sights on the children," the assistant said quietly. "Ms. Kensington made it clear-she's not doing this for the greater good, and it's not about you. She's doing it for the kids. That's all."

Stewart froze, his anger draining into stunned silence.

Mr. Hoffman looked up at Stewart, his expression grave. "You know as well as I do. Things have reached a dead end."

"Ms. Kensington is innocent in all this, but right now, she's the only one Ferdinand cares about. The only one who can draw him out."

Stewart closed his eyes, jaw tight, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. "Ferdinand is after Bryn because of me. I dragged her into this mess."

"It's not all your fault," Mr. Hoffman said gently.

Stewart opened his eyes, confusion flickering there. "What do you mean?"

With a sigh, Mr. Hoffman replied, "Ms. Kensington confided in me recently. She said that night, more than nine years ago, when she met you by chance-she also happened to save Ferdinand. Looking back, it must have been during that raid. Ferdinand was wounded while escaping. By sheer coincidence, Ms. Kensington, not knowing who he was, helped him.”

Stewart stared at Mr. Hoffman, his voice barely above a whisper. "Bryn saved Ferdinand..."

Ms. Kensington saved his life, changed his fate. Now he's convinced

never choose to be

head, voice earnest. "Neither of you is truly what Ms. Kensington needs. Ferdinand is broken-growing up under Fred Wentworth's shadow, surrounded by extremists, his mind became warped long ago. And you... your sense of duty, your temperament, all the burdens you carry -they ended up wounding Ms. Kensington as well, even

Cause and effect. The three of you were always bound for this tangle, whether you realized it or not." Mr. Hoffman

Kensington and Ferdinand, you and Ms. Kensington-maybe, from the very start,

gave up hoping for a happy ending with Bryn a long time

Ms. Kensington's fate," Mr. Hoffman said quietly. "Just like Miss

life, but it

herself to

thought she'd finally fonet

among criminals means breaking yourself apart and building someone new

the process, fell

That became her undoing.

wasn't like Mary. Mary always knew exactly what she was

other hand, was dragged into

matter if she wanted out-she never had a