Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Briony kept her head bowed, afraid he might notice something was wrong.

She nodded quietly and lifted another spoonful of soup to her lips.

Stewart stood nearby, watching her. It wasn't until her third bite that he finally noticed something was off.

He quickly crouched down beside her, just in time to see a tear slip from her eye.

The tear landed in the pale soup.

A sharp ache pulsed in Stewart's chest. "Bryn?"

Briony reached up to wipe her eyes. "I'm fine, really..."

Stewart gently took the bowl from her hands and set it on the table.

"Bryn, I'm sorry. I know I put you through so much." He knelt on one knee in front of her, a heavy sorrow settling over him.

He knew exactly why she was crying.

A simple bowl of soup had opened the floodgates of memory.

For five years, she had started from nothing, learning as she went, raising a newborn with patience and devotion. She gave everything without complaint, only to have it all repaid with his betrayal, and the resentment and blame of that child she'd loved as her own...

Then, after four years apart, even when fate brought them together again, he'd only managed to hurt her all over.

Each wound had etched itself into her heart, leaving scars that never quite faded.

to the past. Maybe she was simply too tired to keep caring, too worn out to

happened-how could anyone ever pretend they

of soup, and she was

been a complete fool back

was consumed with regret ashamed of all the pain he'd

wipe away her tears, but Briony turned away before he could

a moment alone," she said softly, still refusing to meet his eyes, determined not

hand hung awkwardly in the

he swallowed

his feet and

instant the door closed, Briony buried her

untouched,

sharpest pain, but it couldn't erase what had truly happened. When familiar faces or objects returned, the memories came with them, resurfacing with a vengeance, taking

couldn't genuinely

impossible to hide Briony's illness

close and trustworthy-except for Julia Hudson-found

as they heard, Carney Winslow and Gwendolyn White rushed

hospital. Gwendolyn broke down in tears, while Briony, calm and composed, ended

Northborough for the time being. With Briony's health so fragile, they couldn't rest easy going back to

care, so Gwendolyn and Carney realized there wasn't much more they could do. They returned to Skybreeze Retreat to look after the

Ferdinand's sensitive background, even now, only Briony and Stewart knew

the countryside years ago and knew

unaware, thriving

Gina recorded snippets of Julia's life and