Regretting the Wife He Threw Away

Stewart stood in the doorway, one hand gripping the handle. "Can I come in?"

Ever since Briony had recovered and come home from the hospital, Stewart

hadn't entered her bedroom uninvited.

Briony pressed her lips together, her mind drifting to the fact that Stewart was

about to marry Xenia Cooper.

"I'll step out," she said quietly.

Stewart froze for a second, caught off guard. But, ever the gentleman, he stepped

aside and let her pass.

Once the door clicked shut behind him, Briony pulled back the covers and got out

of bed. She slipped her arms into a cardigan hanging on the rack before heading

out.

When Briony opened the door and emerged, Stewart was still waiting in the

hallway. There was a restless urgency in his eyes.

She could guess what he wanted to talk about. "Let's go to my studio," she

suggested.

With the kids at home, Briony didn't want them overhearing any talk about their

father's upcoming remarriage.

Inside the studio, Stewart shut the door behind them. Briony crossed to the sofa

and sat down, gesturing for him to do the same.

He took the seat across from her. For a moment, the silence between them was

thick and heavy.

Stewart's Adam's apple bobbed as he struggled to find the right words. Briony

waited, patient but expectant.

He looked unsettled, almost agitated.

"Stewart, just say what you need to say," she prompted gently.

He exhaled a shaky sigh, then asked, "You saw what happened at the airport,

didn't you?"

Briony nodded, her expression unreadable. "I did."

Stewart seemed to stop breathing for a second.

"Ms. Cooper seems like a wonderful person," Briony said evenly.

"Congratulations, Stewart."

His fists clenched. Seeing Briony so calm, so detached, made it hard for him to

breathe. There was a dull ache in his chest.

He'd known for a while that Briony was over him, but hearing her blessing—it felt

cruel.

"Don't say that..." He looked at her, pain flickering in his eyes. "Bryn, please. Don't

wish me well. Not like that..."

Those words, coming from her, were torture.

Briony blinked in surprise. What was Stewart trying to say? He was about to marry

Xenia Cooper—why react like this in front of her?

The air between them grew tense and stifling.

Just then, Briony's phone rang on the table. It was Maynard.

"I need to take this," she said, answering the call. "Mr. Maynard?"

"I've got two new film offers for you—both excellent, but you'll have to pick one.

Do you have some time now? I can bring the scripts over."

"Sure, come on by."

After she hung up, Briony set her phone down and looked at Stewart.

"Mr. Maynard will be here soon to

discuss work. Stewart, about your

upcoming marriage—you don't need

to worry about my feelings. As the

mother of our children, all I ask is

that you talk to them and help them

understand what's going on."

Stewart studied her face.

She was so composed, as if his remarriage meant nothing to her. She didn't care.

She didn't care that he was marrying someone else.

It made him feel ridiculous for rushing over to explain himself, like a fool chasing

after something long gone.

Of course he was a fool—he was the only one who hadn't let go.

Stewart lowered his gaze, hiding the

pain in his eyes. "Don't worry, even if

Xenia and I remarry, I'll never ask the

kids to call her their stepmother. She

won't be involved in their lives."

Briony thought to herself that a woman as accomplished as Xenia Cooper would

hardly want to play stepmom anyway.

The custody of the children was with her, so, legally, Stewart's remarriage

wouldn't really affect them. As for the time he spent with them, that was up to

Stewart to manage.

"Stewart, you don't have to worry

about me keeping the kids from you

because of your marriage. Afternoveldrama

everything we've been through, I

know you genuinely love them. You

don't need to rush over here to

reassure me—I've always said you're

a good father."

"Thank you, Bryn. Thank you for understanding." Stewart looked up at her, his

eyes searching. "But I didn't come back just for the kids."

He hesitated, and then, unable to hold it in any longer, asked quietly, "If I told you

that my marriage to Xenia Cooper was just a business arrangement, would you

believe me?"