Regretting the Wife He Threw Away

Chapter 39

Stewart glanced at Julia, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke in a low, heavy voice. "About what's been happening online, I—”

"Stewart."

A gentle voice called from the hallway. It was Rosita.

Stewart paused, turning around with a slight furrow in his brow. "What are you doing here?"

Rosita, sunglasses and a mask covering most of her face, glanced around nervously before speaking in a whisper. "I came in for a follow-up appointment and ran into Ethan. He told me Ms. Kensington and Ms. Hudson were both here." She sounded innocent-almost too innocent. After a beat, she added, "I didn't expect to see you as well."

Inside the hospital room, Julia caught sight of Rosita and immediately tried to get out of bed.

Briony rushed to stop her. "Mom, you're still on an IV. You can't get up right now."

"But what do we do? The rumors have gotten so out of hand that Mrs. Wentworth herself came looking for us!" Julia gripped Briony's hand tightly, her anxiety spilling over. "Bryn, you need to go to Mrs. Wentworth and apologize. Tell her you promise you'll never, ever entertain any improper thoughts about Attorney Wentworth again!"

Briony stared at her mother in disbelief.

"Mom, you've got it all wrong. This isn't what you think, I-"

Julia cut her off, her frustration clear as she frowned.

remarkable Attorney Wentworth is, he's a married man. You can't

look at her

Why?

her own mother

five years of her

that Briony truly understood. All along, what Stewart had given her in this marriage wasn't salvation—it was a carefully crafted boomerang, one that would come back to wound

her, it

worse.

her wildest dreams had Briony imagined that the man she'd loved so dearly could turn out to

reputation, Stewart had never given Briony the slightest bit

that, she realized, wasn't worth a single ounce of her

the disappointment and humiliation in her

her, why should she care

out of

asked,

the emptiness in her hand. Sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, she stared at her daughter, her eyes glistening

I don't believe you. I'm just... worried about

worry." Briony cut her off, her voice cold and unwavering. "I swear on my life, Mom-never again will I have the slightest feeling for Stewart. I will never, ever become the other woman. If I