He stood with his back to her, tall and lean as ever, though perhaps a bit thinner

now.

Briony Kensington watched him in silence.

Minutes slipped by without a word.

At last, Briony sighed a sound of release, almost relief.

"Stewart Wentworth, I've made my peace with everything. You shouldn't keep dwelling on the past, either."

Stewart paused, then turned to face her.

He crossed the room and knelt down in front of her, his long, narrow eyes fixed on hers, the corners rimmed with red.

She could tell he'd been crying.

"You've grown more sentimental than before," she said, her tone gentle, teasing, a hint of warmth in her voice.

Stewart's dark eyes reflected her own pale, drawn face.

"Bryn, I know there's no going back for us. After everything that's happened, I realize now how unforgivable so much of my behavior was. I put you through hell, and still, you chose to raise our two children on your own. For that alone, I could never repay you, not in a lifetime."

His voice was low and sincere.

neither of us came from happy homes. Let's learn from that. From now on, let's co-parent-give them both a mother's and a father's love, so they can have the safe, happy childhood we never did." Stewart looked at her, his gaze deep, shining with unshed tears. "Alright." She met his eyes,

"How so?"

"You're... more human, somehow."

her for a long

I was on made

Briony nodded. "That's good."

spoke quietly, like old

children

could survive hardship together, support one another,

never love each other again, but they had a shared purpose now. The old wounds and

they would be friends or perhaps

...

days later, Briony's condition had

went to

had suffered a complication with her pregnancy—a

than a week of careful treatment, the baby

drove Briony to

room, then stepped out

Briony took a

saw her and

so much these past days, her eyes were never

her hand, voice trembling. "Ferdinand

doesn't

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