Regretting the Wife He Threw Away

He sighed. "As long as you're here with me, Daddy won't be sad."

Little Mario stared at Stewart, deep in thought.

All at once, an idea struck him. He turned to Little Nina and announced, "When Daddy's sad, he cries too-but only at night, after everyone's asleep. He sneaks out tears when he thinks nobody can see-mph!"

Stewart quickly covered his son's mouth, looking both helpless and amused. "Alright, that's enough. It's late. No more talking-lie down, both of you. Daddy will read you a bedtime story."

The kids obediently snuggled under their blankets.

Stewart switched off the overhead light, leaving only the soft glow of the bedside lamp.

He picked up the storybook, his deep voice resonating in the quiet room-

"Once upon a time, there was a little field mouse. She was the fastest digger in her whole family..."

Briony emerged from the shower to find several missed video calls on her phone.

She checked the timestamps-right at nine o'clock.

It was already half-past nine now.

She'd spent a while drying her hair after her shower, so time had gotten away from her.

By now, the children were surely asleep.

Briony hesitated, then called Marlene's cell.

Marlene answered, "Mr. Wentworth took the kids upstairs to bed at nine sharp. You called a little late, I'm afraid."

Briony nodded, letting it go.noveldrama

But Marlene continued, "Although, Mr. Wentworth didn't seem in the best of moods tonight."

Briony frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"It's just... he seemed off," Marlene whispered. "Now that the kids are asleep, he's out in the backyard by himself. I checked the security camera-he's crouched by the fish pond, feeding the koi. At the rate he's going, he's going to overfeed them."

Briony exhaled. "Those koi were a gift from James," she said with a sigh. "Go stop him before he feeds them to death."

"Will do!"

Marlene hung up and headed outside.

By the pond, Stewart was crouched low, mechanically tossing handful after handful of fish food into the water.

Marlene took one look and thought, If I hadn't come out, these poor koi would be done for.

She hurried over. "Mr. Wentworth, that's enough. Please, no more."

Stewart blinked, snapping out of his daze. He realized a third of the fish food tin was already gone.

He rose, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Sorry. I didn't realize how much I was giving them."

Marlene took the tin from his hand. "Ms. Kensington adores those koi. If anything happened to them, she'd be heartbroken."

A pang of guilt hit Stewart. "I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time."

"Let's hope there won't be a next time," Marlene said, half teasing, half warning. "Mr. Delaney said these koi were blessed by a priest at a very famous old abbey. They're

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supposed to bring good fortune, and there's only this one batch, if they're gone, they're gone."

A faint crease appeared between Stewart's brows.

He understood perfectly well what Marlene meant.

A heavy sense of helplessness settled over him; he pressed his lips together,

unsure how to respond.

Seeing his downcast expression, Marlene decided not to push further.

She had her reservations about Stewart's swift, public remarriage But in the end, she was just the help even if Briony treated her like family, she couldn't say anything too out of line.

It wasn't her place, not with Mr. Wentworth's status.

Besides, it was clear to her that Stewart still cared for Briony.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so unsettled when he learned Briony and

Maynard were staying overnight at Westerhaven.

But what right did he have to be unsettled?

They were divorced. Stewart had remarried. Even if he was only seeing Briony for

the children's sake, he needed to know his boundaries.

It was natural for the kids, being so young, to want their father around. But Stewart, a married man, staying overnight at his ex-wife's house-if word got out, what would people think of Ms. Kensington?

Marlene was protective of Briony, cared for her like her own daughter. She

couldn't bear to see Briony maligned because of Stewart's lack of discretion.

But, ultimately, she was only the housekeeper.

She couldn't say more.

Instead, she said, "Mr. Wentworth, you should get some rest. The children have preschool tomorrow. Could you take them on your way?"

Stewart nodded. "Of course."