Regretting the Wife He Threw Away novel Chapter 364

Jeannie looked at Irwin, her hazel eyes warm with a gentle smile.

"Irwin, do you know why your father doesn't want you to be around your mother?"

Irwin shook his head.

"It's because he's worried she might be a bad influence on you."

Irwin froze, startled.

"Do you remember how old I was when I first came to Southcreek Manor?"

Irwin nodded. "I remember. I was five."

Jeannie smiled softly. "Right. And do you remember how, back then, you used to have nightmares all the time?"

Irwin thought hard, vague memories surfacing. He nodded slowly.

"But I can't really remember what those nightmares were about."

"You were just a little boy then—it's normal that you don't remember everything." Jeannie's voice was patient and kind. "You would cry in the middle of the night, and when I asked you what was wrong, you told me everything. At the time, I thought it wasn't my place to say much—after all, they were your own grandmother and mother."

Irwin looked up at her, his voice small. "Ms. Radcliffe, what did I tell you back then?"

She sighed, her expression turning serious. "You told me your grandmother gave you a 'magic stone.' She asked you to hide it under Mom Bryn's bed. She said if you did that, the baby growing in Mom Bryn's tummy would go to heaven."

Irwin's pupils widened in shock.

Some childhood memories fade with time, but others, especially the ones that leave a mark, never truly disappear. As Jeannie spoke, a vivid image formed in Irwin's mind—him, small and nervous, slipping that 'magic stone' under Briony's bed.

He started to panic. "But… Dad said Mom Bryn was going to have a baby boy, and then the baby died. Was it… was it because of the magic stone?"

"Oh, sweetheart," Jeannie said with a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "That wasn't a magic stone at all. If I'm not mistaken, it was something much more dangerous—a radioactive mineral."

"Because she was afraid that if Mom Bryn had a baby, her own child—you—would lose your place in the family."

Jeannie paused, then continued, "Your mother worried that if Mom Bryn had another child, your father would never divorce her. Your mom wanted to take Mom Bryn's place, to become Mrs. Wentworth."

Irwin's breath caught in his throat. The truth felt heavy and suffocating.

"So, my grandmother and my mom… they've been using me all along, haven't they?"

Jeannie sighed, her voice thick with sympathy. "Irwin, I know this is hard to hear. But you're nine now, you're growing up. There are things about adults—their grudges and manipulations—that you have to understand. Otherwise, it'll be too easy for them to use you again."

Irwin blinked back tears. "But Mom's sick. She came to see me today, and her wrists were hurt—I saw the blood. It was everywhere…"

Jeannie's eyes were kind but firm. "No matter what's happening to her now, it doesn't change what she did before, or how she and your grandmother used you."

Irwin's eyes filled with red. "So… that's why Dad's always so angry with her? Because she's always used me?"