Regretting the Wife He Threw Away novel Chapter 4

This child had always been frail—born with asthma, no less—and the one thing he couldn’t handle was getting worked up from crying.

After all, she’d raised him single-handedly since he was a baby. No matter what, Briony just couldn’t bring herself to abandon him.

“Irwin, sweetheart, I’m not leaving you, okay? Please, don’t cry.”

All Briony wanted was to calm Irwin down first.

But Fiona, standing nearby, heard this and twisted it to her own ends.

“Briony, do you have any shame? Irwin isn’t even your own child! How dare you say something like that?”

Fiona, who always carried herself with the air of a high-society matriarch, didn’t bother to hide her contempt for Briony. Her voice was sharp, dripping with venom.

“No wonder Irwin’s never warmed up to me all these years. He’s devoted to you, calls you ‘Mom,’ and now I see why. You’ve been brainwashing him behind my back, haven’t you?”

The accusation was outrageous. Briony’s expression hardened, despite her concern for the child.

“Mrs. Wentworth, when Stewart and I married, I didn’t ask for your blessing. If you don’t accept me as your daughter-in-law, fine—I won’t force it. But do you really think, in front of a five-year-old, you’re being a good example? So tell me: am I the disrespectful one, or are you just abusing your age and status?”

“You!” Fiona was stunned by Briony’s open defiance, her face flushing with anger. “Are you trying to provoke me right now?”

“There’s no need for that,” Briony replied, meeting Fiona’s glare, calm and unyielding. “Whether Stewart and I divorce is between us. Irwin can stay here with you if you like. I won’t fight you for custody.”

“No, no!” At the thought of being left behind, Irwin clung to Briony even harder, sobbing louder. “Mom, don’t leave me! I don’t like Grandma’s house! And I hate that bad woman! I just want to go home with you—please, take me home!”

His voice was already hoarse from crying.

Briony had looked after Irwin for five years and had never seen him cry like this before.

She sighed, turning to Fiona. “He’s too upset to listen to reason right now. Let me take him home. When he’s calm, I’ll explain everything properly.”

With that, Briony took Irwin’s hand and started for the door.

Irwin hurried to keep up, his tiny feet moving as fast as they could, terrified she’d leave him behind if he slowed down.

“Irwin!” A voice called after them—Rosita, rushing out in a panic.