NovelEnglishChapter 658 Briony kept her head bowed, afraid he might notice something was wrong.
She nodded quietly and lifted another spoonful of soup to her lips.
Stewart stood nearby, watching her. It wasn't until her third bite that he finally noticed something was off.
He quickly crouched down beside her, just in tto see a tear slip from her eye.
The tear landed in the pale soup.
A sharp ache pulsed in Stewart's chest. "Bryn?" Briony reached up to wipe her eyes. "I'm fine, really..." Stewart gently took the bowl from her hands and set it on the table.
"Bryn, I'm sorry. I know I put you through so much." He knelt on one knee in front of her, a heavy sorrow settling over him.
He knew exactly why she was crying.
A simple bowl of soup had opened the floodgates of memory.
For five years, she had started from nothing, learning as she went, raising a newborn with patience and devotion. She gave everything without complaint, only to have it all repaid with his betrayal, and the resentment and blof that child she'd loved as her own...
Then, after four years apart, even when fate brought them together again, he'd only managed to hurt her all over.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEach wound had etched itself into her heart, leaving scars that never quite faded.
She always said she'd let go, that she just didn't want to keep clinging to the past. Maybe she was simply too tired to keep caring, too worn out to keep fighting.
But things that truly happened-how could anyone ever pretend they never existed? Just one bowl of soup, and she was in tears.
He'd been a complete fool back then.
Stewart was consumed with regret ashamed of all the pain he'd caused.
He reached out, wanting to wipe away her tears, but Briony turned away before he could touch her.
"I just need a moment alone," she said softly, still refusing to meet his eyes, determined not to let him see her looking so vulnerable.
Stewart's hand hung awkwardly in the air.
After a moment, he swallowed hard and replied, "Okay." He slowly got to his feet and left the room.
The instant the door closed, Briony buried her face in her hands and wept.
The bowl of soup sat untouched, cooling as the minutes ticked by.
Tmight dull the sharpest pain, but it couldn't erase what had truly happened. When familiar faces or objects returned, the memories cwith them, resurfacing with a vengeance, taking root and torturing the heart.
Briony knew, at least for now, she couldn't genuinely tell her past self that it was all okay.
It was impossible to hide Briony's illness for long.
Soon, everyone close and trustworthy-except for Julia Hudson-found out.
As soon as they heard, Carney Winslow and Gwendolyn White rushed from Silveridge without hesitation.
They visited her in the hospital. Gwendolyn broke down in tears, while Briony, calm and composed, ended up comforting her instead-even though she was the one who was sick.
Gwendolyn and Carney decided to stay in Northborough for the tbeing. With Briony's health so fragile, they couldn't rest easy going back to Silveridge.
Still, Stewart was always at the hospital, along with private nurses and round-the-clock care, so Gwendolyn and Carney realized there wasn't much more they could do. They returned to Skybreeze Retreat to look after the two children.
Because of Ferdinand's sensitive background, even now, only Briony and Stewart knew the full story.
Kendal Ellsworth, Ferdinand's uncle, had retired to the countryside years ago and knew little about what his nephew had been through.
Julia remained blissfully unaware, thriving under Kendal's gentle care.
Every week, Gina recorded snippets of Julia's life and sent them to Briony.
Three days later, Kendal found an excuse to leave halone and slipped quietly into the hospital to see Briony.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhen he arrived, Briony was sitting in a rocking chair in the little courtyard, watching one of Gina's videos on her phone.
Stewart cout of the house, carrying a bowl of medicine.
Their eyes met, and Kendal paused, just for a moment.
He already knew Stewart had "returned though the details were a mystery. To see the two of them together, after everything that had happened, was a strange mix of relief and bittersweetness. Stewart, for his part, felt no hostility toward Kendal.
The authorities had already looked into Kendal's background.
He was clean.
So Stewart treated him with the polite respect due an elder.
He nodded. "Mr. Ellsworth." Kendal smiled and greeted him warmly. "Mr. Wentworth. It's been a while." Briony was startled for a moment, then looked up to meet Kendal's kind gaze.
"Bri." She was surprised.
"Mr. Ellsworth, what are you doing here?" she asked, glancing reflexively behind him.
"Julia doesn't know-I calone,"
Kendal said as he set on the little side table. "I bag of fruit heard you were unwell (couldn't help worrying, so thought I'd cand see you for myself."
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