Chapter 33
“Since you’re still worried,” Stewart said, his gaze steady, “let’s sit down together and revise the agreement now.”
“Together?” Briony raised an eyebrow. “You want to go to your office?”
“No, we’ll go back to Southcreek Manor,” Stewart replied. “And while we’re there, I need to look for the other copy of our marriage certificate. I couldn’t find it earlier.”
Briony hesitated; she had no desire to return to Southcreek Manor. “The marriage certificate is in the nightstand. I left it right there.”
“I already checked. It’s not there.”
“I know I put it in the nightstand,” Briony insisted.
“I’m telling you, it’s not there.” Stewart arched a brow. “Do you think I’m lying to you?”
Briony fell silent. She doubted Stewart would lie about something so trivial–there was simply no reason for it. She let out a quiet sigh and said, “Fine. Let’s go.”
Stewart walked ahead and opened the passenger door for her. Briony glanced at the script left on the seat–no doubt Rosita’s. Without saying a word, she opted for the back seat instead, slipping in and pulling the door shut behind her.
Stewart paused for a
then
the
passenger door and moved to the driver’s side.
The Maybach rolled smoothly out of the driveway.
A beat–up van parked nearby started its engine and began to tail them at a discreet distance.
Twenty minutes later, the Maybach pulled through the iron gates of Southcreek Manor and wound its way up the drive.
Briony got out as soon as the car
stopped. She led the way into the house, Stewart close behind.
From the van parked outside, a high–definition camera recorded every move.
Once inside, Briony headed straight for the bedroom. She yanked open the nightstand drawer–but the marriage certificate was nowhere to be seen.
She could’ve sworn she’d left it there before she moved out.
Briony searched the bedroom, growing more frustrated by the minute, until finally she found the certificate tucked away in a drawer of the vanity table.
She stared at it, puzzled. Had she remembered wrong? Or maybe Irwin had been playing around and left it there by mistake? That seemed likely–Irwin was always getting into things he shouldn’t.
Marriage certificate in hand, Briony strode down the hall to the study and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Stewart called from inside.
Briony entered. “Found the marriage certificate.”
She set it down on his desk. Stewart was typing at his laptop; he stopped, glanced at the certificate, and looked up at her.
“Where did you find it?”
“In the vanity table drawer.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Not the nightstand?”
1/2
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Chapter 33
Briony frowned, not wanting to be misunderstood. “I was sure I left it in the nightstand. Maybe Irwin took it out to play and put it there.”
“Irwin hasn’t been back these last few days.”
Briony fell silent. Maybe she really had remembered wrong.
“How’s the agreement coming?” she asked, changing the subject. “And by the way, I don’t want Southcreek Manor
“Why not?”
“It’s too far from my studio. It doesn’t work for me.” That was part of the truth, but not the whole of it. Still, she saw no reason to explain herself further. Stewart probably wasn’t interested anyway.
“T’ll just give you the cash value instead.” Stewart’s attention was back on his laptop. “I’ll give you one hundred million in cash for the manor. And another hundred million–that’s from Irwin. You’ve taken care of him for five years. He depends on you. I want you to be there for him in the future, if he needs you.”
Truth be told. Stewart didn’t need to offer money; Briony would never turn her back on Irwin if he needed her. But if Stewart wanted to settle things this way, she wasn’t going to argue. Better to take the money than have people later claim she was only sticking around for Stewart’s sake.
She gave it a moment’s thought, then replied in an even tone, “Alright.”
Stewart’s fingers paused over the keyboard, then resumed typing.
A little over ten minutes later, the new divorce agreement was printed–two copies, everything revised and in black and white.
Briony read through the contract carefully. Everything was clear, all the changes made. She picked up a pen and signed her name with a steady hand.
She handed the agreement to Stewart. “See you at city hall in ten days.”
He took the papers, meeting her eyes. “You won’t be able to get the divorce finalized in ten days.”
Briony blinked. “Why not?”
“There’s a mandatory cooling–off period now. Write me a letter of authorization, and I’ll file the paperwork. After thirty days, when the period is over, I’ll let you know so we can collect the decree.”
Briony had no energy left to argue. “Fine. Thirty days it is.”
Just then, the rideshare she’d ordered showed up outside.
She left Southcreek Manor without looking back, got in the car, and disappeared down the drive.
Upstairs, Stewart stood by the study’s tall windows, his silhouette framed against the glass, still and silent as a pine.
No one noticed as, outside, the high–definition camera quietly retreated into the van and vanished from sight.
