Chapter 17
Briony dialed Stewart’s number.
She wanted him to come pick up Irwin.
But Stewart didn’t answer.
He was obviously ignoring her on purpose.
Frustration welled up inside Briony, her expression turning cold.
Irwin looked at her, eyes rimmed red. He choked up and said, “Mom, am I bothering you? If you don’t want me around anymore, I can just leave…”
Tears began to spill down his cheeks.
Briony’s heart softened instantly. She pulled him into a gentle hug and soothed him, “Of course I still want you here. I’m just swamped with work these days, and since you’re still not feeling well, I’m worried I won’t be able to take care of you properly.”
“I’m not running a fever anymore,” Irwin insisted.
He grabbed Briony’s hand and placed it on his forehead. “See, Mom? I’m really not sick now. I’ll be good and won’t disturb you while you’re working. Please don’t send me away, okay?”
Whenever Irwin played the sweetheart, Briony was helpless.
She sighed and stroked his still–warm cheek. “Did you finish the soup I made for you?”
let
“I did!” Irwin said proudly. “I drank the whole big bowl!”
“And did you bring your medicine?”
“Yep!” He patted his cartoon backpack. “And I brought the toys and bedtime storybooks you bought for me,
too!”
Briony tapped him on the nose. “You never forget your bedtime stories, do you? All right, you’re still under the weather. Go lie down and get some rest. I have to get back to work.”
“Okay!”
Hugging his backpack, Irwin scampered off to the lounge.
Watching her sweet, sensible son, Briony felt a pang of guilt.
Irwin was still just a child. It was only natural for him to rely on his parents. Even though he’d reconnected with Rosita, he still thought of her as “Mom,” didn’t he?
She really shouldn’t let herself get upset with a kid.
With that in mind, Briony opened her shopping app and bought all the children’s books and educational toys she’d been eyeing for a while.
She figured Irwin would probably spend New Year’s Eve with Stewart and Rosita at the Wentworth estate this year. The things she’d just bought would be her New Year’s gifts for him.
Briony worked late into the night, not finishing until after midnight.
When she returned to the lounge, Irwin was already asleep.
After a shower, she tiptoed to the bed and gently lifted the covers. Irwin was clutching a kid’s smartwatch in
his hand.
It was a limited–edition model, and the price tag was well into the thousands.
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Chapter 17
Most likely, Rosita had bought it for him.
It seemed Rosita was also trying to be a good mother.
Briony couldn’t quite name what she was feeling. She couldn’t pretend it didn’t affect her, but she knew that Irwin growing closer to Rosita was inevitable.
It wasn’t something she could stop, or even had the right to stop.
All she could do was be there for him whenever he needed her.
She set the watch on Irwin’s nightstand and turned off the light.
At two in the morning, Briony was roused by the heat radiating from the child in her arms–he was burning up like a furnace.
Startled, she switched on the light. Irwin’s face was flushed bright red.
She took his temperature–103.6 degrees!
Briony quickly found the fever medicine and coaxed him to swallow it.
But half an hour later, his fever hadn’t budged.
Frantic, Briony threw on her clothes, scooped Irwin into her arms, and rushed to the hospital.
On the way, she called Stewart again, but he still didn’t answer.
At the ER, the doctors diagnosed Irwin with acute bronchial pneumonia.
He needed to be admitted for IV treatment.
Once Briony finished the paperwork, she tried Stewart’s number once more.
This time, the call finally connected. On the other end, Rosita’s gentle voice came through: “Ms. Kensington, sorry for the delay–Stewart’s in the shower. Is there something urgent?”
