Chapter 212
“I’m going to find Stewart.“”
Rosita’s face was tense, her eyes red and swollen, as if she’d been crying moments before. “Mom, if i don’t go now, Ms. Kensington is going to take Stewart from me!”
“What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain when I get back. Zack, get the car”
Zack hurried off to the garage to bring the car around.
Rosita rushed outside, practically throwing herself into the back seat.
As Lauren watched the car disappear down the drive, she grew increasingly uneasy. She called for a housekeeper to keep an eye on the kids, then hurried back into the house herself.
At the hospital, in Dr. Cedric Clarke’s private office.
Stewart stood by the window, a cigarette pinched between his fingers, inhaling silently, one drag after another.
He wasn’t much of a smoker–hardly ever, really.
But since he’d walked in, he’d already finished two cigarettes.
And it hadn’t even been ten minutes.
Cedric finally had enough. When Stewart reached for a third, Cedric strode over, snatched the pack from his hand, and tossed it straight into the trash.
“You know you can’t smoke in a hospital!”
Stewart scowled, his cold gaze flicking over Cedric.
Cedric hated that look.
“You could smoke yourself into a chimney today, but it still wouldn’t change anything!”
For some reason, Stewart let out a short, bitter laugh–a sound closer to a sigh than real amusement.
“So you think I’m a bastard, too?”
Cedric rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you are. I don’t care how many excuses you have–five years of marriage, and you still let Briony down.”
Stewart nodded, his narrow eyes lowering. “No wonder she asked me that question.”
Cedric frowned. “What question?”
“In that old church on the coast, she asked me, ‘Stewart, do you know what I’ve really lost?”
“Yeah… I think I remember that,” Cedric replied, puzzled. “But what about it?”
“She didn’t just lose Ms. Hudson,” Stewart said, closing his eyes as his voice tightened, “She also lost a child i never even got to meet.” His throat worked as he swallowed hard. “That’s why she hates me.”
Cedric fell silent.
Well, that made things easier. Stewart had already filled in all the blanks himself.
“Maybe it’s better that the baby didn’t make it.” Stewart’s voice turned cold, almost cruel. “Maybe that was for the best.”
Cedric stared at him, stunned. “Are you out of your mind? What the hell is wrong with you? That was your child! Stewart, if you say anything like that again, I swear, I’m done with you!”
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19:42
Chapter 212
“I’m just telling the truth.” Stewart stared out the window, his eyes as lifeless as a winter night.
“Stewart!”
Cedric grabbed Stewart by the collar, his voice breaking with anger. “Say that again and I’ll knock some sense into you! That was your own child! Even if you don’t love Briony anymore, you can’t talk like that!”
But Stewart didn’t flinch.
“Stewart, have you lost your mind? That was your own flesh and blood!”
Cedric’s hands shook as he held Stewart’s shirt, searching his face for answers. “What’s going on with you?”
Stewart finally lifted his gaze, black eyes reflecting Cedric’s furious face.
He forced a smile, but the redness at the corners of his eyes betrayed him. “You forgot I’m on medication, didn’t you?”
Cedric hesitated.
“You said so yourself–the pregnancy wasn’t developing properly.”
Cedric’s grip loosened as realization dawned. “So you mean…”
“A child affected by those drugs might not have been healthy, even if they’d been born.”
Cedric let go, speechless for a long moment.
At last, he rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Whatever. Call it fate, I guess. Either way, you and Briony are over. Just get the paperwork done and move on with your lives.”
Stewart turned back to the window, his expression unreadable.
He didn’t reply.
Outside the office, Rosita pressed pause on her phone recorder, saving the audio she’d just captured.
She quietly slipped her phone into her purse, then turned and walked away.
