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Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Briony listened to Irwin’s sharp words, feeling nothing but numbness inside.
Maybe it was for the best. She wasn’t Irwin’s mother, after all. Maybe it was time to let things go back to how they should be.
She would step out of Stewart and Irwin’s lives for good, and let everything return to its proper course.
Without another glance back, Briony turned and walked straight for the door.
“Briony-”
A sudden fit of coughing cut through the silence.
Stewart’s face changed instantly. “Irwin?”
Irwin was gasping for breath, clutching his chest as he began to collapse.
“Irwin!” Stewart scooped him into his arms, turning desperately to Briony. “He’s having an asthma attack!”
Briony’s hand froze on the doorknob.
“Mom… cough… Mom…” Even as Stewart held him, Irwin’s pale face was contorted in pain. Despite everything, he instinctively reached out a trembling hand toward Briony, pleading, “Mom, I can’t breathe… cough…”
Briony’s grip on the doorknob tightened.
She squeezed her eyes shut, telling herself not to give in. Stewart was here–he’d make sure Irwin was alright…
“Where’s Irwin’s inhaler?!”
Briony faltered, then spun around.
Stewart was standing there, clutching the breathless boy, his eyes pleading with her.
Irwin’s pale face had lost all its earlier defiance. Now, he just looked scared and helpless.
Something twisted painfully in Briony’s chest. Releasing the door, she rushed upstairs toward the child’s room. Stewart hurried after her, Irwin limp in his arms.
In the bedroom, Briony yanked open the top drawer by the bed and grabbed the medication.
After Irwin used his inhaler, his breathing gradually steadied. Nestled in Briony’s arms, he soon drifted off to sleep.
She gently laid him on the bed and pulled the covers up around him.
Throughout it all, Briony didn’t say a word, nor did she look at Stewart once.
Stewart stood silently nearby, watching as she cared for Irwin with quiet tenderness, something soft flickering in his deep–set eyes.
At last, Briony brushed a hand over Irwin’s pale cheek, then turned to leave.
“Briony.”
Stewart called after her.
She didn’t reply, didn’t look back, just headed downstairs without hesitation.
Stewart frowned and hurried to catch up.
At the top of the stairs, he grabbed her wrist. “There’s a blizzard out there. No way you’ll get a cab tonight. Just stay here, at least for tonight.”
Briony glanced out the window.
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Chapter 60
It had been clear that morning, but now the sky was heavy and gray, snow swirling through the biting wind. It was truly dreadful weather.
She pulled her wrist free of his grasp. “Don’t worry about me. If I managed to get here, I can manage to leave.”
She started down the stairs.
“If Irwin wakes up, he’ll want to see you,” Stewart said quietly.
Briony stopped, halfway down.
She turned and looked up at him, standing at the top of the stairs, still so impossibly distant, always looking down on her from above.
A faint, bitter smile touched her lips. “You really are father and son.”
With that, she didn’t hesitate again. She left.
The front door opened and closed. Stewart stood there, watching through the tall window as Briony’s solitary figure disappeared into the swirling snow.
He didn’t move, his hand–still tingling from where he’d held her–hung uselessly at his side, the emptiness in his palm making him frown as the realization finally hit him.
Stella arrived to find Briony trudging down the avenue, almost swallowed by the storm.
She was dressed much too lightly, snow clinging to her hair and shoulders.
Slamming the car to a halt, Stella flung open the driver’s door and hurried over, berating her as she brushed the snow off Briony’s coat. “What, did you lose your mind? Couldn’t you wait inside for me in this blizzard?”
Briony’s voice was nearly lost in the wind. “I couldn’t stay there a second longer.”
“You’ve lasted over five years–what’s another few minutes going to kill you?”
Briony’s lashes, frosted with snow, fluttered. She managed a faint, hollow laugh. “It won’t kill me. But it makes me sick…”
Stella paused, suddenly realizing something was wrong. The harsh words died in her throat, and she just sighed, bundling Briony into the car.
Once inside, she grabbed a blanket from the back seat and wrapped Briony’s shivering body.
“Seriously, what are you trying to prove? If Stewart wants to be an ass, that’s his problem. But now you’re just punishing yourself! You’re pregnant, Briony. For God’s sake-”
“Stella.”
Stella stopped, looking at Briony’s bloodless face, her frustration turning her voice sharp. “What is it now?” “Help me schedule the procedure.”
Stella hesitated, lips pressed tight. She had so much she wanted to say, but in the end, all she managed was: “Alright.”
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