"It''s the same as what I said on the phone," Briony replied coolly.
She honestly had zero desire to see Stewart ever again.
But Stewart was insistent. "I''ve had a few drinks tonight, so I won''t be going out. If you want to talk,e back to Southcreek Manor."
With that, the call ended.
Briony''s grip on her phone tightened, her knuckles turning white.
Ste leaned over, concerned. "What did he say?"
"He wants me to go see him at Southcreek Manor. Face to face."
"What a jerk!" Ste scowled. "He''s doing this on purpose, isn''t he? You told himst time you''d never set foot in Southcreek Manor again, and now he''s insisting you go there to negotiate? Could he be any more infuriating?"
Briony closed her eyes for a moment, trying to steady herself.
Thest time she''d been at Southcreek Manor, things had ended badly.
Right in front of Stewart, she''d told Irwin she would nevere back.
Of course Stewart remembered. He was the type to keep a grudge.
Now he was forcing her to swallow every word she''d ever said to take it all back, one painful syble at a time.
That was Stewart''s real game.
"Bryn, are you... going?"
"I am." A hint of resolve flickered in Briony''s eyes. "I''ve yed the fool for five years already. One more time won''t make a difference."
Ste looked at her, equal parts worried and helpless. "I''ming with you. He only said you had to go―he didn''t say you had to go alone!"
"Alright."
They settled the bill and left their private dining room.
At that very moment, the door of the next room swung open.
Out bounced a small figure-Irwin, hopping and skipping into the hallway.
Briony and Ste froze in surprise.
Running into Irwin here was thest thing either of them expected.
Oblivious, Irwin dashed ahead, waving his action figure in the air, not noticing the waiter pushing a cart loaded with steaming soup straight toward him.
The waiter spotted Irwin and shouted, panicked, "Careful, kid! Move out of the way!"
Just as Irwin was about to collide with the cart, Briony and Ste reached out at the same time-each grabbing one of his arms and yanking him back to safety.
Crash!
The action figure tumbled to the floor, scattering pieces across the tile.
Irwin stood there in shock, motionless. It took him a moment to process what had happened. Then, seeing his broken toy on the floor, his eyes filled with tears. With a wail, he burst out crying.
"My action figure! Mom bought it for me! It''s ruined!"
"Irwin?" Lauren hurried out from the private room, rmed by the crying.
Briony and Ste had already let go of Irwin.
The moment Irwin saw Lauren, he ran straight to her.
"Grandma!" He flung himself into her arms, sobbing. "Mom bought me that action figure and now it''s broken!"
Lauren hugged him, ncing at the scattered stic on the floor. “What
happened? How did this happen, sweetheart?"
"It was-it was them..." Irwin looked up and pointed usingly at Briony and Ste.
But the second he saw Briony, he froze.
"Mom!" he cried, instantly switching gears. He rushed over to Briony, tears still
glistening on his cheeks, but suddenly beaming at her. "Mom, I''m sorry! I thought
it was someone else I didn''t know it was you!"
Ste eyed Irwin with disbelief, thinking even a stage actor couldn''t change expressions that fast.
But Briony barely nced at Irwin.
Her attention was locked on Lauren.
For some reason, Lauren''s face seemed oddly familiar.
Lauren, too, looked surprised to see Briony.
Her lips curved into a polite smile, but there was a flicker of coldness in her eyes as she approached and extended a hand. "You must be Ms. Kensington-Irwin''s nanny for the past five years, right? I''m Lauren, Irwin''s grandmother-Rosita''s mother. I''ve heard from Stewart and Rosita how well you''ve taken care of Irwin all these years. As his grandmother, I just wanted to thank you."
Briony returned her gaze, her expression cool and assessing.
She didn''t take Lauren''s hand. Instead, she asked, "Have we met before?"
Lauren blinked, clearly caught off-guard by the question.