Briony blinked open her eyes, groggy and disoriented.


    She found herself staring up at a room she knew all too well.


    Wait-this was... the master bedroom at Southcreek Manor?


    Her muddled mind snapped awake in an instant.


    She bolted upright, only to feel a strange, heavy resistance in her body.


    ncing down, Briony froze in shock-she was wearing a wedding dress.


    Her eyes widened, panic ring in her chest.


    No-this couldn''t be. Wasn''t this the very dress she''d burned in Ghana four years ago?


    What the hell was going on?!


    She scanned the room, desperate for answers.


    No doubt about it-this was Southcreek Manor''s master bedroom.


    How on earth had she ended up here?


    A sharp pain pulsed at her temples. She pressed her fingers to her head, trying to steady herself.


    Fragments of memory before she''d cked out started to resurface.


    Had... had Stewart kidnapped her?


    Her breath caught in her throat.


    Had he lost his mind?


    One day he''d mailed her the divorce papers, the next he''d abducted her?


    Fury boiling inside her, Briony threw back the covers and slid off the bed.


    A metallic clink echoed from beneath her.


    She froze, heart pounding as she slowly lowered her gaze.


    A silvery steel chain snaked across the floor.


    In disbelief, she lifted the hem of her dress and found the chain cuffed to her left ankle.


    Following the chain with her eyes, she saw the other end was bolted firmly to the wall.


    A chill swept through her, leaving her hands trembling as she clutched her skirt.


    Stewart really had lost it.


    Click.


    The door opened.


    Briony''s head snapped toward the sound.


    Stewart strode in, tall andposed, dressed in a sleek ck suit.


    He was carrying a tray-on it, a few small dishes and a bowl of in soup with bread.


    Seeing she was awake, Stewart''s sharp features remained calm, almost unfazed.


    His lips curled into a faint, indifferent smile. "Good. You''re up. Just in time for dinner."


    Briony stared at his suit-it was identical to the one he''d worn in Ghana, four years ago.


    This was insane.


    "Stewart, do you even realize what you''re doing?" she spat, her anger barely contained. "This is kidnapping!"


    "Bryn, that''s not a very fair thing to say."


    He set the tray down on the small table beside the sofa at the foot of the bed.


    "We''re still married, you know." He stepped closer, reaching out as if to touch her cheek-


    Briony recoiled instantly, the chain rattling a sharp warning.


    The sound was a cruel reminder of her predicament.


    Her breath quickened. "Stewart, you never cease to surprise me in the worst possible ways!"


    "Bryn, you''re mistaken." Stewart''s dark eyes fixed on her, unblinking. "You never really did understand me."


    "Don''t call me that!" Briony snapped, her patience gone. "You don''t have the right!"


    Stewart''s lips twisted in a


    humorless, almost mocking smile.


    "Then who would you prefer?


    Ferdinand Ellsworth? Is that it? Is he


    the one you really want?"


    Briony was speechless with outrage; she could hardly believe what she was hearing.


    She pressed her lips together, her re sharp and unyielding.


    Hatred and a flicker of fear surged through her. Until today, she''d never have imagined Stewart was capable of something so deranged as kidnapping and locking her up.


    "Stewart, we''re in the middle of a divorce. You already signed the papers!"


    She drew a shaky breath, fighting to


    keep


    nvoice steady. "There''s


    g left between us. What re


    is illegal!"


    doing


    "I know you want a divorce."


    Stewart''s smile was cold. "I signed the papers, didn''t I? I''ll go through with it."


    "Then what the hell is this?!"


    Stewart''s gaze was heavy, unreadable.


    "Bryn, you never liked Irwin. I''ve sent him abroad."