"That was all in the past."
Briony opened her eyes and met his gaze, her expression calm and steady. "After
I came back from Florence, I made up my mind to leave you. Everything that happened after just slowly strangled anyst bit of feeling I had left for you."
With every word, Stewart''s eyes seemed to lose their light, growing dimmer by the second.
"Stewart, the fact that I loved you-during those five years of our secret marriage —it was bittersweet. But I don''t regret it. I cherished that love more than anything. But then, again and again, you hurt me, trampled on me, all for Florence and for Irwin. Eventually, I started to feel like loving you was pathetic..."
"I began to hate myself for being so weak. I started to hate the words ''I love you''..."
"Then, I truly decided to leave you. I made the choice to stop loving you. It wasn''t easy. I struggled. I even thought about not keeping the baby..."
"Stewart, you''ll never understand just how cold the wind is in Pearbrook."
"You''ll never know what it feels like to walk into an operating room three times."
"And you''ll never, ever know how much I hated myself the moment I found out our son was gone. I hated myself, Stewart-I hated that I ever loved you at all!"
A sharp ache twisted in Stewart''s chest.
He stared at Briony, lost for words, not knowing how to respond.
"Stewart, you''re the one who taught me what it means for love to turn into hate. And now you have the nerve to tell me you don''t understand how we ended up like this?"
As she spoke, Briony let out a bitterugh.
But as sheughed, tears spilled down her cheeks.
In her tear-filled eyes, hatred surged. "Sometimes, I want to rip your heart out just to see if it''s really as ck as it feels."
Stewart sat on the sofa, watching Briony in silence.
After a long moment, he finally spoke, resigned. "If you hate me, I ept that. But I still can''t let you go."
Briony''sposure shattered. "Why? Why are you still clinging to me? Stewart, haven''t I made myself clear enough? We''re over. It''s over. Let me go! Just let me go!"
"I told you-one week." Stewart stood and walked toward her.
Briony recoiled, not wanting him any closer, backing up several steps.
His eyes darkened. He lunged, grabbing her wrist and yanking her to him. "Stewart, let go of me "
She struggled, and the metal chain at her ankle scraped against the floor, making an awful sound.
"Just one week," Stewart said, his voice low. "Let''s just be together like we used to, for one week. Please?"
"You''re insane!"
Briony trembled with rage, staring daggers at him. "Stewart, if you''re sick, go see a doctor. I can''t help you!"
"Yes, you can."
Stewart tightened his grip on her wrist, refusing to let her go.
His other hand closed around the back of her neck, pulling her close until their foreheads touched.
Their breaths mingled in the tense air. Stewart''s voice was hoarse, tinged with something unhinged.
"Bryn, even if you have to pretend, just give me a week. One week-pretend with me, please?"
A chill ran down Briony''s spine.
She saw the bloodshot look in Stewart''s eyes and felt a cold dread settle in her
gut.
Stewart wasn''t acting normal anymore.
Was he losing his mind?
If that was true-
She was in real danger now.
If Stewart decided to force her, she wouldn''t stand a chance...
Briony took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
No matter what, provoking Stewart now would be a terrible idea.
"Stewart, if you really want to fix our marriage, you need to learn to respect me."
Her voice was soft as she looked
him in
è eye. "Chaining me up liet
this how is that any different from
treating me like an
Stewart''s lips curled in a faint,
satisfied smile. His hand on her neck
traced gentle circles along her skin
This thumb.
"If I don''t chain you up, you''ll just run away."
Briony fought back her disgust and softened her tone, forcing herself to sound reasonable. "If I promise not
will you at least take off the
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