Stewart stood in the doorway, one hand gripping the handle. "Can Ie in?"


    Ever since Briony had recovered ande home from the hospital, Stewart


    hadn''t entered her bedroom uninvited.


    Briony pressed her lips together, her mind drifting to the fact that Stewart was


    about to marry Xenia Cooper.


    "I''ll step out," she said quietly.


    Stewart froze for a second, caught off guard. But, ever the gentleman, he stepped


    aside and let her pass.


    Once the door clicked shut behind him, Briony pulled back the covers and got out


    of bed. She slipped her arms into a cardigan hanging on the rack before heading


    out.


    When Briony opened the door and emerged, Stewart was still waiting in the


    hallway. There was a restless urgency in his eyes.


    She could guess what he wanted to talk about. "Let''s go to my studio," she


    suggested.


    With the kids at home, Briony didn''t want them overhearing any talk about their


    father''s uing remarriage.


    Inside the studio, Stewart shut the door behind them. Briony crossed to the sofa


    and sat down, gesturing for him to do the same.


    He took the seat across from her. For a moment, the silence between them was


    thick and heavy.


    Stewart''s Adam''s apple bobbed as he struggled to find the right words. Briony


    waited, patient but expectant.


    He looked unsettled, almost agitated.


    "Stewart, just say what you need to say," she prompted gently.


    He exhaled a shaky sigh, then asked, "You saw what happened at the airport,


    didn''t you?"


    Briony nodded, her expression unreadable. "I did."


    Stewart seemed to stop breathing for a second.


    "Ms. Cooper seems like a wonderful person," Briony said evenly.


    "Congrattions, Stewart."


    His fists clenched. Seeing Briony so calm, so detached, made it hard for him to


    breathe. There was a dull ache in his chest.


    He''d known for a while that Briony was over him, but hearing her blessing—it felt


    cruel.


    "Don''t say that..." He looked at her, pain flickering in his eyes. "Bryn, please. Don''t


    wish me well. Not like that..."


    Those words,ing from her, were torture.


    Briony blinked in surprise. What was Stewart trying to say? He was about to marry


    Xenia Cooper—why react like this in front of her?


    The air between them grew tense and stifling.


    Just then, Briony''s phone rang on the table. It was Maynard.


    "I need to take this," she said, answering the call. "Mr. Maynard?"


    "I''ve got two new film offers for you—both excellent, but you''ll have to pick one.


    Do you have some time now? I can bring the scripts over."


    "Sure,e on by."


    After she hung up, Briony set her phone down and looked at Stewart.


    "Mr. Maynard will be here soon to


    discuss work. Stewart, about your


    uing marriage—you don''t need


    to worry about my feelings. As the


    mother of our children, all I ask is


    that you talk to them and help them


    understand what''s going on."


    Stewart studied her face.


    She was soposed, as if his remarriage meant nothing to her. She didn''t care.


    She didn''t care that he was marrying someone else.


    It made him feel ridiculous for rushing over to exin himself, like a fool chasing


    after something long gone.


    Of course he was a fool—he was the only one who hadn''t let go.


    Stewart lowered his gaze, hiding the


    pain in his eyes. "Don''t worry, even if


    Xenia and I remarry, I''ll never ask the


    kids to call her their stepmother. She


    won''t be involved in their lives."


    Briony thought to herself that a woman as aplished as Xenia Cooper would


    hardly want to y stepmom anyway.


    The custody of the children was with her, so, legally, Stewart''s remarriage


    wouldn''t really affect them. As for the time he spent with them, that was up to


    Stewart to manage.


    "Stewart, you don''t have to worry


    about me keeping the kids from you


    because of your marriage. After


    everything we''ve been through, I


    know you genuinely love them. You


    don''t need to rush over here to


    reassure me—I''ve always said you''re


    a good father."


    "Thank you, Bryn. Thank you for understanding." Stewart looked up at her, his


    eyes searching. "But I didn''te back just for the kids."


    He hesitated, and then, unable to hold it in any longer, asked quietly, "If I told you


    that my marriage to Xenia Cooper was just a business arrangement, would you


    believe me?"