Regretting the Wife He Threw Away

Chapter 685 Briony had been about to leave when she noticed Stewart moving toward the woman surrounded by reporters.

She stopped in her tracks, watching as Stewart crossed the floor, step by step, until he stood at the woman's side.

The woman had a striking bob and a pair of sunglasses perched on her nose. As Stewart reached her, she slipped her arm naturally through his and, with her free hand, removed her sunglasses.

An exquisite, coldly beautiful face was revealed to the crowd.

Looking straight at the reporters, she exuded an unshakeable confidence; her gaze was cool and commanding, yet her crimson lips were curved in a flawless, practiced smile.

"I'd hoped to introduce my fiancé to you all at a more suitable occasion," she said, her voice clear and ringing. "But since you're all so curious, I suppose now is as good a tas any this is Mr. Wentworth, the man I am about to marry." The crowd exploded.

"Mr. Wentworth?! Didn't he die in that accident last year?" "It's really Stewart the former CEO of The Wentworth Group... Xenia Cooper's fiancé is actually him?" Briony stared, frozen.

The barrage of reporters, Xenia's public announcement, Stewart's silent acquiescence- Suddenly, the past few days made sense. Stewart's constant busyness... The "partner" he'd mentioned must have been Ms. Cooper.

On New Year's Eve, he'd rushed back home-before that, was he with Ms.

Cooper? No wonder he'd said, "It's a personal matter." Spending twith his fiancée certainly qualified.

Briony couldn't even describe how she felt.

After the initial shock faded, reality crashed in: even if Stewart remarried, it had nothing to do with her.

They were divorced now; they could each choose whomever they wished. Stewart moving on was only natural.

Briony dropped her gaze and turned away, heading straight for the exit.

The moment she turned, Stewart caught sight of her.

His pupils contracted.

Bryn? What is she doing here? Did she see everything? As Stewart watched Briony's retreating figure, panic gnawed at him.

The woman at his side tugged his arm sharply, snapping his attention back. He looked down, frowning.

Xenia Cooper tilted her head, her height-amplified by heels-allowing her to lean in close. "There are a dozen reporters here. Are you trying to embarrass me?" Stewart's brows drew together.

Within a heartbeat, he schooled his features back to their usual cool indifference.

A microphone was shoved toward him. "Mr. Wentworth, is it true you and Ms. Cooper are getting married?" He glanced at the reporter, his eyes icy. "Yes." Another question was forming, but Xenia cut in smoothly, "If you keep pressing, that would be impolite. The official date will be released on the group's website in a few days, so please, let us through." At her words, a team of uniformed security guards appeared and pushed the reporters back.

Arm in arm, Xenia and Stewart walked toward the parking lot, camera flashes tracking their every move.

In the underground garage, Xenia's assistant Amy waited in a black town car. Xenia and Stewart climbed in; the doors shut.

Amy glanced at them in the rearview mirror. "Ms. Cooper, should I take you to the headquarters or hfirst?" Stewart answered before Xenia could. "Taketo Southcreek Manor first." Xenia paused, turning to look at the man beside her.

She'd only met Stewart a handful of times; they weren't exactly close.

Still, from those first meetings, Xenia had pegged him as cool, reserved-a master of composure, the kind of natural-born businessman who never let his guard down.

Truthfully, she admired that in him.

After years in cutthroat business, her own heart had grown diamond-hard; it was rare for any man to genuinely impress her.

Yet Stewart was the first in a long tto manage it.

That was why, when he'd cto her asking for a bone marrow donation for Briony, she'd proposed the marriage contract.

She needed a man as strong and as rational as Stewart.

But just now, he had lost control.

"Stewart, she was bound to find out eventually" Xenia's voice was gentle as she looked at him. "When you signed that agreement with me, you must have known this day would come." Stewart kept his head down, silent.

He had known.

But seeing Briony turn and walk away-seeing the sadness in her posture-he couldn't stop thinking about it.

He couldn't help but wonder: Would she be angry with him now? He didn't want Briony to be angry...

Seeing Stewart's turmoil, Xenia was, for a moment, unexpectedly moved.

They were partners, after all; she had no wish to make things tense light make things from the start.

She gave a small wave of her hand. "Forget it, Amy. Take Mr. Wentworth hfirst." "Of course," Amy replied, and started the car.

Back at Pearbrook Mansion, Briony went straight to her room and lay down.

She was still recovering; bed rest took up most of her days, and neither Carol nor Marlene noticed anything amiss.

But barely half an hour after she'd gone upstairs, the sound of a cam drifted in from the driveway.

A black Bentley pulled up outside, and Stewart stepped out, turning off the engine. He cinto the house, changed his shoes, and asked, "Is Bryn home?" Carol, sensing his urgency, quickly replied, "Ms. Kensington is in her room-- probably napping." Stewart nodded curtly and headed straight up to the master bedroom.

Briony wasn't asleep.

She tossed and turned, replaying the scene at the airport over and over in her mind.

Xenia Cooper...

She sat up abruptly, pulled out her phone, and searched for "Xenia Cooper." [Xenia Cooper, 34, current CEO of Neonova Syndicate, heiress to the Cooper family of Northborough, and the current family head...] Knock, knock.

There was a tap at the door.

Briony closed the webpage, assuming it was Marlene or Carol. "It's not locked, cin." The door opened quietly.

Stewart's tall frappeared in the doorway.

Briony froze.