Regretting the Wife He Threw Away

"It's only about control, isn't it?" Briony stared at him. "But it can't be cured, right?"

Ferdinand pressed his lips together, silent.

"Forget it." Briony lifted a hand to rub her aching temples. "I'd like some water."

"Of course."

Ferdinand immediately got up to fetch her a glass.

He held the water in one hand, and with the other, carefully helped Briony sit up, propping her gently against his chest.

Briony didn't want to lean on him, but she simply didn't have the strength to resist.

Worried she might choke, Ferdinand had even brought her a straw.

She took a few slow sips, and finally the dryness in her throat eased a bit.

"I'd like some soup," she said quietly.

An appetite-any appetite-was a good sign.

Ferdinand eased her back onto the bed and set the glass on the nightstand. "I'II ask Belinda to make you some broth."

"Ferdinand, I want to go outside for a walk."

"You're still recovering. It's not wise to go out in this weather."

"Not right now," Briony replied, her tone calm as she met his gaze. "I mean, I wantnoveldrama

to leave this room. Take a walk, window shop-anything. I just don't want to be shut away in here all day."

Ferdinand studied her, his expression unreadable. "It's not as safe here as back home."

"Then have someone come with me," Briony said, her voice resolute. "Maybe I don't have much time left. Are you really going to deny me even this little bit of freedom?"

Ferdinand's lips pressed into a thin line.

He looked at Briony, and she saw the conflict in his eyes-alongside something like guilt.

She held his gaze, then gave a crooked half-smile. "Ferdinand, I've known for a while. My sudden illness is probably connected to what you did to me before." Ferdinand stiffened.

His hand, hanging at his side, clenched into a fist.

His Adam's apple bobbed, but whatever words he meant to say, he couldn't get them out.

"The day I came back, you checked

my pulse. You reacted so strangely. I couldn't see you, but you asked if I'd taken any other medication. That's when I realized something was wrong."

"So... did you take anything?" he asked quietly.

"No," Briony replied, locking eyes with him. "But you seem to have forgotten-my

mother had leukemia."

Ferdinand looked startled.

"I'm her daughter. Cancer isn't exactly hereditary, but medicine says maternal genes can have a impact. Maybe I was always carrying some dormant mutation,

and your so-called monot

happened to trigger it. Or maybe not. You're a doctor-you know how sometimes the smallest chance can lead to the most unexpected outcome."

Briony's tone was light, almost like she was discussing the weather.

Ferdinand had once told her she wasn't innocent, that it was saving him all those years ago which led them to this point.

But by that same logic, Briony thought, her illness now was because of what Ferdinand had done to her.

Wasn't this just a kind of moral blackmail?

If Ferdinand could play that game, so could she.

Right now, she was gambling on his obsessive affection for her.

"Bryn, I promised you-I'll do

everything I can to cure you."

Ferdinand didn't deny her

vel

accusation; he could only keep

making that same promise.

Briony understood he believed her.

It seemed her wild guess had landed closer to the truth than she'd expected.

Leukemia.

A ruthless disease.

She lowered her gaze, voice barely above a whisper. "Whatever happens, I just

want to make the most of every day I have left."

Ferdinand watched her, silent.

Briony raised her head, meeting his eyes. "Let me have some happiness, Ferdinand. Please. That's all I'm asking."