A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 569

The air in the study grew still.

Brinley stared at Starla, her face ashen. She shook her head, struggling for breath. “No, I…”

“Don’t be so quick to deny it. You know exactly what you did, don’t you?”

Brinley fell silent. It was true. She had known about Starla’s pregnancies—the first child and the second. She was responsible for their loss.

Seeing Brinley’s silence, Starla let out another humorless laugh. “You killed my child, and now you want me to save yours? Do I look like a saint?”

Every word from Starla’s mouth was like a razor’s edge, slicing deep into Brinley’s heart.

Fairfax, knowing Starla was in the study, had come to find her and now stood just outside the door. He was already reeling from the revelation that she knew Justin, but the conversation that followed turned his shock to ice.

He heard Brinley’s choked voice say, “I was wrong. I’m sorry. Please, can you just get Justin? Please bring him to Marina City!”

In that moment, Brinley surrendered completely. She finally understood that Starla’s ruthlessness was a direct result of everything they had done to her. Denying it was pointless.

Outside the door, hearing Brinley's confession, Fairfax’s hands clenched into tight fists. A frosty rage settled over his features.

“You were wrong? You’re sorry?” Starla mocked. “What are you, a kid? You think a simple apology fixes everything?”

When had hurting someone become so cheap that a few words were all it took to make amends? The cost of cruelty was far too low.

“Then what do you want?” Brinley cried out.

“Are you sure that child is your husband’s? Faraday’s son? And not… Felix’s?”

Outside the door, Fairfax froze.

At Starla’s words, both of them—one inside, one out—went pale. A vein began to throb violently at Fairfax’s temple.

Inside, Brinley felt as if her breathing had stopped. She stared at Starla in disbelief, a raw panic hardening in her eyes.

“If the child is Faraday’s,” Starla said evenly, “I’ll acknowledge him.”

After all, Faraday had been kind to her when he was alive, often defending her when Darleen gave her trouble. She had even overheard him privately reprimanding Darleen on her behalf.