Regretting the Wife He Threw Away

The car door swung open, and Ferdinand climbed out, drawing his pistol as he stepped onto the gravel.

Gifford staggered, a bullet lodged in his back, but his bulletproof vest had saved him he didn't go down.

Shielding Mary with his body, Gifford hurried her toward the car.

When he saw Ferdinand rushing to meet them, Gifford shoved Mary forward. "It's an ambush! You two get out of here—now!"

Ferdinand caught Mary as she nearly collapsed in his arms. He glanced anxiously at Gifford. "Are you alright?"

"I'll live," Gifford said, holding Ferdinand's gaze. "Mr. Ellsworth, if I make it out of this, I'll find you. But if I don't... well, I hope you get what you want."

Ferdinand's brow furrowed, but before he could answer, several armed men burst from the undergrowth.

"Go!" Gifford yelled.

Gritting his teeth, Ferdinand dragged Mary toward the car.

At the same moment, Briony suddenly flung the passenger door open and sprang out.

Gunfire erupted all around as Briony ran straight toward them.

"Bryn!" Ferdinand shouted, his eyes wide with panic. Without thinking, he shoved Mary aside and sprinted to catch Briony in his arms.

She clung to him, but her eyes were locked on Mary. "Run! Get down the hill-just go!"

Mary froze, shaking her head through her tears. "Briony, I can't. You should be the one running-"

"Mary, run!" Briony screamed, her voice raw and desperate. "If I can trade my life for you and your child, it's worth it! Get down the hill-someone's waiting for you at the bottom!"

Mary kept sobbing.

Briony was on the verge of breaking down, yelling so loud it was almost a shriek. "If you don't run, all three of us are going to die right here. Or do you want your child to be the son of a drug lord, shunned by the world?!"

Mary wiped her tears, set her jaw, and finally turned and ran, stumbling and limping down the slope. The pain in her ankle was real—she'd had to make it look convincing to fool Gifford.

The plan was supposed to be simple: Mary would lure Ferdinand out of the car, then Briony would slip away in the chaos.

But Briony had chosen to give Mary the chance to escape instead.

Mary didn't dare look back. All she could do was run with everything she had, her heart pounding painfully as she sobbed out Briony's name.

"Briony!"

Suddenly, everything clicked for Ferdinand.

He whipped out his pistol and pressed it to Briony's forehead. "You've been working with them all along, haven't you? Using yourself as bait? Briony, you're ruthless!"

Briony stared him down. "If you think I'd marry the devil, I'd rather face the wrath of hell for eternity."

"You-"

"Mr. Ellsworth-!"

Gifford's broken cry rang out as he collapsed at Ferdinand's feet. "Go-just go..."

Ferdinand clenched his jaw and shoved Briony into the back seat.

He slid into the driver's seat and gunned the engine, racing down the mountainside.

bet

The SUV jolted violently, sending Briony bouncing in the back, nausea rising in her throat-shefiadn managed to fasten her seatbelt.

Suddenly, Ferdinand burst into laughter.

"Bryn, did you really think you could save Mary?"

Clutching the handle, Briony watched in horror as Ferdinand rolled down the driver's window,

taking aim at Mary, who was fleeing through the trees

"Ferdinand! What are you doing-"

"If our child can't stay with us, there's no point in it being born."

He smiled coldly, finger tightening on the trigger.

"No!"

Briony lunged at him.

The gun fired.

The SUV careened out of control, Ferdinand wrenching the wheel at the last moment. The vehicle crashed through the underbrush and

slammed into a tree with a sickening

crunch.

His pistol skittered across the floor.

In the split second before the crash, Ferdinand had thrown the gun aside and shielded Briony with his body.

She survived, cradled in his arms and unscathed, but the deployed airbag knocked Ferdinand out cold.

Smoke billowed from the crumpled hood.

Choking on the fumes, Briony jerked awake and pushed Ferdinand off her.

She shook her head, disoriented, then snapped to her senses. Ferdinand was unconscious, eyes closed, slumped in the driver's seat.

This was her chance.

She didn't hesitate. Briony shoved open the door and leapt from the car. "Bryn-"noveldrama

His voice rang out behind her.

She froze. When she turned, a gun was pointed straight at her.