A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 486

After everyone had left, Garret handed Starla a cup of coffee. "Forcing her to tear off her own mask is a torment akin to being burned by lava."

Starla smiled at his words. "A pity Fairfax will never believe it."

"Even if he doesn't believe you, he won't fully believe Brinley either," Garret remarked.

Starla raised an eyebrow, glancing at him.

"Men, at times, are driven by pride," Garret explained.

At that, Starla couldn't help but laugh. "Pride, is it? Well, sometimes that pride of his can be truly suffocating."

A marriage should be built on honesty, but his pride had turned everything into a mess.

But it didn't matter anymore. It wouldn't be her problem to deal with Fairfax for the rest of his life.

…

Just as Garret suspected, Fairfax’s defense of Brinley was nothing more than a desperate attempt to save dignity in front of Starla. Perhaps it was also a conditioned response after years of Brinley’s manipulations, an instinct to disbelieve Starla.

So, even though he already suspected Brinley, he clung to an excuse—any excuse—that would make Faraday's death less disgraceful. He chose to believe Brinley, to believe that Starla had forced her. He provoked Starla, but he was also lying to himself.

After leaving the Yelchin estate, Fairfax called Gabriel. "I want you to find out exactly when Brinley and Felix started seeing each other. Also…"

He paused, his eyes narrowing dangerously as the image of a face identical to his own flashed in his mind. The cold glint in his eyes intensified. "Re-investigate the plane crash."

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