Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Chapter 4

Before she left, Jessica still wanted to see Henry one last time.

After all, he was her own flesh and blood.-

He was only six-just a child, really. How could a mother possibly hold a grudge against her own son?

As she reached Henry's bedroom door, she heard his voice from inside.

"Miss Sheila, my mom is usually very polite. I don't know what happened today. I want to apologize for her. You're an adult, so please don't be mad at her, okay?"

He was too young to understand the tangled web of adult relationships. If Sheila really was Timothy's aunt, then by family standards, there was nothing wrong with what Henry said.

He was trying to defend her.

Jessica felt a bittersweet twinge of comfort.

She was about to push open the door when Henry continued, "Miss Sheila, thank you for being so understanding and not getting upset with my mom. I just wish my mom could talk as nicely as you do. Then I wouldn't have to worry about my classmates making fun of her for being mute."

...

"Yeah, there's a kid in my class whose mom limps, and everyone teases him all the time. I don't want to end up like that being laughed at, not able to hold my head up."

Jessica let go of the doorknob, her breath catching painfully in her chest.

The older Henry got, the less he could accept her shortcomings.

She had barely six months left to live...

When she was gone, Timothy would be Henry's only guardian.

would remarry, find some perfectly healthy woman

moment she was diagnosed with cancer, these were the first things she

center of her world. From the day he was born, she had

maybe none of

nothing but a source of

was better not to see

light creeping into the

his exhausted body

knew he'd been in

allergy to the hotel bedding could have been explained easily-Jessica

opened the bedroom door, a gust of air fluttering a slip of paper beneath the

for cleanliness, and Jessica always kept the house spotless. It was strange to find a scrap of paper on the bedroom

His sharp features hardened with a chill. Normally, as soon as his car pulled into the drive, Jessica would be

him, strode to the living room,

"Yes, sir. You're home."

"Where's Jessica?"

hesitated. "She's not

know where she

the scrap of paper, Timothy told her, "After breakfast, make sure to tidy up the

"Of course."

out his phone and called

you

the house. He'd taken her to the hospital-she'd been in pain all night. She'd finally managed to fall asleep, and he'd rushed home as soon

wait in line for more than half an hour at Velvet Fork to buy Jessica her favorite pastries. Afraid they'd be cold

understand―Jessica wasn't taking care of the house, her phone was off,

he yanked off his tie,

went shopping when they were