Goodbye, Mr. Regret

"Yes."

That's exactly how suffocating it felt.

If they could part on good terms, maybe she'd remember the good in him.

The failure of their marriage-she knew it was the result of her own bad choices. She wasn't about to pin all the blame on him.

But this relentless pressure-this was what she truly hated.

All Jessica wanted was a small slice of life that belonged to her alone, but even that tiny wish, he insisted on denying her.

Jessica Greene looked at him, sorrow weighing in her eyes. "You're not a fool, Timothy. You know exactly what's become of our marriage. There are only a few weeks left-what's the point in dragging this out?"

"Jessy, most marriages fall apart because of cheating, family issues, or lack of communication. Now you want a divorce-shouldn't we at least sit down and talk about what went wrong? If we can fix it, let's fix it. If we can't, then we'll end it. That's how a marriage should be-beginning to end. Why can't we just talk?"

Jessica let out a bitter laugh. "So you do understand."

He knew everything, yet acted as if he didn't know a thing.

"I've been thinking it through, Jessy. I'm sorry. We've been married seven years—I thought everything was normal. If you want to go home tonight, that's fine. But can we please sit down and talk?" Timothy gestured to the chair across from him.

Jessica remained standing. "We're way past the talking stage."

"We still have a few weeks, don't we? How is it too late?"

"Because any feeling I had left for this marriage is already dead."

if he found the perfect words, nothing could bring back the woman she'd once been the

fight. They barely ever argued. She used to be the quiet one, unable to speak up; now that she finally could, Timothy had become so accommodating that there was

you're saying is, you actually did have some hope for our marriage at one

people do,"

burned down to the filter. He stubbed it out, grabbed his cane, and walked over to

a cane, he was still devastatingly handsome-his presence undiminished, his movements as graceful

I agreed to it just to buy myself thirty more days. Time is slipping away-one week's already gone. I don't want to waste what's left. Can you give me these last three weeks? Can you try to see me with

expression wavering between tension and resignation. "Did you lie

think you saw-did you ever try to verify it? There's a saying-even what we see with

Jessica fell silent.

was nothing left

into silence, Timothy pressed on. "If you're leaving me, at least

shot back, "Don't you already

it. You mean about me and Sheila Howard. But

Better to face the whole ugly truth now than to have

don't see the world the

couldn't be bothered to mention Sheila

and she was long past

to look

path. "So

a chance to explain?"

hand the title of Mrs. Lawson back to you. From

marriage of

free