Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Timothy sat in the car, lips pressed together in silence.

He couldn't blame everything on Henry Lawson. The truth was, he'd overestimated himself.

He'd thought taking Sheila to the parent-and-child event wouldn't change anything.

But when they got home that day, Jessica was visibly upset. Still worried Sheila might be getting the cold shoulder from his wife, he'd chased after Jessica, leaving Sheila behind. By the time he returned, Jessica was inconsolable.

Maybe that day was the tipping point-the final straw that broke what they had.

Or maybe, there'd been something on her mind for a long time. Maybe she'd tried to tell him, but he had never really listened.

And by the time he wanted to talk, she wouldn't hear a word.

But what mattered most now was the birthmark. He needed to know-how did Herbert find out about it?

He'd agreed to the divorce out of fear, worried she'd do something reckless. It wasn't what he wanted.

Jessica was supposed to be his, and his alone.

"Timothy, I'm talking to you. What are you thinking about?" his grandmother's voice broke through his thoughts.

Timothy blinked, snapping back to reality. "Sorry, Grandma. What did you say?"

"Sallie said all this happened because of Sheila. Is that true?"

to dodge responsibility. At the end of

after seven years of marriage, everything had finally settled down. No one would bring

expected things to fall

Timothy started to say Sheila wasn't to blame,

with no reaction, but the moment Sheila mentioned

"Can you say

get involved. Sheila

neglected Jessica

after Sheila visited The Gilded Whisper Estates. That was when Jessica left home, and he hadn't taken it seriously. He'd just assumed

this, Timothy felt a sharp, twisting

small thing. The next morning, he'd thought it through— Sheila's hotel allergy wasn't a big deal. If he just explained it, Jessica

wasn't at home, he

from

a little harder, maybe things

him—she had

the day he bought her a cake. For a moment, it seemed like she was really listening to him. But the very next day at the hospital, Henry called Jessica the housekeeper and said Sheila was away on a business trip

help, he'd dropped everything and flown a helicopter through a storm to

it all

voice weary but gentle. "Things have only gotten worse. And what were you thinking, saying those things about Jessica in front

there really was something going on, would they have waited until now? And anyway, Yates came with both of them and has been

reasoning made sense, and Timothy's

control. The moment he found out Herbert was the one who told Jessica about