Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Being the "brother-in-law" was never an easy road.

Forget it. He'd just have to rely on himself.

By the time they reached the hospital, Yates went to collect all sorts of samples. The process dragged on, and it was already late when they finished.

"Vince, let's take Jessy out for dinner tonight-and maybe a walk. She's been cooped up at home for days; it's getting stifling."

"Sure," Vince agreed, thinking it was about time Jessica got some fresh air too. Night fell.

Dawn was breaking in Riverside City.

Timothy opened his eyes and realized he was in a hospital room.

Suddenly, he remembered his phone.

His blood had gotten on Jessy's face he needed to clean it up.

He reached for his phone and only then noticed his upper body was bare-his shirt must've been taken off. Sitting up, he spotted the phone on the bedside table. He grabbed it and lit up the screen.

There, on the screen, was a photo of Jessica. The dried blood had turned black, staining her face in the picture.

He pulled a few tissues from the box, went into the bathroom, and dampened them under the tap. Carefully, he wiped the caked blood from the phone's screen.

Jessica's smiling face emerged again, bright and clear. Timothy's lips curved unconsciously into a faint, wistful smile.

He left the bathroom, flopped onto the hospital bed, and just lay there, staring at Jessica's photo.

photos of her. But as he scrolled through his phone, it hit him: in seven years of marriage, they'd

faint smile vanished

license, she'd said she wanted to take wedding

that now, his chest

license photo hanging on the wall and, feeling irritated,

ignored him— wouldn't answer his calls, blocked

it hadn't been long since she'd first talked about moving out, but even then, he hadn't realized: she

started even

out for a

didn't bother apologizing properly, lost his temper, and dismissed her feelings as nothing more than e unreasonable

Now, looking back, he

seven years of stability, that supposedly unbreakable marriage, had been held together by her

if a power drill were boring straight through

saved some pictures from Vince's social

back, he found a photo

with him, her smile

through the nine-photo grid, and his gaze stopped on the

shot-one of the faces

director Yates

his phone-the director was

his name. And he

bolt upright

Jessica had only taken

invested