Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Jessica froze for a moment. Was she really that transparent?noveldrama

It wasn't until years later that she finally understood: if someone cares about you, no matter how well you hide your feelings, they'll still see right through you. But if they don't care, you could tear the truth open and hand it to them, and they still wouldn't believe it.

She met Herbert's gaze, her resolve unshaken. "I'm not getting a divorce. Really."

Herbert felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart, making it hard to breathe. It wasn't just because Jessica refused to leave Timothy. What truly stung was his own helplessness-he still couldn't protect her.

But it wouldn't be like this forever. Sooner or later, he'd find a way to free her from Timothy's grip.

He lowered his eyes and forced a small smile. "Alright. If you're sure you don't want a divorce, then I'll drop the whole lawyer thing for now."

Jessica, anxious, gestured insistently. "You need to go back right away and talk to your family. Get someone to negotiate with him as soon as possible."

She'd been Mrs. Lawson for seven years. She'd never meddled in Timothy's business affairs, but she kept a silent watch on everything he did. He was powerful, with a reputation for being ruthless in the business world. Anyone who went against him rarely came out unscathed.

Jessica remembered seeing a rival company go under. She'd asked Timothy about it once, and he'd been visibly annoyed, telling her that business was war. If you didn't destroy your opponent, they'd find a way to destroy you. The world of business, he said, was cutthroat. She should keep her head down, take care of the family, and not worry about anything else.

He'd been so clear about it that Jessica had simply assumed it was just the way things were a normal part of cutthroat competition. She had nothing more to say.

But this time, even though she didn't know exactly what Timothy had done to the Wheeler family, it was obvious personal feelings were involved.

Because she loved him, she'd always seen him through rose-colored glasses. She'd thought someone at his level would never stoop to dirty tricks.

She was wrong.

Timothy would do anything to get what he wanted.

Herbert arched an eyebrow. "Trying to rush me out so soon?"

Jessica shot him a look. "This is important."

He grinned. "There's no need to hurry. At least have a cup of coffee with me. We haven't even ordered anything yet..."

Meanwhile, Timothy had taken Sheila to the hospital. The doctor said she'd simply been badly frightened; she'd wake up soon and would be fine after some rest.

Sure enough, not long after the check-up, Sheila opened her eyes and realized she was in a hospital room. She looked at Timothy and Henry, her face full of guilt. "Timothy, Henry, I'm so sorry. I didn't expect to be so useless and ruin your day out."

Little Henry reached out and took her hand, his voice gentle and worried. "Miss Sheila, don't say that. You got on the pirate ship just to keep me company and even fainted because of it. Dad and I were really worried about you."

Then he turned his wide, earnest eyes toward Timothy. "Isn't that right, Dad?" Timothy nodded quietly.

Henry couldn't help but grumble, "Mom was so mean today. She used to be so kind—if we saw an old lady crossing the street, she'd always help her. But you fainted, and she still tried to fake being sick to stop Dad from bringing you to the hospital. I just don't understand why she's changed so much."

Sheila's expression softened, and she spoke gently. "Henry, your mom might be going through something herself."

She looked up at Timothy. "Timothy, Henry's just a kid—he can't tell real from fake when it comes to being sick. But you can, can't you? Jessica never seemed like the kind of person who'd pretend to be ill. Did you really just leave her by herself at the amusement park?"