Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Too bad-she only caught air.

The necklace box slipped from her grasp, tumbling to the ground and striking the edge of a stone trough nearby.

The necklace popped out of its case, bouncing once before landing inside the trough.

Her childhood home was a cozy little courtyard house. Right inside the front door, beneath the eaves, sat a long stone basin where her grandmother used to plant pennywort. Kept under the overhang, the trough would fill with rainwater on stormy days, and even though Jessica rarely visited over the years, the pennywort still thrived, lush and green.

Unfortunately, hidden behind the diamond pendant was a tiny speaker-an electronic device. Herbert had warned her: it mustn't get wet.

Now that it had fallen into water, it was sure to be ruined.

Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she stared at Timothy in despair.

She only had six months left. There was no way she could travel to Zurich for treatment for her aphasia.

For someone trapped in a silent world, that necklace meant everything. At the very least, it helped her communicate with others.

Timothy must have noticed how much it mattered to her, because his hand shot out, gripping her chin.

"I'd remind you, you're still Mrs. Lawson. How could you so casually accept jewelry from another man?"

Jessica wanted to say she was done being Mrs. Lawson. But no sound came from her throat, not even a whisper.

Timothy seized her wrist and dragged her outside, shoving her into the car. He yanked the seatbelt across her and snapped it into place.

Finally, her hands were free. She signed frantically, "Timothy, what are you doing? You never cared about anything I did before."

really don't know

realized he must have seen

Necklace just now.

away right in front

he

Jessica was even

wanted

slid into the driver's seat.

"Who was that man?"

heart squeezed tight. She was dying anyway-she didn't

drag him into this. He'd given her the Voice Emitting Necklace out of

abroad for years. He just

her off, eyes icy.

Jessica frowned, frustrated.

on. "You've refused to come home these past days. Were you staying with

signed quickly, "It has nothing to do with him. If you have a problem, take it out on

snorted, then fell silent, turning his gaze

want to explain

to wait until he returned from Oakwood, then

car ride was

exhaustion overtook her, and she