Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Jessica exited the page without reading a single word of the message.

Still, the image of Sheila's long, straight black hair lingered stubbornly in her mind.

She had the same kind of hair-glossy, dark, and perfectly straight.

Back when things were good, Timothy used to love playing with her hair, always saying how beautiful it was, how much he liked it...

But some things just can't bear close scrutiny.

Seven years-seven whole years. If she'd only paid a little more attention, maybe she would have seen everything sooner.

Her throat tightened, a choking sensation making it hard to breathe.

Love really does blind you, makes you rush headlong into disaster.

Timothy couldn't get in touch with Jessica.

Instead, he asked Mabel when Jessica had left and checked which flights she might have taken, then headed to the airport ahead of time.

There were only two possible flights she could be on.

He waited until the second flight landed, but Jessica never appeared.

Standing by the arrivals gate, Timothy's brow was drawn tight with worry.

He and Sheila had rushed home after hearing his grandfather was unwell, only to find it was nothing serious.

was going on and

were already there, Timothy decided to use

and respectful their marriage was,

meeting Jessica and had even prepared

Sheila called him.

you find Jessica

"No."

can't speak-do you think she might have run

meant, betraying his frustration. This was the last thing he wanted to

paused, caught off guard

added, "Sorry, I just... I'm a bit worried about Jessica. I shouldn't

Timothy realize he'd spoken

can't speak, but she

always brought a notepad and pen. If she didn't feel like writing,

might be fine, but maybe check with Mabel again,

"Alright."

you go—you're

hanging up with Sheila, Timothy immediately called his

check if my wife booked

back into his pocket but kept his eyes glued to

half an hour later, Allen's message came

show no bookings