Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Sheila stepped into the room.

She walked over to the bedside, her expression etched with worry as she glanced at Henry. "Jessica, is Henry alright?"

Jessica knew Sheila could read sign language, so she skipped typing on her phone and signed directly.

"It's appendicitis, but he's okay now. The surgery's done."

"How did he get appendicitis all of a sudden?"

Jessica shook her head.

Sheila's face softened with sympathy. "Poor thing, must have been so painful for him."

Sheila pulled up a chair and sat down next to Jessica.

Jessica frowned, her mind drifting.

Timothy had suddenly started doting on her, buying her cake, acting unusually close, and upending one of her long-held suspicions.

Because she loved him so much, she was utterly defenseless against his gentleness.

heart was

and nephew. That strange lack of boundaries made it awfully hard for Jessica to feel comfortable

all, both Phelps and Sallie had dropped hints about Sheila

with Sheila showing up uninvited, Jessica's emotions were even more

a constant reminder of everything

outright—just to get the truth out. But she stopped herself; it felt too

before her, in both words and actions, she'd seemed

and Timothy, would Sheila ever admit it? And if word got back to Timothy, it would only make things worse-he

herself on being above such

conflicted inside, desperate to know

tamped it down and sat quietly, not saying

broke

don't

hands moved swiftly. "It's fine, I'm not tired. You, on the other hand, just got off a long flight and haven't adjusted to the time

gave him the injection was his classmate's mother. He asked me to pretend to be you-he didn't want his classmates to find out about your situation. It's

finish, but her meaning was