Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince's face went slack with shock, the color draining from his cheeks.

No wonder Timothy had shown up uninvited-Jessica was his wife, the one he'd kept hidden for seven years!

Before Timothy could even speak, Vince shot to his feet and rounded on Kane. "She's Timothy's wife! How could you keep calling her 'mute' like that? I get that you're close with Sheila and want to stand up for her, but let's be honest-Timothy didn't leave Sheila at the altar; Sheila backed out first. You can't blame Timothy for that."

Two years ago, Vince had launched the shared power station project, but his goal had always been the interests of the Zimmerman Group, not picking a fight with Timothy.

Besides, now he needed Timothy's help.

They'd all been friends once, after all.

He turned to Jessica, his tone shifting as he tried to smooth things over. "Ms. Greene-no, I should say Mrs. Lawson-Kane just has a blunt way about him. Don't take his words to heart."

Sheila tugged at Kane's sleeve. "Calm down. Jessica's Timothy's wife. Even if you don't care about anything else, show Timothy some respect."

Through it all, Jessica watched them coldly, detached.

Everyone wanted something.

Once, she should've been just an onlooker, yet now she was drawn into their drama against her will.

wouldn't let herself get tangled up in

to leave

stood up a moment earlier, he'd set

who had yet to say a word,

lifted the folder slightly, his gaze fixed

the room like a heavy

was,

was as good as accepting

this "mute" wife clearly wasn't someone Timothy could take

disappointment flicker across Sheila's face, and felt a surge of frustration. Unable to hold back, he shot Jessica a challenging look. "Hey, mute— how do you even know Vince,

words were cut short by a sharp

picked up his wineglass and hurled it to the floor, where

room

burning with a contained,

into Jessica's hands, and, before anyone could react,

radiated an imperious authority that made everyone shrink