He opened his phone and saw it was a message from Sheila.

"Timothy... I feel so sad. You're hurt like this, and I can't even be with you to take care of you."

The middle of the night, when the world is quiet, is always the best time to talk about feelings.

Sheila wasn't about to let the moment slip away.

Her foster parents' attitude tonight had said it all-they didn't want her getting too close to Timothy.

But she was determined to fight for what she wanted.

Timothy stared at the message, letting it sit there for a long while before finally replying.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Just a handful of words, and to Sheila, they felt cold and mechanical.

A little too distant.

She couldn't accept it.

He never used to be like this.

Becoming the adopted daughter of the Howard family had once seemed like a stroke of luck.

But as she grew older, it began to feel more like a shackle.

Sheila was about to send another message when Timothy's reply came through.

late. Get some rest. I'm going

sharp ache pierced

able to be with them—nothing hurts quite

that evening, she'd barely managed to exchange a few words of concern before her

had no idea what was said after

all the way to

that Jessica was

she joining Mr. Smith's

That must be it.

God.

didn't dare

she kept going down that road,

had barely paid Jessica any attention-what changed all of a

needed to find

Jessica had shifted, Sheila knew her

was running

Sheila still had a real

bent on divorce, Timothy's hands would be

family. As long as she stayed, she was

always be

eto see

him.

left, things

biological parents were already urging her

wait a little longer. Once Jessica divorced Timothy and she returned to her real family-once she

Vince reached out to Timothy. Once he heard

staying with the Howards, he

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