Goodbye, Mr. Regret

"Enough!" Sandra's voice rang out, sharp and commanding, as she turned on Sallie. "You're her older sister-how can you say things like that? They're husband and wife, and they're equals. She can't speak, so as her sister, shouldn't you be protecting her? Standing up for her?"

“Grandma, I...” Sallie faltered, caught off guard by the rebuke. "Forget it. I won't say anything else."

Timothy's eyes darkened. He looked up at Sallie, his tone cold. "How many times have I warned you about this? Why can't you just let it go?"

Sallie's cheeks flushed with frustration. First her grandmother, now Timothy- everyone seemed to be piling on her. Unable to sit still any longer, she shot to her feet. "Fine! I'll go to my room. I won't bother any of you."

With that, Sallie stormed off.

She'd always thought Jessica was nothing but a mute, not nearly good enough for Timothy. That was the real issue-nothing else mattered. As the eldest daughter of the Lawson family, she'd seen every luxury there was. Even when Sandra had gifted Jessica the Royal Pearl Cuff, she hadn't felt the slightest envy.

After Sallie left, Sandra's gaze softened. She reached over and patted Jessica's hand gently. "No wonder you want a divorce, sweetheart. If Sallie's always spoken to you like this, I can see why you'd feel hurt. Don't worry, I'll make sure to set her straight. She won't dare treat you this way again."

Jessica slipped her hand from Sandra's, then quietly typed out a message on her phone:

"Sandra, my decision to divorce Timothy isn't just about this. There's no way back for us, not anymore. I appreciate your kindness, truly, but my mind is made up. I have other things I need to take care of today, so I'll be going now."

She showed Sandra the message, then stood up. Out of respect for her elders, she gave a polite bow to both Sandra and Abell before turning to leave.

there any way you two can work this out? Does it really have to end in

etched into his face. "She's right. Let's talk this through. Your daughter is already six years

mentioning Sheila only made things clearer for Jessica. After all, she'd only seen her daughter once, and even then, the family had looked down on

over at Timothy. She typed out another message and handed the phone to Vince, who read it out

Jessy doesn't want to discuss further. If you have questions, you should ask Timothy. This marriage really is over.

nothing more to say,

of his wheelchair so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line

after her and caught up as she was about to get into the car. Reaching

her hand, his

full

longing, as if

let her go.

and Abell, watched the scene play out, a strange

began, his

Vince gently pried his hand