Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Jessica paused, deep in thought, before saying, "Let's not mention this to Mom and Dad for now. Mom's health isn't good enough for a transplant, and she still needs Dad to take care of her. If they found out how sick I am, I don't think they could handle it, and even if they agreed, there's no guarantee they'd be a match. As for telling Herbert..."

She looked up at Vince, her voice soft. "I'm afraid I'll never be able to repay what I owe him."

"You know how he feels about you, don't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He left the Wheeler family for me, and he helped me recover from my speech loss. If I turn to him again for help with this, how could I ever repay him?"

Vince pressed his lips together. "So you're not considering choosing him?"

"He's a good man. But with everything I'm dealing with... I just don't feel like I deserve him."

Vince shook his head. "Don't be silly. Don't talk about who 'deserves' whom. But if you're not planning to be with him, you should be honest sooner rather than later. Don't let him waste his time."

He'd never force Jessica into a relationship she didn't want.

"I honestly didn't realize at first, but I've started to sense it over time. Even so, I've always treated him as a friend. Suddenly avoiding him would just feel strange. And since he hasn't brought anything up himself, if I go out of my way to talk to him about it, it would almost seem like I'm overthinking things. So for now, I'd rather just act like I don't know and keep treating him as a friend. I don't want to trouble him with this."

"In that case, how about we go abroad for treatment? We can look for resources both here and overseas-the surgery can be done elsewhere, where the technology's more advanced. I really hope this time we can get you well," Vince said, his voice gentle.

to return the day she signed the divorce papers, and leave again immediately after, hoping to spend some

finalize the divorce was

was no guarantee she could

and tomorrow, once these two days are over, we'll know what's happening with Timothy. If he's okay and able to get to the courthouse, I'll wait until

couldn't just leave

two guardians-father

give up custody on the

something really happened to him, she couldn't just walk away

want anything bad to happen

sure he was safe

bring herself

she

again. It

She answered on speaker.

colleagues and professors. They're at the hospital now. Today they'll be doing

case. Don't worry-we're going to do everything