Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Time had never crawled like this before.

It dragged on, stretching out like eleven endless years.

Vince stood up and walked over.

He let out a weary sigh.

Timothy had always been ruthless, capable of doing the most unthinkable things to Jessy-but Vince could never bring himself to be that heartless. No matter how

hard he tried, he simply couldn't stop caring about Timothy.

They'd grown up together. Thirty years of friendship.

At last, the doors to the operating room swung open.

The Lawsons immediately crowded around, bombarding the doctors with anxious questions.

Their voices overlapped in a surge of panic and desperation, making the doctors' heads spin.

"Enough! Quiet down!" one of the doctors barked, exasperated. "All this noise isn't helping the patient's recovery!"

Instantly, silence fell. The waiting room felt still, heavy with fear and hope.

At least, no one had said the worst. No one had announced a death.

A doctor stepped forward. "The internal bleeding wasn't fatal. We've managed to take care of it. The real danger was the brain hemorrhage. We performed a craniotomy, and the surgery was a success. But the next seventy-two hours are critical. If there's no further bleeding and the patient regains consciousness after three days, then he'll be out of danger."

They'd managed to snatch him back from the brink.

days still hung over them like

he doesn't make it through

could end up in a permanent vegetative state. For now, he'll be in intensive care, monitored by our best team. When he's brought out, please

again, overcome by

was dangerous-he was too old for this

a disappointment, never living up to expectations. And now, his only outstanding grandson was lying broken behind those hospital

nurse, who hurried over

had been

Timothy out

face was swollen and ghostly pale. Dried, dark blood clung to his lips. His head had been shaved and was now bandaged in layers of white gauze, held in

her mouth, stifling

tears twisted in a

down her fanguish,

but

couldn't make

Naylor nearly fainted again.

really

Tim..." Nola's voice trembled, barely more than a

his jaw, eyes

stand, but Herbert caught her by the

bed. Jessica could only the outline of Timothy's body through the crowd; his

the nurses

heard the steady beeping of a heart

voice hoarse, asked, "Do you want to

echoed with