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

trembled as she asked, "And if he doesn't make it through the

be in intensive care, monitored by our best team. When he's brought out, please keep quiet. Go home and prepare anything he'll need for his stay-clothes, toiletries. Only one person should stay to

collapsed again, overcome

for this

life, his son had been a disappointment, never living up to expectations.

a nurse, who hurried over and began emergency procedures for

blood pressure had been through the roof all

nurses wheeled Timothy

clung to his lips. His head had been shaved and

mouth,

tears twisted in a

down her fanguish,

but

make

Naylor nearly fainted again.

really

trembled, barely more than

clenched his jaw, eyes

tried to stand, but Herbert caught her by

the outline of Timothy's body through the crowd; his face

saw the nurses

heard the steady beeping of a heart

his voice hoarse, asked,

echoed