Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Being the "brother-in-law" was never an easy road.

Forget it. He'd just have to rely on himself.

By the time they reached the hospital, Yates went to collect all sorts of samples. The process dragged on, and it was already late when they finished.

"Vince, let's take Jessy out for dinner tonight-and maybe a walk. She's been cooped up at home for days; it's getting stifling."

"Sure," Vince agreed, thinking it was about time Jessica got some fresh air too. Night fell.

Dawn was breaking in Riverside City.

Timothy opened his eyes and realized he was in a hospital room.

Suddenly, he remembered his phone.

His blood had gotten on Jessy's face he needed to clean it up.

He reached for his phone and only then noticed his upper body was bare-his shirt must've been taken off. Sitting up, he spotted the phone on the bedside table. He grabbed it and lit up the screen.

There, on the screen, was a photo of Jessica. The dried blood had turned black, staining her face in the picture.

He pulled a few tissues from the box, went into the bathroom, and dampened them under the tap. Carefully, he wiped the caked blood from the phone's screen.

Jessica's smiling face emerged again, bright and clear. Timothy's lips curved unconsciously into a faint, wistful smile.

flopped onto the hospital bed, and just lay there, staring at

to find more photos of her. But as he scrolled through his phone, it hit him: in seven years of marriage, they'd never taken a single picture together. He'd never taken any candid shots of her. Not

smile vanished

said she

now, his

her up, he'd looked at their enlarged license photo hanging on

photos, she ignored him— wouldn't answer his calls,

then, it hadn't been long since she'd first talked about moving out, but even then, he hadn't realized: she

started

she'd wanted out for a long

she'd never go, so certain their marriage was solid. He didn't bother apologizing properly, lost his temper, and dismissed her feelings as nothing more than e unreasonable complaints, thinking she just wanted to shake things

Now, looking back, he

unbreakable marriage,

a power drill were boring

some pictures from Vince's social

found a photo of

Jessica wasn't with him, her

and his gaze

group shot-one of the faces looked

remembered: that was the director Yates

about him on his phone-the director was currently doing a press

his name. And he was

sat bolt upright in

Jessica had only