Goodbye, Mr. Regret

"Yes, it's over between us. Honestly, I wanted it to end six months ago—I just never imagined it would drag on this long."

Seven years of marriage had worn her love for him down to nothing.

She'd spent all those years waiting, never getting so much as a hint of affection in return.

At first, she'd told herself he was just reserved, that he struggled to show his feelings. She put up with everything: no wedding, no public acknowledgment, not even a simple word of reassurance.

But in the end, it wasn't that he was cold by nature he simply didn't love her.

His heart had always belonged to someone else.

He could fill notebook after notebook with Sheila's name, plan her wedding with painstaking care, and even handwrite every invitation for a celebration that would never be hers.

Even those invitations she'd found in the box-Timothy had addressed each one himself.

On them, there was a photo: Timothy and Sheila, cheek to cheek, dressed in their wedding best.

It was only then that she understood why he'd insisted on keeping their marriage a secret.

He'd never wanted a wedding with her; it was all for Sheila.

invitations, Jessica realized just how laughable her

It'll

"When the month is up, I

a small, reassuring smile. "Don't worry. As long as you want nothing to do with him, you can act as if he doesn't exist. Legally,

little. If she

to have

hadn't met you, I have no idea when—or if— I'd ever have gotten out

she'd felt completely powerless. Orphaned, jobless, voiceless, and invisible-she had nostanding at all, and Timothy always found some way to trap her, to keep her

pressure,

contempt of the entire

to lose

guilt. "If I had, I would never have let your suffer like this. From

"Thank you, Vince."

gently smoothing her hair, then patted the back of her

is what

do. Ever since you came back into our lives, Mom's spirits have soared. We're family, and from now on, we'll face

sadness washed over Jessica. She couldn't keep hiding the truth