Goodbye, Mr. Regret

So Vince ended up accompanying Jessica to the hospital.

On the drive over, guilt gnawed at him.

He'd known exactly what Timothy was after from the start-anything to do with his kid sister always set him on edge. He also understood that, even if he hadn't reacted the way he did, Timothy would have just found some other way to get under his skin.

But what really infuriated him was that Timothy had the nerve to blackmail him by keeping secrets about his sister.

Tomorrow...

"Jessy, I'm sorry."

Jessica wanted to reply. She guessed Vince was apologizing for injuring Timothy, probably thinking it might prevent Timothy from appearing in court. But after her sudden attempt at speaking earlier, her throat still ached, and she didn't dare try a long sentence.

She needed to check with Dr. Herbert Wheeler about what she could say.

So, she motioned for Vince to pull over.

She typed a message on her phone and showed it to him: "Vince, don't blame yourself. You wouldn't have hit him for no reason. Did something happen?"

She added a brief note about her throat.

She explained that after she'd startled everyone by making a sound, Dr. Wheeler had told her about a colleague overseas who'd spent seven years researching aphasia, and that there was hope for a cure. She'd agreed to treatment and had recently undergone a minor surgery.

Vince had visited her at the hospital the day after she arrived abroad, right after her operation. Since there was no guarantee the treatment would work, she hadn't told anyone. Now, with her throat still sore and still in the early stages of rehab—practicing basic sounds, not full sentences—she needed Herbert's advice before speaking much.

Vince nodded. "Alright. For now, just rest your voice."

felt even more remorseful, remembering the last incident at The Gilded Whisper Estates. He'd known Timothy was scheming to get

trick

drove on while Jessica held up her phone, waiting for

answer.

replied, "It's nothing. Don't worry

continued on

found Secretary Allen at the front desk,

up to

303, third floor," Secretary Allen replied. "You should

Timothy was awake, his clothes streaked with blood. The

relief when she realized he hadn't needed

Are you trying to lose this

from that, his

most of it was from a cut inside Timothy's mouth-he'd taken a hard blow, but

the end, Vince hadn't been as rough as he

baited Vince with news about his sister, Vince's

take his eyes off Jessica. The greedy longing in his gaze only intensified after the

been unraveling for a long time. She didn't come home anymore, and when she did, it was only because he forced her to. Before

seven years had crumbled long

about me, don't you?" he asked,

I just came to see if

If you're fine, I can stop

was ready

her, "I know where

froze and glanced at

twitched in