Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Sheila was the only one at home. When she noticed Sandra's face looked

troubled, she walked over and gently helped her mother to a seat. "Mom, you and Dad went out together in such good spirits. What happened? Why do you both look upset now?"

Sandra sighed. “Sheila, you spent some time in Riverside, didn't you? Do you know what's going on between Timothy and Jessy?"

Sheila hesitated. "It's complicated with the Lawson family. You saw it yourself— Sallie looks down on her because she can't speak, and the rest of the Lawsons..."

Sheila's hint was enough for Sandra to piece things together.

"So the Lawsons still can't accept that she's mute. But Timothy chose to marry her, didn't he? It's not as if the Lawsons expect him to find some wealthy heiress for a marriage of convenience. They finally got married, and instead of supporting the young couple, everyone's interfering. Don't they realize a good wife brings fortune for generations? Haven't they heard that choosing the right partner matters more than anything?"

Abell rubbed his eyes. "I'm getting tired. Honey, can you help me back to the bedroom?"

Sheila jumped up. "Dad, let me help you."

He shook his head. "No, I want your mother to come with me."

Sandra and Abell had been devoted to each other all their lives. Sandra cared deeply for her husband, so she walked with him to their bedroom.

Once the door was closed, Abell led Sandra out onto the balcony and lowered his voice. "Sheila spent some time in Riverside. Do you think Jessy found out about her history with Timothy? Maybe that's why they're talking about divorce?"

Sandra was taken aback. "I doubt it. That was all over seven years ago. They've both moved on, and everything between them has seemed perfectly normal. They're both sensible people. There's no way anything's going on between them now."

"You never know," Abell muttered. "Phelps called me about it some time ago, told me to keep an eye on Sheila and make sure she wasn't getting too close to Timothy. He was worried it might affect Timothy's marriage."

Sandra frowned. "Their family can't even treat their daughter-in-law properly, and now they want to blame someone else? From what I've seen, Timothy's been keeping his distance from Sheila while he's here. They both have."

"Women are perceptive," Abell said quietly. "Maybe Jessy noticed 0 something and just couldn't accept it. What if we drag our old bones back to Riverside and see what's really going on?"

Timothy was already twenty-nine. Sandra and Abell were seventy-five now-moving around was getting harder for them. Still, there wasn't much choice. They had to go back.

Their only daughter had left behind two children.

Timothy was settled, with a family of his own.

Sallie, though, was almost thirty and still refused to get married.

The two of them couldn't help but worry about their children.

So, they decided to make the trip back to Riverside.

That night, Timothy came home late. The old couple was already asleep, so they didn't get a chance to ask him anything.

The next morning, over breakfast, Sandra and Abell asked Timothy when he

planned to return home-they wanted to visit relatives too.

Timothy replied he'd be leaving in the next couple of days.

get

Since his parents wanted to go as well, Timothy decided to charter plane for the trip. He called his assistant, Allen, and told him to make the arrangements.

After breakfast, Timothy stepped outside for a smoke, leaving his phone on the table.noveldrama

Sheila was preparing fruit for everyone when she noticed Timothy's phone screen light up with a new text message.

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