Goodbye, Mr. Regret

A nurse wheeled Timothy down the hall toward his room, with Naylor hurrying right behind. Secretary Allen stepped forward to steady Phelps, guiding him in the same direction.

"When did he end up in another accident?" Phelps asked, his voice tense.

"A few days ago," Allen replied truthfully. He'd only discovered Timothy was hospitalized when he came by to get his signature on some important documents.

"Do you know how it happened?"

"Not exactly. I didn't dare ask too much."

Phelps let out a frustrated sigh, his brow furrowing deeper. He pressed on, asking what had happened that evening.

Allen recounted everything as it had happened, then handed over Timothy's phone. Blood had dried in streaks along the screen, and the display was frozen on a photo. Phelps tapped to see it more clearly, realizing it had been opened from Vince's social media feed.

He studied the photo and, after a moment, finally understood. Jessica wasn't just anyone-she was Salome. So Timothy had always kept a place for Jessica in his heart. The realization seemed to bring Phelps some relief.

"Sir, why would President Lawson be so shaken by a single photograph of his wife that he'd collapse from the stress?" Allen asked, careful to keep his tone casual. As Timothy's secretary, there were things he needed to understand, but he didn't want to appear nosy.

The old chairman sighed heavily. "Jessica is Vince's younger sister. She and Timothy were inseparable as kids. She knew Timothy had lost his mother, and she'd always try to share hers-every winter, when they built snowmen, she'd make an extra one just for Timothy. But in this photo, there were only four snowmen. That must've hit Timothy hard."

Allen was visibly surprised. So the lady was actually from the Zimmerman family. And President Lawson had coughed up blood-all over a photograph? But deep down, Allen knew President Lawson still cared for her. He remembered that stormy night...

"Sir, I have to take an urgent call. I'll be back in a moment."

"Go ahead, don't worry about us. We'll stay with Timothy," the chairman replied.

Allen hurried to the end of the hallway and dialed Jessica's number.

When Jessica saw his name flash on her phone, she frowned. She thought she'd made things clear the last time they shouldn't have any more contact. Still, she wasn't the kind to blame others unfairly. Secretary Allen was just Timothy's assistant; he probably didn't know the whole story. She answered the call to set things straight.

Allen barely waited for her to say hello before blurting, "Ma'am, President Lawson

"Secretary Allen," Jessica cut him off, her voice firm. "I've already filed for divorce with him. There's just two weeks left in the cooling-off period before it's final. He's agreed to everything. As far as I'm O concerned, we're already finished. Whatever happens to him-hospitalization, fainting, whatever-is none of my business. If you need to inform someone, talk to the Lawsons."

"And another thing-I'm not his wife anymore, so there's no reason for us to keep in touch. If you call me again about him, I'll have no choice but to block your number."

Allen had always been diligent and respectful, never giving Jessica reason to be angry with him, so she didn't cut him off just yet.noveldrama

"Ma'am, please, just hear me out," Allen pleaded. "I'm not calling about President Lawson's health. There's something important I think you don't know, and I really feel you should."

"Is this about Timothy?" Jessica asked, her tone cooling further.

"It concerns both of you. That night of the thunderstorm in the capital-when President Lawson took your call-"

"Secretary Allen!" Jessica's voice was cold, her patience gone. "I'm not interested in anything related to Timothy. I don't want to know."

"Ma'am, please! This is important and it has to do with the brooch..."