Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince snatched Yates's phone and abruptly hung up.

Talking about the movie inevitably brought up that rotten thing Timothy had done.

Eyes red, Vince stared at Yates. "That film... Jessy, she..." His voice caught, words tangled in his throat. He wanted to cry.

Vince's eyes brimmed with tears. "Now I finally understand why Timothy handed you the charging station project that day. The terms were unbelievably generous —he'd put up all the money, I wouldn't have to spend a cent, and I'd get the lion's share of the company. Turns out, he was laying a trap for me from the very start, waiting for me to fall for it. He wanted me to feel indebted to him so that, when Jessy's background was exposed, I'd be left helpless."

"Oh God!" Vince's fist thumped against his chest as if to shake off the thought. “I can't imagine what would've happened if I'd actually taken his bait."

He was grateful that, no matter how slick Timothy's words had been that day, no matter how dazzling the offer, something had always felt off. Vince had refused, even when Timothy made it sound like a golden opportunity.

Yates felt a dull ache in his own heart.

Vince went on, "That day, right after I walked out, Jessy called me for help with getting her movie into theaters. You were putting pressure on Carlisle, and Carlisle reached out to her. That's when she finally told me the truth."

"Yates, can you imagine?"

"After talking to her, I went to Carlisle's studio. There were dozens of people there all of them unable to speak..."

Vince lifted his gaze, covering his eyes with one hand, his voice thick with sorrow. “Jessy cared so much about Timothy, about their family, that she gave up her own career. Timothy never let her meet anyone outside. Every time there was an important event, he'd wire her half a million dollars just to make her stay away. She used that hush money-again and again-to..."noveldrama

"To fund those who couldn't speak, so they could make this film. She helped them realize their dreams, find their worth."

"My Jessy-every time she saw that money come in, every time she spent it on them, how must she have felt?"

"Why did she get liver cancer? There's no history of it in our family. Isn't it obvious? All of this, everything she bottled up, all the pain she swallowed..."

"I asked the doctor once. He said the liver doesn't feel pain. By the time you know something's wrong, it's already too late."

Vince let his hand fall, bowing his head. His eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with grief.

He'd had no idea. The sister he'd cherished and protected had lived through such hardship, all in silence.

"Yates." Vince's voice was raw. "I'll never forgive Timothy. Not in this life."

He drew a shaky breath, eyes downcast. "She went through so much, but when she told me about it, she made it sound like nothing. God knows how many sleepless nights she spent alone, quietly digesting all the pain. She never complained, never wanted to trouble

anyone. Even when Timothy

threatened her with me, or with

Herbert, she never once blamed anyone. She was suffering, but she was always thinking of others, always warming the world around her."

To Vince, his sister was the finest, most remarkable woman he'd ever known.

She deserved to find a man who would truly cherish her.

Vince's anguish seeped into Yates's chest.

He could picture it all: a gentle, fragile woman with an unbreakable, kind heart.

The world had given her nothing but pain, and still, she responded with love.

He remembered when they were kids-he'd cut off her braid as a prank, and she'd covered for him, taking the blame herself.

Yates reached out and gently patted Vince's shoulder. "Don't call off the engagement. You're her

brother you can't be by her siden et

forever Let me take your place Let me fove her, protect her for the rest of our lives. Okay?"