Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince pressed his lips together and said quietly, “I'm sorry, I can't tell you right now."

"Why not?" Sandra's confusion was clear in her voice.

"It's not my place to say without her permission. And more importantly, she's about to go to court. If I reveal anything now, it's basically letting Timothy and his lawyer know what evidence she's planning to present. If they find a way to counter it and she loses the case, what then? If you want to know, you'll have to wait until the trial is over. The outcome will speak for itself."

With Vince making himself so clear, Sandra and Abell couldn't push him any further.

They stayed a bit longer with the Zimmerman family, but soon the older couple got up to leave.

Vince walked them to the door and watched as their car disappeared down the street. Only then did his expression tighten with worry.

He felt disgusted with himself.

He knew Jessica desperately wanted out of her marriage, yet that day at the hospital, he'd warned Timothy-giving him time to prepare, time to shield himself.

He genuinely liked Jessica, but he could also see that Timothy still had feelings for her.

Timothy had always been a good friend, and with the bond between their families, Vince simply couldn't bring himself to ignore his friend's feelings altogether.

He was torn caught between his concern for Jessica and his loyalty to Timothy. Jessica trusted him so much. If she ever found out that he'd tipped Timothy off, would she ever trust him again?

Vince rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling the tension build.

Compared to Herbert, whatever feelings he had for Jessica seemed insignificant.

Jessica's marriage to Timothy had always been a mess-one of those problems with no easy fix.

Unless Timothy was willing to let her go.noveldrama

But if Timothy refused, his lawyers would probably come up with the same defense Vince had warned him about.

All Vince could do was play the part of a loyal friend, pretending to help without truly interfering.

He knew all too well: the evidence

too w

Jessica had collected-if Timothy flat-out denied everything, claimed it was just a misunderstanding, and produced a little counter-evidence of his own, the judge probably wouldn't be able to make a clear judgment. Especially considering Sheila's relationship as Timothy's aunt.

The only ironclad evidence, the one thing that would guarantee a divorce in court, was what Timothy had done to Jessica that night.

But such a humiliating event-neither the Lawson family nor Jessica herself would ever want it aired out in public.

Jessica probably couldn't bear to present that evidence in open court.

This might be the only way-to force Jessica into a corner, so she would have no choice but to burn all her bridges and break free.

And maybe, just maybe, Timothy would let her go if he still cared about her at all.

On their way home, Sandra and Abell kept talking about Timothy and Jessica. Vince wouldn't tell them anything. Timothy wouldn't talk either As for Sallie, she was

aver

convinced Jessica would never find a better man than Timothy, and with her scatterbrained nature, she probably had no idea why Jessica wanted a divorce.

Vince mentioned evidence, so whatever Timothy had done, it must have been pretty awful.

A young woman, all alone and unable to speak up for herself, marrying into a family as powerful as the Lawsons-it was no wonder she was suffering in silence, with no way to fight back. It was

heartbreaking. sŵnovel

Sandra turned to Abell and suggested, "Maybe we should try to talk to Timothy again. See if they can work out the divorce peacefully."

"We already tried. He won't agree to it, and Sallie's against it, too. She even told

us to stay out of their business. What else can we do?"

"I don't care. I'll talk to Timothy again when we get home," Sandra said, her voice tight with worry.

But when they got back to the house, Timothy was nowhere to be found.