Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Jessica exited the page without reading a single word of the message.

Still, the image of Sheila's long, straight black hair lingered stubbornly in her mind.

She had the same kind of hair-glossy, dark, and perfectly straight.

Back when things were good, Timothy used to love playing with her hair, always saying how beautiful it was, how much he liked it...

But some things just can't bear close scrutiny.

Seven years-seven whole years. If she'd only paid a little more attention, maybe she would have seen everything sooner.

Her throat tightened, a choking sensation making it hard to breathe.

Love really does blind you, makes you rush headlong into disaster.

Timothy couldn't get in touch with Jessica.

Instead, he asked Mabel when Jessica had left and checked which flights she might have taken, then headed to the airport ahead of time.

There were only two possible flights she could be on.

He waited until the second flight landed, but Jessica never appeared.

Standing by the arrivals gate, Timothy's brow was drawn tight with worry.

He and Sheila had rushed home after hearing his grandfather was unwell, only to find it was nothing serious.

He knew what was going on and didn't press for details.

Since he and Henry were already there, Timothy decided to use the opportunity to introduce Jessica to his grandfather.

If his grandfather met Jessica and saw how close and respectful their marriage was, he'd have no reason to object in the future.

So his grandfather was looking forward to meeting Jessica and had even prepared a home-cooked dinner for her.

Sheila called him.

"Timothy, did you find Jessica yet?"

"No."

Sheila sounded worried. "She can't speak-do you think she might have run into trouble?"

"She'll be fine." Timothy's voice was sharper than he meant, betraying his frustration. This was the last thing he wanted to think about.

Sheila paused, caught off guard by his tone.

Quickly, she added, "Sorry, I just... I'm a bit worried about Jessica. I shouldn't have said that."

Only then did Timothy realize he'd spoken too harshly.

"I'm not blaming you. She can't speak, but she understands English."

Whenever Jessica went out, she always brought a notepad and pen. If she didn't feel like writing, she'd type on her phone.

"She might be fine, but maybe check with Mabel again, or have your assistant confirm her exact flight."

"Alright."

"I'll let you go—you're busy."

After hanging up with Sheila, Timothy immediately called his assistant, Allen.

"Quick, check if my wife booked any flights."

He slipped his phone back into his pocket but kept his eyes glued to the airport exit, waiting.

About half an hour later, Allen's message came through.

"Mr. Lawson, I've checked-all recent flights show no bookings for Mrs. Lawson." Timothy's expression darkened.

He'd arranged everything for her—the bridal gowns, both Western and traditional, appointments with the best photographers, every little detail for their destination wedding shoot.

And she blew him off.

Fine. Very well.

She could forget about ever getting him to pose for wedding photos with her again.noveldrama

He hung up and walked out of the airport, not looking back.

Meanwhile, Jessica had scoured the internet, but there wasn't a single shop that could fix her voice-emitting necklace.

It was just too niche-especially since it needed a custom Al component. She

realized it must have been specially made for her.

And custom pieces like that were even harder to repair.

Out of options, she finally decided she had to reach out to Herbert.

Tomorrow was Ines's art show, and she'd already bought her ticket and returned to Riverside City.

By the time she got off the train, it was nearly dinner. She messaged Herbert, inviting him to a meal.

He replied almost immediately.

Jessica considered a few places before settling on The Silverthread Eatery.

She'd already seen the fireworks show, and it hadn't been nearly as impressive as she'd imagined.