Goodbye, Mr. Regret

After a long, heavy silence, Timothy finally made up his mind to leave.

The way things stood, Jessica simply had no intention of speaking to him.

He'd known it, really.

The real reason for coming today was to get a strand of Jessica's hair for a DNA test with Vince.

But once he saw her, he couldn't help but try to talk things through.

Now that he'd gotten what he came for, the divorce...

Well, that could wait.

He'd wait for her to be ready in ten days, just like she'd said.

After Timothy left, Vince messaged Jessica.

Come home. He's gone.

When Jessica got back, Vince was waiting in the living room.

"Sorry," he said, sounding a little sheepish. "He kept pressing me about where you were. I tried to throw him off, but I guess something got into him and he just

showed up anyway."

Jessica didn't blame Vince at all.

They were friends, and he'd been the one to help her leave in the first place. It was only natural that Timothy would track Vince down to try to find her.

Vince must have felt caught in the middle. There was nothing he could do.

"But don't worry," Vince reassured her. "He promised me he won't bother you again for a while."

Vince worried she might pack up and move again.

But honestly, moving wouldn't do much good. If Timothy wanted to find her, he'd always find a way.

The best thing she could hope for was that he'd eventually let go.

Jessica didn't know what else to say to Vince except thank you.

He'd done so much for her these past weeks. Without him, she doubted she ever would have found the strength to leave.

Her thoughts drifted to her grandmother-if it weren't for the connections her grandmother left behind, and the way she'd taught Jessica to make paper-cut art, she probably would never have met Vince. And Vince would never have offered her a helping hand.

Vince stayed with her until she seemed a little more at ease, then finally headed out.

After everything that had happened, Jessica felt a renewed determination to live.

But right now, she was no match for Timothy.

Even something as simple as a divorce had turned into a drawn-out battle.

The real problem was, she'd spent all these years pouring every ounce of herself into Timothy and their son, losing sight of her own worth.

That was why, when it came time to leave, she felt so helpless and lost.

At least things had reached a breaking point-thanks to the courts, she finally had

a shot at ending her marriage. Otherwise, who knew how much longer it would have dragged on?

Jessica went online to look up well-known hospitals nearby that specialized in liver cancer, and booked an appointment with a doctor.

An online representative confirmed she could come in for an exam the next morning, fasting.

With that handled, she turned her attention back to her script.

By the end of the afternoon, she'd finally finished reading it.

She logged into her chat app on her laptop and reached out to Mr. Smith, sharing her thoughts on the script.

Though Jessica hadn't worked a

regular job over the past seven years, she'd funded Carlisle's

creative team and was the main netnoveldrama

investor in their animated film. She and Carlisle had even co-written the script. sŵnovel

In her free time, she used to make up stories for Henry-her son-and turned them into short animations, just a minute or five each.

She hadn't posted anything new in a long while, but her fans often messaged her, begging for updates. She realized she shouldn't give up on her account-it deserved to stay alive.

With that experience, she hadn't been entirely cut off from the working world.

At first, she'd been afraid to step out again; with so little time left, she hadn't had the courage to face the world.

The hardest thing about being a stay-at-home mom was how it left you out of touch with society. When you finally tried to come back, the changes in the workplace could make anyone feel inadequate.