Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince finally cut in, his tone sharp. "Then don't change it. Who cares, anyway? That ungrateful brat isn't worth the trouble!"

Phelps blinked in surprise. "Vince, what's that supposed to mean?"

Vince gave a cold chuckle. "Oh, come on. Don't act like you don't know. Your precious great-grandson's already gone out and found himself a new mother. Relax, the Zimmermans aren't about to fight you for custody."

Mrs. Bryant's eyebrows shot up. "Is that true? Well, then the Bryants certainly want no part in this mess."

She turned to Yates and said, "Phelps tells me you and Timothy are close, almost like brothers. Now, if Salome divorces Timothy and you marry her, people might talk. What do you think? Are you worried about what others will say?"

Yates was known for being a devoted son, the kind who'd never embarrass his mother in public. He might have his own reservations about marrying his childhood betrothed, but he would never openly defy his mother.

"Of course I'm not worried. Honestly, who still cares about that kind of thing these days?"

Phelps looked like he was developing a migraine.

"In that case," Mrs. Bryant said, "I'll call Timothy and have him come back to explain himself to all of you."

Vince waved her off. "No need. I just saw him. He admitted everything—it was his fault, and he's agreed to the divorce."

"I was there, too," Yates added. "He asked us to pass on the message."

Phelps pressed his lips together, deep lines furrowing his face.

"That can't be. Just a little while ago, Timothy was asking me to keep the Bryants and the Zimmermans calm, insisting he wouldn't go through with the divorce."

Just then, Phelps's phone rang. It was Timothy.

"I agree to the divorce," Timothy said flatly.

"Timothy-" Phelps tried to reply, but the line went dead.

Even though Timothy had agreed, Phelps tried to salvage the situation. "They're young; they think differently than we do. We should let them handle their own problems. Timothy and Jessy are their own family now, after all. As the saying goes, it's better to tear down ten churches than to break up a marriage="

"That's enough," Larkin interrupted, his patience worn thin. "I absolutely refuse to let Salome stay with the Lawsons any longer. Seven years of marriage and they never even made it public! What did they take her for? Was there an engagement party? A wedding? Even a ring?"

Larkin had certainly never seen a ring on Jessica's finger.

Phelps was left speechless. There was no denying the Lawsons had been in the wrong.

Finally, he managed, “Larkin, what do you want us to do?"

Larkin spoke without hesitation. "There's a waiting period before the divorce is finalized. The Lawsons

need to issue a public statement

about the divorce, clarify that

custody stays with them, and, most importantly, Timothy needs to

apologize to Salome publicly and explain the reason for the

divorce-so Salome doesn't end up taking the blame for any of this."

He made it clear: under no circumstances would he let Salome be wronged.noveldrama

Phelps was absolutely unwilling, but to avoid a scandal, he reluctantly agreed. "I'll talk to Timothy. Once we've agreed on everything, I'll let you know."

"That's more like it," Larkin said. He hadn't come all this way for nothing; the Lawsons had to give them an answer. Now that they'd agreed, he'd make sure to keep an eye on the situation and push them to handle it quickly.

For now, he was eager to get home and have dinner with his granddaughter.

As they left the Lawson estate, Middleton and Mrs. Bryant mentioned wanting to finally meet Salome. Timothy had married her without a ceremony, keeping everything secret; they'd never even laid eyes on her and had no idea what she looked like.

Larkin, of course, was happy to have them visit the Zimmerman home. Everyone got into their own cars and headed to the Zimmermans.

On the drive, Mrs. Bryant turned to Middleton. "Honey, when Salome's grandfather called us, he didn't say he'd found her, so I didn't have time to get a gift for our future daughter-in-law. What if I give her this family heirloom bracelet as a welcome present?"

"Of course," Middleton agreed. "That's the Bryant family's heirloom, after all. It's meant to be passed down to our daughter-in-law."

He called up to Yates, who was driving. "Yates, you don't object, do you? We've waited so many years for Salome to come home. Now that she's finally back, you absolutely cannot look down on her just because she's been married before—you have to marry her."

Mrs. Bryant jumped in, "That's right, Yates. You have to marry Salome. Your father and I are on the same page here. You and Timothy see each other all the time— have you met Salome yet?"

"I have," Yates replied, picturing the night of the Zimmerman family's birthday banquet, when he'd first seen her-dressed beautifully, absolutely stunning.

"Since you've met, do you agree? If so, once the divorce is finalized, we'll throw you two a proper wedding. The Lawsons were disgraceful-no ceremony, no ring, nothing. We'll do it right. The engagement gifts will be generous, and the ring will be the biggest you can find. We have to show everyone, especially the Lawsons, that Salome is not

unwanted."

"Mom, can you not do this?" Yates pleaded.

Mrs. Bryant frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying you don't want to marry her?"

Middleton cut in. "You can do as you please with other things, but not this. You must marry Salome. I gave my word to Mr. Zimmerman years ago: if his daughter married into our family, we'd treat her as our own and never let her suffer."