Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Jessica paused, deep in thought, before saying, "Let's not mention this to Mom and Dad for now. Mom's health isn't good enough for a transplant, and she still needs Dad to take care of her. If they found out how sick I am, I don't think they could handle it, and even if they agreed, there's no guarantee they'd be a match. As for telling Herbert..."

She looked up at Vince, her voice soft. "I'm afraid I'll never be able to repay what I owe him."

"You know how he feels about you, don't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He left the Wheeler family for me, and he helped me recover from my speech loss. If I turn to him again for help with this, how could I ever repay him?"

Vince pressed his lips together. "So you're not considering choosing him?"

"He's a good man. But with everything I'm dealing with... I just don't feel like I deserve him."

Vince shook his head. "Don't be silly. Don't talk about who 'deserves' whom. But if you're not planning to be with him, you should be honest sooner rather than later. Don't let him waste his time."

He'd never force Jessica into a relationship she didn't want.

"I honestly didn't realize at first, but I've started to sense it over time. Even so, I've always treated him as a friend. Suddenly avoiding him would just feel strange. And since he hasn't brought anything up himself, if I go out of my way to talk to him about it, it would almost seem like I'm overthinking things. So for now, I'd rather just act like I don't know and keep treating him as a friend. I don't want to trouble him with this."

"In that case, how about we go abroad for treatment? We can look for resources both here and overseas-the surgery can be done elsewhere, where the technology's more advanced. I really hope this time we can get you well," Vince said, his voice gentle.

If it hadn't been for Larkin's sudden illness, Jessica hadn't planned on coming back just yet. Her plan was to return the day she signed the divorce papers, and leave again immediately after, hoping to spend some time living abroad.

Now, the day to finalize the divorce was fast approaching.

But with Timothy's condition still uncertain, there was no guarantee she could go through with it.

"Vince, let's do this-today and tomorrow, once these two days are over, we'll know what's happening with Timothy. If he's okay and able to get to the courthouse, I'll wait until we've signed the papers before going overseas. If he can't get out of bed, I'll wait until his condition stabilizes, then leave."

If Timothy wasn't well, she couldn't just leave their child behind.

There were two guardians-father and mother.

She'd only agreed to give up custody on the condition that Timothy was healthy.

If something really happened to him, she couldn't just walk away from their child.

Besides, she didn't want anything bad to happen to Timothy. Ifnoveldrama

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Jessica's phone rang again. It was Herbert calling.

She answered on speaker.

"Jessy, I've already gathered some of my colleagues and professors. They're at the hospital now. Today they'll be doing a full review of

Timothy's case. Don't worry-we're going to do everything we can for him."

Herbert was just as reluctant to owe Timothy a favor.

He figured that once Jessica and Timothy signed the divorce papers, he'd finally

have a chance to pursue her.

Of all the people he could owe, he never wanted to owe his rival in love.

"Thanks, Herbert."

"I just didn't want you to worry. They're some of the top neurosurgeons here and abroad and they've treated a lot of cases like Timothy's. I really think there's a good chance he'll recover."

"Okay. I'll head over to the hospital in a bit."

After hanging up, Jessica noticed the pain in her abdomen had eased somewhat.

She threw back the covers and got out of bed.

"Vince, just wait outside for a minute. I'll get ready and we can leave."

"Are you sure you're up for it? Are you still in pain?"