Goodbye, Mr. Regret

The whole thing left her more confused than ever.

There was no way she and Vince could be related by blood. That was just impossible.

Unless... was there something off on her father's side?

Her mother had jumped from a building all those years ago. But why? What would drive her to do that?

Did it have anything to do with her father?

But then again, Vince didn't seem like he could be her father's son either-they didn't look anything alike.

On the way home, Jessica sent Vince a message.

[Vince, are you really your parents' biological child?]

Her question came out of nowhere and left Vince completely baffled.

[I am, yeah. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?]

So, he was really a Zimmerman by blood.

That meant there was absolutely no way they were related.

Could it be something to do with her grandmother's side?

Her grandmother had been Larkin's first love...

Larkin even said that once she was divorced, he wanted Vince to marry her.

That ruled out the possibility of her mother and Larkin being involved-Larkin would never have said something like that otherwise.

Jessica couldn't find any solid answers on her own. She decided she'd have to go see Sheila and get the truth straight from her.

When she got home, Timothy was still there.

"Are you staying here tonight?" he asked.noveldrama

Jessica shook her head, signing with her hands, "No, I'll head back."

She had nothing else left to do here, and she still needed to track down her birth father.

"Let's go, then."

Jessica got in the car with Timothy.

It was a two-hour drive. Jessica dozed off on the way, but she was still wary of Timothy and kept her distance, curling up by the window in the backseat.

Timothy noticed how uncomfortable she looked, and little by little, he scooted closer. When she slipped deeper into sleep, he gently eased her head onto his shoulder.

With something to lean on, Jessica slept more soundly and didn't move away.

They were close now, and the familiar, comforting scent of her hair drifted to him. It had been so long since Timothy had breathed in anything that soothing. Without realizing, he fell asleep too.

When the car finally pulled up to The Gilded Whisper Estates, Jessica stirred awake and found herself nestled against Timothy's chest.

Startled, she sat up straight, almost bolting out of the car in her haste.

Timothy had woken up earlier. Jessica, even in sleep, kept shifting away; it had taken him ages to finally coax her to rest against him.

Back in her room, Jessica's mind was still a jumbled mess. She pulled out her phone and saw a message from Vince.

[Why'd you ask me that out of the blue?]

She hadn't dug up any answers, and if she tried to explain, it might sound like she was trying to cozy up to the Zimmerman family. The question was way too abrupt, and she couldn't think of a good excuse.

After a while, she finally replied:

[I was just bored, messing around.]

[If you're bored, I can come over and keep you company.]

Not wanting Vince to get suspicious, she told him that was fine.

Given Timothy's relationship with Vince, it wouldn't be a big deal if Vince came by.

It was nearly eight o'clock by then.

On the drive back, Timothy had thought about waking her for dinner, but she'd

been out cold, so he let her sleep. He'd messaged Mabel ahead, asking her to prepare supper.

Now, Timothy came to her door and knocked. "Jessy, dinner's ready."

Jessica stepped out of her room.

Timothy was already waiting at the dining table.

When Jessica walked over, Mabel was about to ladle out the soup, but Timothy reached for the spoon first, filled a bowl, and set it in front of Jessica.

Mabel gave a gentle smile and quietly withdrew.

It was obvious—the master of the house was treating his wife differently now.

She could only hope the two would reconcile. Otherwise, that homewrecker would really get her way.

Jessica didn't touch the bowl Timothy had served her. Instead, she got up, filled her own, and set his bowl back in front of him.

Signing, she said, "You don't have to do this. It's pointless-just stop."

Timothy kept his composure. He didn't get angry or lash out at her behavior. Instead, he simply asked, “Didn't you get your voice back? Why do you keep using sign language?"

As if speaking were really that easy for her did he think she could just talk if she wanted to?

Jessica didn't bother explaining and kept her head down, eating in silence.

Timothy frowned slightly.

She didn't linger at the table. Soon, the doorbell rang.

Mabel hurried to open it.

It was Vince.

"Hey," he greeted, smiling, and even nodded at Timothy.

Though Timothy infuriated him, Vince knew that when Timothy didn't want to talk, no amount of

yelling would make him. Betternet

one

keep things friendly-after all, no punches a smiling face. Maybe, just maybe, Timothy would let

something slip.

If he kept butting heads with him, Timothy would clam up even more.

"What are you doing here?" Timothy's voice was cold. He clearly wasn't pleased to see Vince.

Vince waved the photo album in his hand and said deliberately, "Well, I'm not nearly as capable as you-I can't find my sister on my own. Maybe I'll have to count on Jessy to pretend for me and fulfill my mom's wish. She said she was bored, so brought over our childhood photo albums to keep her company."

He turned to Jessica. "Jessy, come on, let's look at some pictures." Timothy's expression darkened. Just what he'd been dreading.