Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Phelps's expression darkened.

Sallie, remembering what she'd seen of Jessica earlier that day, couldn't help but frown.

Damn mute girl. Could it be she's seeing someone else on the side?

What an idiot. With a husband like Timothy, she still can't keep herself in line and has to go out looking for trouble.

If Jessica ever dared to cheat on her brother, Sallie would never let her get away with it.

Since it was Phelps's birthday, the entire Lawson family had gathered.

Timothy's father told the housekeeper to take Henry outside to play.

Once Henry had left, he spoke up, face tight with displeasure. "Jessica can't even speak, and marrying Timothy was the luckiest thing that ever happened to her. Yet today, on my birthday, she doesn't even bother to show up? Sounds to me like she doesn't want to be Mrs. Lawson anymore. Timothy, you should just end the marriage."

Naylor Lawson had opposed this marriage from the very beginning.

For some reason, when Timothy heard Naylor refer to Jessica as "mute," the word grated on him.

"Naylor, that's enough," Rebekah, Naylor's wife, chimed in gently. "Jessica is Timothy's choice. There's an old saying-better to break ten deals than to break one marriage. How can you encourage them to get divorced?"

"Mom, it's Grandpa's birthday and Jessica's not here. I think Dad's right. She should be grateful to be married to my brother. This is an important family occasion, and she can't even be bothered to show up. She clearly doesn't respect the Lawsons," Nola said with an eye roll, her voice thick with disdain. Just a mute —she really doesn't know her place.

Nola was Rebekah and Naylor's youngest daughter. They also had a son,

Thurston, who was studying abroad.

"Enough!" Phelps's sharp voice cut through the room. Instantly, everyone fell silent.

"Timothy, come with me to the study."

Phelps leaned on his cane, leading the way.

Timothy followed closely behind.

Sallie stood up as well, slipping outside to call Jessica.

Jessica had just checked into a hotel room when her phone lit up with Sallie's

name.

She set her phone to silent and ignored the call.

When Jessica didn't answer, Sallie pressed her lips into a thin, angry line. She quickly sent a text.

If you're so set on making trouble instead of living a good life, fine. You have half an hour. Get back to the house. Now.

Jessica's phone screen glowed with the incoming message. She picked it up, reading Sallie's words.

Her smile was as brittle as a dried-out butterfly.

Everyone in the Lawson family saw her marriage to Timothy as a step up she didn't deserve. Every time she went to Lawson Manor, she was treated like an outsider, bossed around and belittled.

But because she loved Timothy so deeply, she endured it all—always smiling, always doing her best to please them, hoping that one day they'd accept her.

She'd believed that her efforts would prove her worth to them.

Just as she'd believed she could warm Timothy's cold heart.

But some things were impossible.

If even her own son, carried for nine months, could grow up distant, what hope did she have with people who shared no blood with her?

Jessica deleted the message and blocked every single contact from the Lawson family.

In the Lawson study, Phelps's brow was deeply furrowed.

"Timothy, Jessica has always cared about Lawson family affairs. Why would she suddenly refuse to come for my birthday?"noveldrama

"How should I know what kind of tantrum she's throwing?" Timothy replied coldly.

Phelps's cloudy old eyes narrowed. "She's your wife. Is that really all you have to say?"

Phelps knew full well how stubborn Timothy could be. If Timothy had been willing to listen to him and accept an arranged marriage, there would have been no need to seek out Jessica in the first place.