Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Herbert Wheeler smiled. "He asked me to come treat you."

He lifted his medical kit and waved it playfully in front of Jessica Greene.

Jessica frowned. "Why would he send you here?"

Timothy Lawson knew about her aphasia-he'd found out back when they met with Ines and Mr. Smith at that café. Mr. Smith, trying to recruit her for his own team, had mentioned it again just to make the conversation easier.

Herbert, being a man himself, could easily guess Timothy's real motive: he was trying to win Jessica back.

Of course, Herbert couldn't say that out loud in front of her. So he just shrugged and said he wasn't exactly sure-maybe Timothy just wanted her to recover as soon as possible.

Talking behind Timothy's back in front of Jessica would only make Herbert look petty. There was no need for childish rivalry between men.

Timothy had always suspected something between her and Herbert. She couldn't fathom why he'd willingly ask Herbert to help. Still, she pushed the thought aside; the important thing was that Herbert was here, and she needed treatment.

She led Herbert into the living room. He put on a surgical mask and disposable gloves, then pulled out a laryngoscope to examine her throat.

"Your throat's healing nicely-nothing out of the ordinary. Keep taking your medication. But let's get you to the hospital for a brain scan, just to be sure."

Jessica nodded.

Herbert, though technically exiled from the Wheeler family, was an expert in his field. Before returning, he'd already arranged everything with the hospital. Over the years, he'd invested in more than a few clinics of his own.

Even without the Wheeler family's name or the Wheeler Group's hospitals, Herbert's reputation and wealth hadn't suffered.

The tests went smoothly. When the results came in, Herbert reviewed them carefully. He looked up at Jessica and smiled. "Everything looks great. You've made remarkable progress."

A big part of her recovery, he explained, was the fact that she'd managed to speak unexpectedly—the self-healing had already begun. Cases like hers, where people lose their voice due to trauma or shock, often started to improve on their own. For some, it was a brief ordeal; for others, the silence lasted much longer.

"Your brain scans are perfectly normal. That's wonderful news," Herbert said warmly.

"It's all thanks to your skill," Jessica replied, her gratitude sincere.

Herbert shook his head. "It's not just me. I think you were already on the mend before I stepped in. Life has a way of looking after good people, Little Mute."

On the way home, Herbert didn't ask Jessica why she'd gone back to Timothy. He simply saw her to the door and left quietly.

If anything, now was the time to keep his distance. He'd already made things complicated enough in the past by being too impulsive.noveldrama

Jessica waved goodbye as Herbert drove away.

From the balcony, Timothy watched the whole scene unfold. Maybe he really had gone too far.

From the moment Herbert arrived that morning, to taking her to the hospital, to bringing her back home—there hadn't been a single inappropriate gesture between them.

Jessica stepped inside and immediately spotted Timothy sitting in his wheelchair.

He rolled himself over and took her hand in his. Instinctively, she tried to pull away, but his grip only tightened.

Timothy reached into the pocket of his tailored trousers and pulled out the diamond necklace Herbert had given Jessica. He placed it gently in her palm, then released her.

"You probably won't need this much longer," he said quietly. "Still, I fixed it for you."

Jessica stared at the necklace, her heart skipping a beat. When she looked up, Timothy simply gave her a long, searching look before turning his wheelchair and heading towards the guest room.

Her emotions were tangled a little like having someone cut you, then bandage the wound themselves.

back to treat her

Bringing Herbert aphasia, fixing the voice-emitting necklace Timothy's way of caring was always bittersweet. But he

wasn't wrong; she might not nei ne

any of it soon. The aphasia was nearly cured.

Whether Timothy had called Herbert back or not, Herbert had always been helping her. Soon, she'd be able to speak on her own. She wouldn't need the necklace anymore.

Timothy retreated to his study. Compared to everything Herbert had done for Jessica over the years, fixing a necklace seemed almost insignificant.

He rolled his chair over to the bookshelf, steadied himself on one leg, and pulled down a wedding catalog. A few loose papers fluttered to the ground. He bent to pick them up.

One sheet was covered in the name "Sheila"-his handwriting, from seven years ago. What was it still doing here?

Back then, Sheila Howard had admired his signature and asked him to help design a signature for her as well. Sheila had used her first name only as a nickname when she worked in animation-so he'd written "Sheila" over and over as she watched, until she picked her

favorite.

"Mabel."

At the sound of his voice, Mabel hurried into the study.

He vaguely remembered leaving the paper on his desk after he'd finished. He'd

assumed the housekeeper had thrown it out ages ago.

"Sir, did you need me?"

"Could you call Linn for me?" he asked.

Linn had worked at the Gilded Whisper Estates for years-long before Timothy was married. These

days, as she'd grown older and

slower, he'd reassigned her to lighter duties around the house.

When Linn appeared, Timothy held up the sheet of paper. "Did you save this?"