Goodbye, Mr. Regret

It was Timothy.

Jessica nearly broke down.

She'd struggled to start over in a new place, desperate to escape him. Yet somehow, he'd found her again.

Timothy caught her wrist, closed the door behind them, and pressed her back against it. His dark, narrow eyes burned with flickers of anger.

His voice was cold and heavy as he demanded, "How well do you really know Vince? Did you tell him about our divorce?"

Timothy knew she needed to sign to answer, so he didn't grip her too tightly. Jessica jerked her arm and broke free.

"I don't need to know anything else about him," her hands signed sharply. "As long

as he's willing to introduce me to a good divorce lawyer, that's enough!"

Her gestures were as fierce as the glare in Timothy's eyes-both full of fury. Timothy's brow furrowed. "So you're dead set on divorcing me?"

Even though Jessica had been bringing up divorce constantly lately, he hadn't taken it seriously. He found it impossible to believe.

Henry Lawson was her whole world.

She knew she'd never win custody of Henry from him he was her husband, after all.

And though she'd never said she loved him, Timothy wasn't blind. He'd seen the longing in her eyes, the way she acted around him. He knew she loved him.

Jessica was furious now, her fingers flying as she signed: "It's been all this time, and you still don't get that I want out? Timothy, are you really that clueless, or are you just pretending?"

"Give me a real reason. If you're just bored with me, that's not enough."noveldrama

Timothy's voice was low and aristocratic, tinged with thinly veiled impatience.

Jessica had hoped to avoid saying certain things. If they could just end things peacefully and go their separate ways, that would be best.

But Timothy was cornering her, and she was done holding back.

Her gestures grew agitated and angry, her beautiful features twisted with frustration.

"Do you really have to make this so ugly?"

Jessica's gentle eyes turned sharp. "Fine." Her signing became more forceful. "I'll tell you!"

"Because I found a piece of paper at home, filled with Sheila's name-over and over!"

"Because I know about your affair with her!"

"Because everyone in the world knew seven years ago that she was the one you wanted to marry. Everyone except me-I was the only fool who didn't know!"

Jessica's lips trembled, pressed into a hard line.

"Is that enough?"

"If not, I can keep going..."

Her hands were still moving when Timothy suddenly seized both her wrists, pinning them above her head against the door. He leaned in, capturing her lips with his.

She was trapped, back flush against the door, struggling in vain.

He was relentless, giving her no room to escape.

After seven years as husband and wife, Timothy knew every inch of her-he could make her body yield in seconds.

Only when her breath came fast and she stopped fighting did he finally release her lips, their faces still close, breathing the same air.

Timothy's breath was hot against her cheek.

"So, just because you're jealous of her, you want to throw away your marriage and abandon your own child?" His voice was low and husky, somehow tender and intoxicating in that charged moment. "Jessica, how can you be so foolish?" Yes, she was foolish.

She'd wasted seven years of her life on him.

All she wanted now was to use what little time she had left to repay her mentor's

kindness, to fulfill her grandmother's last wishes.

But Timothy was intent on clipping her wings, severing her few precious connections, and trapping her in that lonely house. He'd made sure she would never be free.