Goodbye, Mr. Regret

She shrieked and collapsed to the floor.noveldrama

But as she fell, she made sure to hold the pearl necklace in the hand that would hit the ground first.

The pearls scraped against the floor. The string snapped. Pearls scattered everywhere, rolling across the tiles.

Timothy's hand, which had been holding a paper bag of breakfast, suddenly went slack. The bag tumbled from his fingers, spilling food onto the ground.

Jessica frowned, barely pausing, and made to walk away.

Sheila, still on her knees, grabbed desperately at Jessica's pant leg. Her voice trembled. "I'm apologizing to you so sincerely-can't you just accept it?"

Timothy stared in shock at the pearls strewn across the floor. For a long moment, he couldn't move. Then he forced himself forward.

His lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line. He radiated a cold, cutting rage.

He reached Sheila in two quick strides, yanked her up, and pulled her into his arms. His eyes, sharp as glass, fixed on Jessica with unyielding fury.

He raised his hand, aiming a slap at Jessica's face.

Sheila, terrified, buried her face in Timothy's chest, unable to watch.

Timothy's palm stopped just short of Jessica's cheek, the air from his swing whispering across her skin.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

He had never laid a hand on her-not even after she'd slapped him before. Not even now, after she'd ruined his mother's most precious keepsake.

His hand hovered a breath from her face, close enough that she could feel the cold draft brush her pores, chilling her to the bone.

Her husband.

The man she had once loved more than anyone.

He was finally going to hit her, for the sake of the woman he loved.

The slap never landed on her cheek-but it landed squarely on her heart.

Timothy pulled his hand back, his words low and barely controlled. "Get out."

Jessica's eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She turned on her heel, anger burning in her chest.

Maybe now, after this, Timothy would finally agree to the divorce.

Behind her, she could just make Sheila's voice. "Timothy, it w

Jessy's fault. I was just net

apologize "

Timothy cut her off, voice harsh. "You think she can accept you kneeling to her?"

Jessica was his wife.

Sheila was his aunt. Jessica's aunt, too.

No niece had the right to accept her elder kneeling before her.

Jessica stepped into the elevator. The doors slid shut, cutting her off from the whole scene.

Timothy let go of Sheila and slowly knelt to pick up the scattered pearls.

"I'm sorry, Timothy," Sheila whispered, still sniffling. "When you went out to get breakfast, I noticed a jewelry box under the chair. I opened it and saw it was your mother's necklace. I ran out to give it back to you, but then I bumped into Jessy. She got upset when she saw the necklace. I tried to explain, but nothing I said could make her

accept my apology. Timothy, it's my fault. I broke the necklace."

Timothy's voice was low and heavy. "It's not your fault. I saw everything."

It had been Jessica who shoved Sheila, causing the necklace to break.

Sheila helped him gather the pearls, one by one.

There were fifty-two pearls in all. But after scraping across the floor, ten of them

were scratched, some badly, some less so.

Timothy looked at the dust-covered pearls, his heart aching.

His mother's sletter-her last

words-had said the necklace was a

family heirloom, passed down

through generations of the Howard

family on her wedding day, his mother had given it to her, and one day, when Timothy married, he was supposed to give it to his own wife.

But his wife—first, she'd sold the necklace. Now, this time, she'd destroyed it.

"Timothy..." Sheila watched the pain flicker in his eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks, and said-