Goodbye, Mr. Regret

It was a photo of Jessica and Daisy together.

The caption read: "Daisy has a new godmother. Blessings."

At the same time, Sallie saw the post pop up on her feed. Annoyance flared in her chest.

What exactly was Vince playing at?

She knew Daisy was Vince's cousin's daughter. After her parents passed away, the Zimmerman family had pretty much taken Daisy in as one of their own, and Larkin's intention was that Daisy would be under Vince's name, as his daughter from here on out.

Now Vince couldn't wait to have Daisy call Jessica her godmother-clearly, the man just wouldn't give up.

"Aunt Sallie, what are you looking at?"

Henry had come over and caught sight of Jessica's picture. In her arms, she was holding a little girl about his age.

"It's nothing," Sallie said, quickly locking her phone.

"But Auntie, I saw my mom! Can I just see it for a second?"

"There's nothing interesting about it. You'll see your mom when you get home anyway."

But Henry felt a pang seeing his mother holding someone else. He pleaded, "Just let me see. Please?"

Sighing, Sallie handed over her phone. Henry took it carefully.

He recognized the girl at once-his mother was holding Daisy.

He'd met Daisy before.

His mom was smiling at Daisy with a tenderness he hadn't seen in a long time.

And both of them were holding apples in their hands. It was Christmas Eve, so his mother must have given Daisy an apple as a little holiday gift.

Every Christmas Eve, his mom would always save a big, shiny red apple just for him.

But this year, she was with somebody else.

She hadn't given him an apple at all.

Henry's face fell. He scrolled through, seeing several more photos-his mother laughing, her smile bright and open.

She hadn't smiled at him like that in ages.noveldrama

Looking at those pictures, Henry felt something heavy creep into his chest.

Sallie noticed his expression and gently took the phone away. "Daisy is from Mr. Zimmerman's family, you know. Your mom is kind to her because our families are close. But remember, every mother loves her own child best."

She could tell Henry was upset, so she tried to comfort him.

Henry looked up at her, his voice barely above a whisper. “My mom hasn't spent time with me in so long."

Sallie pulled him into her arms, heart aching. "It's your dad's fault. He and your mom are having a rough patch. Once they make up, everything will be fine. Don't overthink it, okay?"

She stayed with Henry for a while, then had one of the maids take him for his bath.

Afterward, Sallie went to her room and called Timothy.

"Did you see what Vince posted?"

"I saw it," Timothy replied, sounding unbothered.

Sallie's frustration spilled out. "Aren't you going to do something? Vince is

practically stealing your wife right in front of everyone."

"He can't steal her," Timothy said, calm as ever.

Jessica was Salome Zimmerman. It didn't matter what Vince tried-Timothy wasn't worried.

At least he knew Jessica was with Vince tonight. That was a relief, compared to

his earlier suspicions that she might be with Herbert.

If Jessica ignored him, then maybe Vince getting close was for the best.

Sallie couldn't help but jab at him, "If you're so calm about Vince making Daisy call dessica her godmother, you might as well let Henry start calling Sheila 'Mom' too! If that's how you really feel, maybe stop lecturing your son for once.

l.ne

"Don't talk nonsense in front of the kid," Timothy said, his patience. thinning. "Sheila and I were never together, and never will be. I'm not arguing with you. I'm hanging up."

He ended the call, his phone screen still showing Vince's photo.

Technically, Jessica was Daisy's cousin. And looking at Daisy in the picture, she did bear a striking resemblance to how Jessica looked as a child.

That-more than anything was what worried Timothy.

If Vince kept posting photos like this, who knew if someone else might notice the resemblance?

As the thought crossed his mind, a comment popped up under Vince's post-from Yates.

[Wow, Daisy's looking more and more like Salome. Or is it just me, or does she look a bit like Timothy's wife too?]

Timothy immediately called Yates.

"Calling me on Christmas Eve? What, are you inviting me for a drink?"

"Delete your comment under Vince's post. Now."

Yates snorted. "Touchy, aren't we? I bet even Vince has seen it by now. Deleting it won't change anything."

"Just delete it. Don't argue."

Yates switched back to his phone, ready to delete the comment-only to see that

Vince had already replied.

[You're right, there's definitely a resemblance. Must be fate.]

Yates relayed this to Timothy.

Timothy hung up without another word.

At least Vince didn't seem suspicious yet.

But Yates really was a liability. Timothy and Jessica hadn't made any progress,

and if Vince ever put two and two together, his chances with Jessica would shrink

to nothing.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Timothy called Secretary Allen.

"How's the wedding prep going?"

"Everything is on schedule, just as you asked."

"Move the venue to Bali."

"Understood."

He still hadn't given up on marrying Jessica.

After ending the call, his thoughts drifted to Jessica following Mayfield. He still

couldn't figure out what connection she could possibly have to Mayfield.

He ran through the possibilities again and again, before finally dialing Vince's number.

At that moment,

Vince was driving

Jessica home. Daisy, already fast

asleep, was nestled in Jessica's arms in the back seat. Jessica glanced up at the dashboard as Timothy's name lit up on Vince's car

screen.