Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Sallie knew perfectly well that their family was in the wrong, so she kept her tone

gentle and conciliatory. She brought Henry over to Larkin, smiled, and said,

"Larkin, this is your great-grandson, Henry."

Henry looked confused. "Aunt Sallie, why is he my great-grandfather too?"

"Because he's your mom's grandfather," Sallie explained patiently.

But Larkin turned away, his face stony. "I don't want a great-grandson who calls

another woman his mother. Take him away. I don't even want to look at him."

Henry was already six years old-well old enough to understand exactly what

Larkin meant. He knew he shouldn't have gone around telling people Sheila was

his mother. Now, with it being called out so bluntly, he felt his cheeks burn with

shame. He squeezed Sallie's hand tightly, seeking comfort.

Sallie quickly tried to reason with Larkin. "Larkin, Henry's still young. He can be

led astray easily, but he can just as easily be steered back onto the right path. No

matter what's happened, he's Jessy's biological son. He hasn't seen her in days,

and I brought him here today so he could see her."

She knew Timothy wasn't going to reach out to Jessica anymore. As her older

sister, she couldn't stand it. Someone had to try to get Jessica to see Timothy.

"Six years old is hardly a baby," Larkin snapped. "At that age, he can't even

recognize his own mother? If it weren't for you Lawsons looking down on our

Salome, would any of this have happened? I'll be honest with you-Jessy doesn't

want to see him, none of us Zimmermans do. Take him away."

Henry remembered how his mother had ignored him that day, giving all her

attention to his little sister Daisy. Now his great-grandfather was rejecting him too.

Tears streamed down his face as he broke into helpless sobs.

Sallie frowned. "Larkin, he's just a child. There's no need to say such harsh things

in front of him."

"Hmph. If he dares to do it, he shouldn't be afraid to hear people talk about it. I

think you Lawsons have spoiled him rotten. Never taught him how to behave.

Salome used to be mute and couldn't scold him, but what about you? What about

Timothy? No one ever said a word to him?"

The more Larkin thought about it, the angrier he got. He added, "If Vince hadn't

mentioned it, none of us would have known. He's been going around calling

Sheila his mother, hasn't he?"

Larkin let out a cold, bitter laugh. "You Lawsons really know how to play the game.

Pretending to keep Timothy and Sheila apart on the surface, but behind closed

doors, you're practically matchmaking them."

Sallie felt miserable. She tried to explain, "Larkin, you're wrong about us. None of

us support Timothy and Sheila being together."

"If that's true, then why didn't you stand up for Salome? Why didn't you protect

her, unite as a family and defend her marriage? And you have the nerve to say

this now?" Larkin, normally so gentle, looked stern and cold. "I think you all looked

down on Salome because she couldn't speak, because she was an orphan, and

you bullied her."

"Larkin..." Sallie wanted to protest, but the words stuck in her throat. There was

really nothing to say. The family had always thought Salome, mute and alone,

wasn't good enough for Timothy. Even she herself had been guilty of that.

Larkin sneered. "You Lawsons have no integrity, picking and choosing whom to

respect. Now that Salome can speak and has a new name, your attitude has

changed overnight. With all your fortune and social standing, and Timothy being

such an outstanding man, shouldn't you be more generous and help those in

need? Instead, you bullied a mute girl. Aren't you ashamed if word gets out?"

It was clear the Zimmermans were furious-maybe even hated them.

Sallie could understand. After

everything that had happened, who

could blame the Zimmerman family

for being angry? But thinking of how

Timothy had looked last night, shenoveldrama

forced herself to go on. "We were

wrong before. I came here today to

apologize to Jessy."

She hugged Henry a little tighter. "Henry has been missing his mom these past

few days. We just want to see her."

"She doesn't want to see you, and

she doesn't want your apology. If

she cared, she wouldn't have put up

with all this for so many years. She's

not living with the Lawsons

anymore, and she's made it clear

she wants nothing more to do with

you. I was only angry on her behalf,

that's why I went to your house."

Henry had only ever let Sheila play the role of his mother out of pride, to save

face in front of others. Deep down, he never thought his real mom would abandon

him.

He looked up at Sallie, his eyes red

and swimming with tears. "Aunt

Sallie, does my mom not want me

anymore? Is she never going to take

care of me or see me again?"

Sallie's heart ached at the sight of Henry's pitiful little face. She turned to Larkin

again. "Is Jessy home? We just want to see her, that's all."

More than anything, Sallie wanted Jessica to visit Timothy.

"She's not here. She went overseas to see her mother."

Sallie nearly lost her balance.

Overseas? That meant she wouldn't be back for a while. Timothy wouldn't get to

see her, either.

Henry's sobs grew even louder.

It really did seem like his mother didn't want him anymore.

With Jessica gone, there was no reason for Timothy to stay. Sallie had no choice

but to take Henry and leave.

She dropped him off at school, comforting him the whole way, promising that his

mom and dad were just upset, and that things would get better once they calmed

down.

Only then did Henry stop crying and head inside.

Still worried about Timothy, Sallie turned the car around and drove straight to the

hospital.

This time, Timothy hadn't rushed to check himself out. He was still lying in that

hospital bed.