Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Chapter 227

Chapter 219

As soon as she left, Kane naturally followed.

Sallie had originally wanted to complain to Larkin about Vince, but by the tthe party was winding down, her

initial anger had mostly faded. With little interest left in tattling, she simply said her goodbyes to Larkin as she

noticed guests beginning to trickle out.

Of their close-knit circle, only Yates remained, standing with Vince, the two of them nursing drinks.

"Your old man seems to have taken quite a liking to Timothy's wife," Yates remarked, curiosity glinting in his

eyes.

They'd all grown up together, so they knew each other's quirks and family histories well enough. Vince stepping

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in to help Jessica made sense-it was mostly just to humor Timothy. But Larkin's involvement was harder to figure

out,

Vince chuckled. "Jessica's his first love's granddaughter."

"Ah, that explains it," Yates said, the pieces falling into place. Everyone in the Zimmerman family knew about

Larkin's first love and so did their childhood gang. Word was, his first love had been a master of traditional crafts,

so after retiring, he'd spent years collecting her work.

Yates clinked glasses with Vince, grinning. "Small world, isn't it?"

Vince sighed. "Sometimes it feels tiny, sometimes vast. Take my little sister-after all these years, there's still no

sign of her."

Yates gave Vince's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Didn't Timothy promise to help look? With all the information

floating around these days, maybe something will turn up soon."

"Let's hope so."

Timothy returned to The Gilded Whisper Estates, but Jessica still wasn't home.

A restless heaviness pressed on his chest; unable to sit still, he stepped outside. The air was perfect tonight-cool

and gentle, the kind of comfort that cwith early autumn. He settled into the gazebo and lit a cigarette, the

smoke curling around him in the soft light, his features shifting between sharp and mysterious.

No one could quite tell what he was thinking.

Before long, Sheila appeared, her figure framed by the glow. Timothy's voice was calm and even. “It's late. Why

aren't you resting? What brings you here?"

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Sheila met his gaze, her eyes dark and searching. Her voice cout low and rough, "Timothy... | know we can't

be together. When you got married, you promised that even if you married Jessica, you'd keep it a secret-that it

would never be made public. But tonight..."

She bit her lower lip, sorrow flickering across her face. "I know my place. I've always known how this would end.

But do you understand what your promise meant to me? It was the one thing that gavethe strength to keep

going, even if, for the rest of our lives, we could only be aunt and nephew in everyone else's eyes. As long as |

remembered your promise, | felt like | was special to you."

Tears shimmered in Sheila's eyes, threatening to fall. Her lashes trembled, her lips curving in a desperate, almost

hopeless smile.

"So why did you have to destroy the last bit of hope | had?"

Timothy took a long drag, his eyes shadowed and unreadable as he watched her. Sheila had no idea what he was

thinking.