Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Herbert stared at Jessica, his expression unreadable.

It was clear now-her marriage really was falling apart.

Jessica thought Herbert didn't believe she was serious about the divorce. Her face was resolute as she continued signing, "I mean it. I need a lawyer. Please help me."

Ever since she'd married Timothy, nearly all her time had been spent at home. She barely had any friends of her own.

She knew very few people.

Timothy had his own legal team, filled with top-tier attorneys. With his status, no ordinary lawyer would dare take him on in court.

The Wheeler family looked formidable too. Jessica figured Herbert probably knew some powerful lawyers.

When Herbert returned home and learned Jessica had been married for seven years, he'd been left with a dull ache in his chest. He was genuinely sorry- perhaps even a little heartbroken.

So when he first sensed there was trouble in her marriage, a small part of him had hoped she might leave Timothy.

But now, hearing Jessica say she wanted a divorce, there wasn't any joy-only worry, and a pressing question: Had these past seven years been good to her?

"Little Mute," Herbert said softly, "tell me-have you suffered a lot these seven years?"

Red veins flickered in Herbert's eyes.

Jessica shook her head, her gestures tinged with sadness. "It's just... there's no love left between us. Seven years, and we couldn't make it through the rough patch."

She'd chosen this marriage herself.

Whatever she'd tasted in those years, she didn't want to share it with anyone. It would only add to the sorrow.

Herbert didn't press her further.

Jessica's mother had died young. Her father had sold their home after his wife's death and disappeared without a trace.

Jessica was raised by her grandmother. With no parents to coddle her, she'd grown up steady and self-reliant.noveldrama

Whenever she made a decision, it was always after careful thought.

"All right," Herbert said at last, "I'll find the right lawyer for you and let you know as soon as I do."

Jessica signed her thanks. Then, remembering something, she asked, "By the way, what are you doing these days? Did you take over your father's work, or have you started something of your own? I never asked."

"My father runs a hospital. As for me... I became a doctor. Can you believe that?"

Jessica's eyes fluttered in surprise-she wasn't sure she could.

After all, the memory she had of Herbert was stuck in their youth. They hadn't spent much time together since, and she still remembered the troublemaking boy who'd always gotten into fights, the little ringleader.

Now he was a doctor? Hard to imagine.

Herbert chuckled. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. But people change."

She supposed that was true.

The man sitting beside her now was nothing like the boy she remembered.

And if his father owned a hospital, maybe it wasn't so strange that Herbert had gone into medicine.

Jessica signed, "That's wonderful. You're doing so well-I'm truly happy for you."

Herbert knew Jessica had always been kind, even if she couldn't speak. Even when others bullied or mocked her, she never held a grudge. She always wished the best for others-including him.

He'd called her Little Mute just like everyone else.

He'd teased her, too.

He remembered once, overhearing someone gossiping cruelly about his mother. Jessica had stepped up and told them, in her urgent, frantic signs, that his mother was actually a gentle, wonderful woman.

When no one understood her, she'd scribbled her words on paper instead.

After that day, he still called her Little Mute-but never with a trace of mockery again.

Herbert drove Jessica back to her hotel.

She'd barely slept last night after fainting from the fright. Her rest had been fitful and short.