Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince finally cut in, his tone sharp. "Then don't change it. Who cares, anyway? That ungrateful brat isn't worth

the trouble!"

Phelps blinked in surprise. "Vince, what's that supposed to mean?"

Vince gave a cold chuckle. "Oh, con. Don't act like you don't know. Your precious great-grandson's already

gone out and found himself a new mother. Relax, the Zimmermans aren't about to fight you for custody."

Mrs. Bryant's eyebrows shot up. "Is that true? Well, then the Bryants certainly want no part in this mess."

She turned to Yates and said, "Phelps tellsyou and Timothy are close, almost like brothers. Now, if Salome

divorces Timothy and you marry her, people might talk. What do you think? Are you worried about what others

will say?"

Yates was known for being a devoted son, the kind who'd never embarrass his mother in public. He might have

his own reservations about marrying his childhood betrothed, but he would never openly defy his mother.

"Of course I'm not worried. Honestly, who still cares about that kind of thing these days?"

Phelps looked like he was developing a migraine.

"In that case," Mrs. Bryant said, "I'll call Timothy and have him cback to explain himself to all of you."

Vince waved her off. "No need. | just saw him. He admitted everything—it was his fault, and he's agreed to the

divorce."

"I was there, too," Yates added. "He asked us to pass on the message."

Phelps pressed his lips together, deep lines furrowing his face.

"That can't be. Just a little while ago, Timothy was askingto keep the Bryants and the Zimmermans calm,

insisting he wouldn't go through with the divorce."

Just then, Phelps's phone rang. It was Timothy.

"l agree to the divorce," Timothy said flatly.

"Timothy-" Phelps tried to reply, but the line went dead.

Even though Timothy had agreed, Phelps tried to salvage the situation. "They're young; they think differently

than we do. We should let them handle their own problems. Timothy and Jessy are their own family now, after all.

As the saying goes, it's better to tear down ten churches than to break up a marriage="

"That's enough," Larkin interrupted, his patience worn thin. "I absolutely refuse to let Salstay with the

Lawsons any longer. Seven years of marriage and they never even made it public! What did they take her for?

Was there an engagement party? A wedding? Even a ring?"

Larkin had certainly never seen a ring on Jessica's finger.

Phelps was left speechless. There was no denying the Lawsons had been in the wrong.

Finally, he managed, “Larkin, what do you want us to do?"

Larkin spoke without hesitation. "There's a waiting period before the divorce is finalized. The Lawsons

need to issue a public statement

about the divorce, clarify that

custody stays with them, and, most importantly, Timothy needs to

apologize to Salpublicly and explain the reason for the

divorce-so Saldoesn't end up taking the blfor any of this."

He made it clear: under no circumstances would he let Salbe wronged.

Phelps was absolutely unwilling, but to avoid a scandal, he reluctantly agreed. "I'll talk to Timothy. Once we've

agreed on everything, I'll let you know."

"That's more like it," Larkin said. He hadn't call this way for nothing; the Lawsons had to give them an

answer. Now that they'd agreed, he'd make sure to keep an eye on the situation and push them to handle it

quickly.

For now, he was eager to get hand have dinner with his granddaughter.

As they left the Lawson estate, Middleton and Mrs. Bryant mentioned wanting to finally meet Salome. Timothy

had married her without a ceremony, keeping everything secret; they'd never even laid eyes on her and had no

idea what she looked like.

Larkin, of course, was happy to have them visit the Zimmerman home. Everyone got into their own cars and

headed to the Zimmermans.

On the drive, Mrs. Bryant turned to Middleton. "Honey, when Salome's grandfather called us, he didn't say he'd

found her, so | didn't have tto get a gift for our future daughter-in-law. What if | give her this family heirloom

bracelet as a welcpresent?"

"Of course," Middleton agreed. "That's the Bryant family's heirloom, after all. It's meant to be passed down to

our daughter-in-law."

He called up to Yates, who was driving. "Yates, you don't object, do you? We've waited so many years for Salome

to chome. Now that she's finally back, you absolutely cannot look down on her just because she's been

married before—you have to marry her."

Mrs. Bryant jumped in, "That's right, Yates. You have to marry Salome. Your father and | are on the spage

here. You and Timothy see each other all the time— have you met Salyet?"

"I have," Yates replied, picturing the night of the Zimmerman family's birthday banquet, when he'd first seen her-

dressed beautifully, absolutely stunning.

"Since you've met, do you agree? If so, once the divorce is finalized, we'll throw you two a proper wedding. The

Lawsons were disgraceful-no ceremony, no ring, nothing. We'll do it right. The engagement gifts will be

generous, and the ring will be the biggest you can find. We have to show everyone, especially the Lawsons, that

Salis not

unwanted."

"Mom, can you not do this?" Yates pleaded.

Mrs. Bryant frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying you don't want to marry her?"

Middleton cut in. "You can do as you please with other things, but not this. You must marry Salome. | gave my

word to Mr. Zimmerman years ago: if his daughter married into our family, we'd treat her as our own and never

let her suffer."