Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Larkin grinned from ear to ear, eyes squinting with delight as she waved Jessica over. “Jessy, chere! This is

Mr. and Mrs. Bryant, and our childhood friend, Yates."

Jessica took in the warm, beaming faces of the Bryants. Their kindness radiated from every gesture, and after

hearing Vince talk about them, she couldn't help but think what a wonderful couple they were.

She stepped forward and greeted them with a small bow. "Good evening, Mr. Bryant. Mrs. Bryant."

Then she turned to Yates, nodding politely. "Good evening, Mr. Bryant."

Her manners were impeccable-gracious and respectful. Only after her greetings did she take a seat beside

Larkin.

Middleton and Mrs. Bryant exchanged a surprised glance at Jessica addressing Yates as “Mr. Bryant,” but neither

pressed for answers just yet.

Mrs. Bryant's eyes softened as she looked at Jessica, her voice gentle with concern. “Jessy, you've been through

so much these past years. But you're hnow, and that's all that matters. We've been waiting for you."

"Thank you for caring, Mrs. Bryant. You're right-now that I'm home, everything will be alright."

There's no safer harbor than being with family.

At that moment, the butler appeared and invited everyone to dinner.

They made their way to the dining room. Larkin sat at the head of the table, with Mr. and Mrs. Bryant on one

side. Vince and Jessica took the seats opposite, while Yates sat further down.

Mrs. Bryant couldn't help but watch Jessica with growing affection. Even though she hadn't grown up with the

Zimmerman family, Jessica still carried herself with such grace and warmth-sthings run deep in the blood.

There was no mistaking she was one of their own.

Their only regret was not finding her sooner. Still, the timing was good-her divorce from Timothy was nearly

finalized, and soon she would be officially back in the family.

Mrs. Bryant and Middleton exchanged hopeful glances in between their smiles at Jessica. Yates, meanwhile,

remained quiet, his expression difficult to read.

Vince, ever the gracious host, encouraged everyone to eat and soon the conversation picked up.

Middleton turned to Jessica. "Jessy, when we visited the Lawsons, Vince said you didn't want custody of your son.

Is that true?"

Jessica knew from the very start that divorcing Timothy meant she'd never win custody of her son. Now that she

was back with the Zimmerman family, they would stand by her if she wanted to fight for him. But she had

already made up her mind.

"Yes, everything Vince said is true."

Mrs. Bryant, already suspecting why, let out a terse sigh. "That Timothy is unbelievable! How could he let your

son call another woman '‘Mom'?"

She looked at Jessica and added gently, "If you don't want custody, that's fine. You're still young. You'll have

more children someday."

Jessica had just lifted a piece of fish to her mouth when a wave of nausea hit her. Setting down her fork, she

hurried from the table to the bathroom.

Mrs. Bryant startled and whispered to Middleton, "Did | say something wrong? Did | upset Jessy?"

Middleton shook his head. “No, I think it was me. | shouldn't have brought up Timothy."

Vince was already on his way to check on Jessica.

Larkin sighed softly. "It's not your fault. Timothy hurt Jessy so badly-just hearing his nis painful for her.

Maybe we shouldn't mention him around her anymore."

Outside the bathroom, Vince waited, concern etched on his face. "Jessy, are you okay?"

Jessica's voice cmuffled through the door. "I'm fine."

She wasn't sure what had triggered her sudden nausea. Was it a symptom of her cancer?

Ever since her diagnosis, bouts of nausea had cand gone. She rinsed her mouth and stepped back out.

"Sorry, Vince. | don't know what happened-I was just about to eat and suddenly felt sick."

Vince's mind flashed back to the last tJessica had asked him for help collecting evidence against Timothy. He

quickly pulled her aside, lowering his voice. "Jessy, are you... could you be pregnant?"

"Pregnant?” Jessica frowned. "No, that's not possible."

After giving birth to Henry, and once she'd recovered, she and Timothy had

shared a bed again—but she'd always taken precautions.

Timothy had seen her taking birth control pills and asked about it. She told him she didn't want another child so

soon. Later, Timothy insisted he'd had a vasectomy and she didn't need to worry.

"You're saying Timothy had a vasectomy?"

Jessica nodded. "Yes."

That was why she'd never gotten pregnant again.

"Alright, as long as you're not," Vince replied, relieved. The last thing they needed was another tie to Timothy

now that Jessica was finally free.

Back at the table, everyone wanted to know if Jessica was alright. She reassured

them, “It's probably just an upset stomach. I'll stick to something light."

Mrs. Bryant fussed, insisting it would be best to have a doctor take a look.

Jessica hesitated; she wasn't ready to tell everyone about the cancer just yetz She'd only just found her family

again. She wanted to talk to her parents first, and then find a quiet moment to tell Vince

The doctor had explained that a transplant was possible, but she'd have to wait

for a donor. The best hope was a close relative—a genetic match would improve her chances.

Now she'd finally chome, but she couldn't help feeling guilty for bringing more worry to her family.