Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Yesterday afternoon, because Timothy had been at the hospital, Jessica hadn't even had a chance to discuss her work with Mr. Smith in detail.

So now, she was still standing outside the hospital entrance, needing to arrange a meeting spot with Mr. Smith before she could catch a ride over.

At the moment, she was on the phone with Mr. Smith.

Herbert came running out after her and spotted her familiar figure by the curb. He jogged over.

Jessica had just finished her call.

"Little Mute."noveldrama

Jessica turned around, saw Herbert, and smiled as she signed, "Why are you out here again?"

"I don't have much to do today," Herbert replied, falling in step beside her. "Let me drive you to meet Mr. Smith. I didn't even know he was in Riverside City until now —and he's leaving tomorrow. I'd like to catch up with him before he goes."

Earlier, Herbert had told her he'd once invested in one of Mr. Smith's films because of a mutual friend, and that he knew him fairly well.

Jessica saw no reason to refuse his offer.

Once inside the car, Jessica pulled out her phone and sent a message to Marquis.

Marquis, hello. My husband is taking our son to a kids' craft workshop with Sheila today. If my son calls Sheila his mom in public, and my husband doesn't deny it, that should count as strong evidence for our case. Please go and document it if you can.

Timothy had no idea Jessica would be collecting evidence this way, and he hadn't seen her meet with Marquis-nor could he possibly know Marquis was the lawyer she'd hired.

Vince had always looked out for her, and Jessica trusted him not to leak anything to Timothy. If Timothy caught wind of her plans and prepped a lawyer to counter her moves, the divorce case might not go so smoothly.

She was quite hopeful that today's evidence collection would go off without a hitch.

If she could gather proof on all these points, it should be more than enough for the judge to see that Timothy's actions had seriously damaged their marriage.

Last night, Vince had been too drunk to meet with Marquis, so first thing this morning at the office, he'd called Marquis in.

Marquis had already gone through all the evidence Jessica had listed out. Where Jessica had proof, Marquis had attached it to the case file; for those points where she didn't, he'd clearly marked them as pending. As long as Vince gave the green light and was willing to risk angering Timothy to take on the case, Marquis would start collecting evidence right away.

For a lawyer, having strong backing and winning a high-profile divorce case against someone like Timothy would be a real feather in his cap.

Just then, Marquis received Jessica's message.

He couldn't help muttering, "Mr. Zimmerman, President Lawson is just outrageous. Today he's even taking Sheila to the Lawsons' little boy's craft competition, and the kid actually called Sheila his mom in front of everyone!" Marquis handed his phone to Vince, whose brows drew together in a deep frown.

Then Vince glanced over the materials Jessica had sent Marquis he was so angry he felt like he could spit blood.

Last night, he'd joked that Kane probably skipped dinner because Timothy was just too much to stomach; in retrospect, even that was putting it mildly.

Jessica had put up with Timothy for seven long years. She'd done more than anyone could ask.

Seven years of a hidden marriage, never truly accepted by his family, even her own son treating her like this. It was painfully clear how poorly Timothy had treated her.

Kids learn how to act from the adults around them. If Timothy had shown Jessica even a shred of respect, Henry would never have dared behave this way toward his own mother.

That little brat-he was absolutely infuriating!