Goodbye, Mr. Regret

It was Yates calling.

Vince thought for a moment before answering.

"It's almost noon. Want to grab lunch together?”

A call at this hour-Vince knew exactly what this was about.

Still, he wanted to ask Yates how he really felt about Jessica. After all, Yates was the only one among them with any real experience in relationships.noveldrama

Kane Sutton had plenty of women, but none of it meant anything-asking him for advice was pointless.

After a brief pause, Vince replied, "Where should we meet?"

"How about The Silverthread Eatery?"

"Alright. I'll be there soon."

Vince closed his phone and remained at Jessica's bedside.

She hadn't slept all night; it wasn't long before exhaustion overtook her.

Before leaving, Vince called a female assistant from his office to come over and look after her, leaving the room key at the front desk.

By the time he arrived at The Silverthread Eatery, Yates was already waiting in a private booth.

"Timothy's not here?" Vince asked as soon as he sat down.

Yates raised an eyebrow. "You two are sharp as ever."

Vince's mouth curled into a cold, knowing half-smile.

He hadn't been answering Timothy's calls-so of course Timothy would go through Yates.

"What did he say to you?" Vince asked.

Yates shrugged. "Not much. Just asked me to invite you to lunch. He's probably on his way. Felt like something's up between you two-is this about his wife?"

The moment Vince walked in, Yates had sensed something was off about him today.

Now, Vince's lips pressed into an even tighter line.

Yates seemed to catch on. "Seriously, man, of all the women you could fall for, why did it have to be Timothy's wife? You need to pull yourself together. We all know the rule: you don't go after a friend's wife. Don't tell me you've forgotten that."

Of course he knew.

But he couldn't help himself.

Vince clenched his fists. “There are things you don't understand."

"Maybe not everything, but I get the gist. Timothy's wife wants a divorce, right? Whatever's going on between them, that's their business. As

friends we shouldn't essen

involved.

But honestly, Timothy's patience with you is extraordinary. You can't keep testing his limits like this."

Even after that whole speech, Yates felt he hadn't made his point clear enough. He continued, "All these

years, Timothy kept his marriagenet

quiet never brought his wife

around, so we all assumed he didn't care about her. But he's never once mentioned divorce. Even when Sheila came back, he didn't seem to consider it. Now it's his wife asking for a split. Doesn't that tell you something?"

Vince gave a cold laugh. “So you're saying Timothy's in love with Jessy now?"

"What else could it be? Sheila's the

past, and there's no way they're getting back together. If you ask me, Sheila's return just made Timothy's wife jealous. Once he smooths things over, it'll all blow past Why are you so set on getting involved?"

If it had been before, Vince might've agreed with Yates, as any friend would.

But now, he just couldn't do it.

He couldn't stand watching Jessica get hurt.

"You're overthinking it. Timothy never truly cared about Jessy."

Yates frowned. "Why can't you just let it go? Are you really going to go head-to-

head with Timothy over a woman?"

Just as he finished, Timothy appeared in the doorway.

He paused.

After a long moment, Vince suddenly ground out, "Yeah. I am."

Timothy pushed open the door and entered the booth.

Yates's eyes widened in surprise.

What timing.

Had Timothy heard?

Timothy sat down beside Yates, directly across from Vince, his face stony and

silent.