Goodbye, Mr. Regret

He finally reached out to her.

Sheila answered the call and greeted him, "Timothy."

He'd promised he'd explain what happened that night, but hadn't yet. She found herself hoping they could talk about something else too-maybe even get a little closer.

For seven years, every meeting had been nothing more than cordial, polite, the kind of careful exchanges you'd expect from distant relatives. They'd never once spoken about anything deeper, anything that actually mattered to her heart.

"Ines called, said she couldn't reach you. Are you... still coming to Riverside City?" Timothy's voice held a note of concern.

"I..." Sheila hesitated, her voice betraying her uncertainty. "I do want to come. I need Ines's guidance, and you went out of your way to get me in touch with her. It's just... Sallie doesn't like me. She really lost her temper that night."

"I'm sorry. I should have handled that better. I've been caught up with a few things and haven't had the chance to talk to her yet. If you want to come back, just come back. Don't worry about anything else."

Ines had already shown a preference for Jessica. If Sheila stayed away too long, Ines might just change her mind.noveldrama

And Timothy still hadn't sorted things out with Mr. Smith. He'd have to find another way to fix that mess.

"Timothy, am I causing you trouble?" Sheila's guilt seeped into every word. "I don't know what to do anymore. Everything that's happened lately-it feels like it's all affecting you. And you know I hate the thought of being a burden."

Her remorse made Timothy's chest tighten with guilt of his own.

None of this was Sheila's fault.

It was his own mistakes that had dragged her into this. He hadn't even managed to stop her from getting hurt.

"None of this is on you. Don't blame yourself. Just focus on your own goals, okay? About that night..." He paused. "I'd had too much to drink. Don't think too much of it."

"I'm not blaming you. When I got back, I wasn't feeling well-I've just been resting at home. I'll call Ines so she doesn't worry. If I do head to Riverside, I'll let you know. By the way, how are things between you and Jessy?"

Not good.

Not good at all.

To the point where there was no saving it. But what happened that night was something he couldn't bring himself to say out loud.

"We're fine. Don't worry about it."

"Alright, I'll let you go then."

"Okay."

Sheila closed her phone and immediately called Ines, apologizing and explaining that she'd had some family matters to handle and needed to stayhome for a few days, but would return once everything was settled.

Ines only knew that Sheila was Timothy's aunt-she wasn't aware of the rest. And with Jessy being Timothy's wife, Ines was careful not to say too much, simply telling Sheila to come straight to the studio whenever she got back to Riverside City.

After hanging up with Sheila, Timothy dialed Yates.

"What's got you busy?" he asked, catching Yates off guard-Timothy rarely called first.

"Nothing much, just at the office."

"Any animated films looking for investors lately?"

The Bryant Group was deeply rooted in film and media. Yates hadn't fully taken over yet, but he was already running Bryant Edge Films, their production company-he kept a close eye on these things.

"Looking to invest?"

"Yeah. Ideally, I'd like something exclusive, with a promising script."

As it happened, Yates was flipping through a stack of recent pitch reports from

films seeking funding. He had a knack for picking hits-over the years, his investments had mostly paid off.

"There's one, actually. But I've got my eye on it already."

"Tell me about it?" Timothy prompted, knowing full well that Yates's instincts in this

area were rarely wrong.