Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Herbert caught Jessica in his arms just in time.

Her skin was icy cold, her face ghostly pale, and sweat beaded on her forehead.

She'd started vomiting a reaction to the sight of all that blood.

Moving quickly, Herbert laid her gently on the ground, then lifted her legs at a forty-five-degree angle, supporting her ankles in his hands.

A few minutes later, Jessica's eyes fluttered open, but she was so weak she could barely move.

Herbert lowered her legs and helped her sit up against the wall. Jessica tried to glance toward Timothy, but Herbert swiftly covered her eyes with his hand. "Don't look," he said softly. "You faint at the sight of blood. If you go into shock, it could be dangerous."

Just then, the distant wail of the ambulance siren reached Jessica's ears, and the tension in her chest eased a little.

"Okay," she whispered, "I won't look."

In what felt like no time at all, the ambulance arrived. Paramedics rushed Timothy onto a stretcher, and Herbert scooped Jessica up and climbed in after them.

He asked the medics for an ice pack and pressed it to Jessica's forehead, shielding her from the sight of Timothy's wound, blocking her view with his own body.

On the other side of the ambulance, paramedics scrambled to save Timothy.

"Heart rate dropping!"

"Quick, stop the bleeding!"

A medic turned to them. "Family member-what's his blood type?"

Jessica managed a weak reply: "O."

"Start a transfusion, now!"

"His heart rate's still falling!"

Jessica's own heart thudded erratically as she listened to the frantic voices and the desperate rhythm of CPR.

Her mind felt foggy and numb.

"Herbert, move-I want to see him."

"No. Absolutely not." Herbert's tone was firm, but there was worry in his eyes. “Don't blame me for being harsh. You really can't look, or we'll end up having to save you too."

She didn't want to watch him die.

The first time Timothy had been in a car accident, he was chasing after her- Vince had told her. Her heart ached at the memory, but she hadn't looked back.

The second accident was also because of her; his back had been covered in wounds that probably still hadn't healed.

And internal injuries? She was sure he had them. Why else would he be coughing up so much blood?

Today, a falling beam had struck Timothy's head, splitting the skin open.

It was a heavy plank of wood-only a tremendous force could have done that kind of damage.

Jessica's chest tightened with each breath.

All she'd wanted was a divorce. To leave him. To spend whatever time she had left on her own terms.

And then, when she found hope for her life again, she only wanted to live for herself.

She didn't want anything else—not to dredge up old wounds, not to settle scores.

She just wanted peace. A simple life that belonged to her.noveldrama

So why had things ended up like this between them?

One of them was scarred to the core.

The other was battered and broken.

This wasn't the ending she wanted.

Suddenly, Jessica gripped Herbert's shirt with trembling hands. "Save him. Please; save him. I can't watch him die in front of me-I can't bear it,

I can't accept it, please, tell the

hospital to do whatever it takes. Don't let him die."

Herbert's face froze for a moment.

Even if she was determined to leave Timothy behind, he still had a place in her

heart. She still cared. She couldn't bear to lose him.

Herbert pressed his lips together.

"Don't worry. The doctors will donet

everything they can. We're almost at

the hospital. He's going to make

it just hold on."

When they arrived, the paramedics moved at lightning speed.

They raced Timothy's stretcher out of the ambulance and sprinted toward the emergency entrance.

Jessica, still shaky from her fainting

she

spell, could barely stand-she had lean keep up with the others. Herbert just to walk, an

Without a word, Herbert swept her onto his back and hurried after the gurney.

But by the time they reached the doors, Timothy had already disappeared into the emergency elevator.

Herbert had no choice but to carry Jessica to the regular elevator, his arms

tightening around her as they waited.