His heart felt dead inside. He didn''t want to say a single word.


    He finally understood why Jessica had refused to listen to his exnations. When grief bes overwhelming, words fail.


    Sallie bit her lip, unsure of what to do. After sitting in silence for a long time, she quietly left the room, pulled out her phone, and scrolled through her contacts. Her finger hovered over Vince''s name before she continued down the list, stopping at Yates''s name and making the call.


    "Yates, are you free?"


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Could you pleasee see Timothy? Something''s very wrong with him. He won''t even talk to me. I don''t know what happened, and I''m so worried.”


    "Okay, I''m on my way."


    Sallie waited outside the room. About half an hourter, Yates arrived.


    "Yates, thank you foring," Sallie said. "Please go in and see him. I''m going to check on Henry in pediatrics."


    Yates knocked and entered the room. Timothy opened his eyes, but his gaze remained dim and lifeless.


    Yates sat down by the bed. "Feeling any better?" he asked, his voice heavy.


    Timothy shook his head. He would never be better. He never knew he could be such a monster, and he never knew his heart could hurt this much. He had wounded such a fragile woman, and at her most vulnerable-when she was disabled and couldn''t even speak.


    Did her liver cancer develop from all the silent unhappiness she endured?


    He''d been such a terrible husband, pushing her to the brink again and again without even realizing it. He could only imagine her despair when she tried to divorce him and couldn''t escape.


    "Don''t overthink things. Your health is what matters now. You have a son. If something happens to you, and Jessica isn''t around, what will happen to him?”


    Yates knew Sallie had called him to talk some sense into Timothy.


    "Yates, can Vince and Herbert save her?" Timothy finally asked.


    "Yes."


    "None of them were a match. I wonder if they''ve found a donor for her yet Timothy refused to believe Jessica was dead. He could feel that she was still alive. Vince was just trying to make him let go.


    And he knew he should let her go. It was the only way he could make amends.


    "That''s not your concern right now. You need to focus on your own recovery."


    Two weekster, Timothy and his son were discharged from the hospital together.


    "Daddy, where''s Mommy?" Henry asked.


    "She went abroad."


    "Will shee back?"


    "She will. I promise."


    "What if I miss her?"


    Timothy gently stroked Henry''s head. "She made all those cartoons she? When you watch


    for you?


    them it''ll be like she''s right here with you."


    SWI


    Henry seemed to understand. Mommy didn''t want them anymore.


    Time passed quickly. Another two weeks went by. Timothy hadn''t seen Vince since the day he had copsed.


    Then, one day, Vince appeared at The Gilded Whisper Estates. The man who always had a smile on his face now looked haggard and grim, his face unshaven.


    "Timothy, I need your help.”


    "Name it. No matter what it is, I''ll do it."


    Vince had run out of options. In


    past month, they had searched everywhere for a liver donor, but the registry had only produced a single potential match.