Vince felt helpless.


    There were many times he hated Timothy with a passion, but when his emotions settled, the hatred would fade. The feelings he''d had for his friend from the beginning always found a way back into his heart.


    He had wronged Timothy again. He could have easily med Jessica''s illness on the misery she endured with the Lawson family, could have continued to resent Timothy, to hate him. But the human heart always has a soft side.


    "You don''t have to feel like you owe me an apology," Timothy said, sensing Vince''s inner conflict. They had been friends for too long. "This all started because of me, so it should end with me.” He paused, his voice low and heavy. “I just..... I can''t bear to lose her. It hurts just thinking about it."


    The atmosphere in the car turned mncholic. Life''s path was always


    unpredictable, filled with things that were hard to ept. People always want life to go their way, but it never does. That''s the source of so much pain-the unwillingness to ept aging, sickness, and separation. But in the face of these realities, there is never a true choice.


    When they arrived at the hotel, Vince got the key cards and handed one to Timothy. "Come up to my room for a bit. How about a drink?"


    Timothy followed him. Over the past few weeks, with no suitable donor in sight and Jessica''s condition worsening, Vince had been in agony, needing a drink almost every night just to fall asleep. A decanted bottle of red wine was already waiting in his room.


    The two men stood on the balcony as Vince poured them each a ss. Timothy lit a cigarette, hoping the nicotine and alcohol would numb the relentless ache in his heart. They barely spoke, and when the wine was gone, Timothy stood up. "I''m going to bed." He needed the slight buzz from the alcohol to have any chance of sleeping. Lately, sleep had been a stranger to him.


    ???


    After a shower, Timothyy in bed, still wide awake. The image of Jessica''s pain-racked face from earlier that day shed before his eyes, he pulled theforter over his head and the fabric trembled with the faint, rhythmic rise and fall of his shoulders.


    The next morning, before leaving the hotel,


    Tice ordered breakfast for


    and had it sent to his room.


    ing for


    Herbert was handling everything Jessica at the facility


    By the time Vince reached the hospital, Jessica was awake. She managed a weak smile when she saw him and whispered, "Vince."


    He rushed to her bedside and took her hand. "Jess, they found a match. We can do the surgery soon. After the operation, you won''t be in pain anymore."


    As her illness had worsened, Vince and Herbert had grown increasingly worried, but Jessica herself seemed to havee to terms with it. When she was first diagnosed with liver cancer five months ago, she couldn''t ept it But her heart had already been broken, which, in a strange way, made the diagnosis easier to bear. She could face it with a sense of calm. It was only recently, with her family back in her life and Herbert having returned from


    abroad, that she felt a reluctance to


    let go.


    "If the surgery is in the next few days, does that mean I can still get out in time to celebrate New Year''s with you all?" The holiday was just around the corner.


    "Yes, you''ll make it. Mom and Dad are waiting for you toe home."


    "I want that, Vince. I want to celebrate New Year''s with my family." She''d had so few chances for that kind of reunion in her life.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!