Goodbye, Mr. Regret novel Chapter 1

As soon as she closed the car door, the world's noise vanished.

Jessica Greene stared at the liver cancer diagnosis in her lap, her hazel eyes rimmed red. The paper trembled in her hands, crumpling beneath her grip.

The doctor had told her she'd missed the window for surgery—six months left, at best.

Today was the school's annual parent-child event. Out of the blue, Timothy Lawson had told her she should come.

Seven years had passed since the day Timothy, once the untouchable darling of high society, became her husband.

In all those years, he'd never once brought her to a public event.

Once upon a time, that invitation would have sent her over the moon.

Even the housekeeper had beamed when she heard the news. "Mrs. Lawson, looks like Mr. Lawson finally wants to make things official!"

No one knew that ever since Jessica discovered his secret, she'd been quietly getting her affairs in order, preparing to leave him.

She hadn't planned to go to the school event at all.

But she couldn't bear the thought of disappointing her son.

She could shut Timothy out of her heart, but she couldn't do the same to Henry—the little boy she'd carried for nine long months.

Arriving at the school, Jessica took a notepad from her purse and wrote a neat line before handing it to the security guard.

Hello, I'm Henry Lawson's mom from Class 1-3. I'm here for the parent-child event—could you please let me in?

She had chosen her outfit carefully: a soft, crinkled blouse, hair loosely swept up, and—for the first time in ages—the pearl earrings Timothy had given her.

Jessica's beauty was understated to begin with; with a bit of effort, she looked warm and graceful.

She knew how kids were. They always wanted their mom to look her best for school events.

The security guard arched an eyebrow. "Can't you speak?"

Jessica simply smiled and nodded.

She hadn't been born mute. Years ago, after a devastating trauma, she'd lost her voice. By now, she was used to the question.

The guard pulled out the sign-in sheet, scanning it before giving Jessica a once-over.

Pretty woman, he thought. Too bad she's mute.

His tone sharpened. "Henry's parents already signed in. You can't just pretend to be someone's mother."

Jessica frowned and quickly wrote, Henry is my son. There's no reason for me to pretend.

The guard, exasperated, shoved the sign-in sheet toward her and jabbed a finger at Henry's name. "Take a good look!"

Jessica's heart seized as she read the names in the parent signature column.

She'd grown used to the sneers and sideways glances that came with her silence.