Goodbye, Mr. Regret novel Chapter 233

Sheila couldn’t take any more. Pride forgotten, she abruptly stood up, her discomfort obvious. “Professor, Mr. Smith, I’m sorry, but my throat’s really sore today. I shouldn’t talk too much and distract you from your discussion. I’ll head out first.”

Only then did Timothy look over at her—he noticed the red tinge spreading across the whites of her eyes.

His features tightened instantly, but Ines and Mr. Smith were too busy showering Jessica with praise to even notice Sheila’s distress.

Especially the way they kept going on about Jessica’s “talent”—didn’t that mean that no matter how hard Sheila worked, she’d never measure up? That was a bit much, wasn’t it?

Of all people, Timothy knew how hard Sheila had worked over the years.

Sheila offered Mr. Smith and Ines a brief, apologetic nod, then hurried away. Timothy rose after her, his tone cool but polite. “Since we clearly don’t see eye to eye, let’s leave it here for now. Sheila twisted her ankle today; I’d rather not let her go home alone. I’ll walk her out. Please, take your time with dinner—I’ve already asked my assistant to settle the bill.”

With that, Timothy followed Sheila out.

Mr. Smith just shrugged helplessly and turned to Ines. “What’s your read on Tim? I get the feeling he’s not exactly thrilled about his wife taking on this role in my film.”

Ines, her gaze still lingering on Timothy’s retreating figure, smiled faintly. “You’re not wrong. But Sheila isn’t actually his wife—she’s his aunt. Strange, isn’t it, how he always seems to be the one looking out for her?”

Mr. Smith nodded, recalling what he knew about Sheila from their shared circles at Aetherion. “Yeah, Sheila’s his aunt, but they’re the same age—and even share a birthday. Timothy’s accomplished so much, it’s hard for Sheila to help him, really. He’s always been the one looking out for her. I heard once that Sheila almost lost her life saving Timothy, and he’s never forgotten it.”

“That explains a lot. Sorry, Mr. Smith, I guess I misunderstood things today—and dragged you into it as well. How do we fix this?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Let me think about it.”

But Sheila didn’t see it that way.

If she let this go, Jessica would get it.

Which was the same as admitting defeat.

“Timothy…”

She wanted to fight for herself, just a little longer.