Yates was completely fed up with Kane's twisted logic.

Kane hadn't been in Riverside City recently and had no idea what had been happening.

Losing his temper, Yates spelled it out for him. "Do you have any idea that Timothy doesn't want to marry Sheila anymore? Jessica has cancer. And that kind, wonderful Sheila you're so fond of is using a life-saving organ donation to force him to marry her!"

He leaned in, his voice low and intense. "Do you know how much pain he's in? He looks like he's lost the will to live."

Kane froze, stunned. The Sheila he knew was a good person. How could she take advantage of a situation like this? Even with Timothy divorced, this would ruin her image in his eyes.

"Then... then I'll go and talk to her. I can try to persuade her, right?"

Seeing that Kane finally understood, Yates didn't argue further. Kane booked a ticket, and they headed to the airport together.

Shortly after Timothy returned to his hotel, he got a call from Vince.

"Timothy, the pre-op tests came back fine. Herbert says the surgery can be scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."

"Good... that's good," Timothy's voice cracked.

"Don't worry. The doctors are top-tier professionals. They've prepared for every possible contingency to ensure nothing goes wrong."

Timothy trusted that. Given how much Herbert cared for Jessica, he would spare no expense.

"Okay," Timothy said, his words growing sparse.

After this surgery, Jessica's gratitude toward Herbert would only deepen. He couldn't bring himself to think about what would happen next. The thought of her ending up with Herbert was a pain that seeped into his very bones.

Vince sensed Timothy's anguish. “Get some rest tonight. Try to sleep early.”

"You too. I'm hanging up."

Timothy pulled out his phone. The screen lit up with the photo Vince had taken of Jessica in the snow. He lit a cigarette and sat on the balcony, Staring at the picture A night fell, snowflakes began to drift past the glass door. When she built a snowman again, would one still be missing?

The next morning, Herbert informed Sheila that her surgery was scheduled for one o'clock that afternoon. She immediately called Timothy.

"Timothy, the surgery is at one. I'm so scared just thinking about them cutting out a piece of my liver. Can you come be with me?"

"I'll be there in a bit."

As Timothy left his room, he ran into Vince, who was also heading out. “Breakfast?” Vince asked.

They went down to the hotel restaurant together. After they ordered, Vince said, "You and Jessica never finalized the divorce. My story about her dying was a lie, but did manage to get a death certificate. I couldn't however, have her legally declared deceased."

Jessica's original household registration only had her name on it. After marrying Timothy and having Henry, Timothy had transferred her legal status to his own household records.

"I checked with Jess, and her official

records are tied to yours, so I couldn't proceed without you. If you need to marry Sheila, I camgive you the death certificate. You can use it to officially remove her from the records. Even without a divorce decree, your marriage would be legally dissolved."

“She's not dead,” Timothy said, eating his food as if the matter was of no concern.

"Why would I declare her dead?"

"If you don't clear up your status with Jessica, how can you marry Sheila?"