Regret Came Too Late

Grace woke up feeling warm all over. It took a moment before she realized she was in bed. She scrambled out, dashing into the bathroom to rinse her face.

The red marks on her neck caught her eye. She leaned closer to the mirror and tried scrubbing them, but they wouldn't come off.

"Guess even fancy houses aren't safe from mosquitoes," she thought.

A new toothbrush was neatly placed by the sink. She quickly brushed her teeth and headed downstairs.

The clock read 6:00 am, but breakfast was already laid out. Ethan stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his phone pressed to his ear. Grace kept her distance, planning to let Susie know she was leaving when Susie called out to her.

"Ms. Lambert, you should have breakfast before you go. Mr. Henderson's orders."

Grace felt a sudden warmth spread through her. Ethan might come across as cold on the outside, but deep down, he was all heart.

"Did he already eat?" Grace asked.

"Nope. He said he'd wait for you," Susie answered.

Grace sat at the table, figuring it would be a while before he was ready. But the moment she settled in, Ethan hung up the phone. He wheeled himself over and began eating his breakfast without saying a word.

Grace wanted to wish him a good morning, but he didn't seem like he was in the mood for conversation. Her hand, raised in greeting, slowly fell back to her lap.

if her eyes were deceiving her, but his ears were bright red. It didn't make any sense. He was always so composed with his pale skin, looking almost as if he'd stepped out of a classic painting. So why in the world were his

eating quickly until Susie's voice cut in. "Ms. Lambert,

his fork suspended in mid-air. After a moment, he calmly resumed

them. "No idea. Must've been a

bottle of cream. "You should put some of this

Grace replied, applying a little of the

she finished her breakfast, she started to head out, only to find Ethan getting ready to

the office, so making a scene about avoiding him would've seemed unnecessary. She stayed by the door until he caught up, then quietly took

Grace started toward the driver's side, but as she leaned in, she noticed Tim was already there. With no other choice, she slid into the back

get out. She started moving toward Ethan's door, but Tim beat her to it. His tone was clipped as he said, "Ms.

they were keeping their distance from her to avoid sending the wrong message. She caught on and made her way up alone. Tim had never been fond of her, and she wasn't about to let his attitude

stepped off the elevator when she spotted Yancey. He had dark circles under his eyes and let out a mocking, cold snort

thought. She brushed him off and

to give in. He walked over and

his leg during a street race at midnight. Mrs. Lambert says

time? Racing in the middle of the night? He definitely

reckless brother still lingered. Liam wasn't all

the rumors.