Regret Came Too Late

Grace was admitted to the psychiatric hospital, and Noah personally led her to a ward. She was locked inside a spacious room.

"Grace, you'll be staying here for a while," Noah said.

She glanced around. Surprisingly, the place wasn't bad.

Her phone had been taken away by the Lamberts' bodyguards back in the car and

had probably been handed over to Quentin by now, so there was no way to

contact anyone.

Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, the faint sound of a door creaking open broke the silence.

"Grace! I'm here, baby!"

Grace's eyes snapped open, and she saw Hendricks standing in the bathroom doorway. He'd been hiding in there the whole time.

Her expression shifted instantly as she asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Hendricks' face was gleaming with sleaze and smugness.

"What do you think? Your loving mother sent me to keep you company.

Thoughtful, huh? Haven't you noticed the weird scent in the room? It's part of her wedding gift to us!"

Now that he mentioned it, the air did smell strange. She had assumed it was disinfectant.

Hendricks stepped forward slowly, cracking his knuckles with a sick grin.

"Don't worry, I already took the antidote. That stuff in the room is pure knockout gas. You'll pass out soon. And when you wake up, well... We'll be official. I'll be gentle. You'll enjoy it."

After what had happened between them before, he'd been itching for another shot. And now, with no one around to stop him, he thought he could do whatever he wanted.

was already kicking in, and her limbs were

up a jagged shard and stabbed it into her

hadn't expected her to be so ruthless-even toward

lunged again,

"Back off!"

stiff, his features contorting into

her eyes steady and calm. There wasn't a flicker of emotion in them as she looked at him. She asked, "Hendricks, you don't want this turning into a murder scene, do

lost it. She was right there in front of him, gorgeous as

like this! Jesus, are you really that disgusted by me? It's just sex. What's the big deal? We're gonna get married anyway! I'll treat you right, better than

her out as he stepped forward again. But Grace pressed the glass shard deeper into her neck, and

Hendricks froze.

Hendricks was losing it. Fine. He'd just wait her out. No way she could stay standing long. The sedative in this room was strong, and no one could fight it for long. He wanted to see if Grace would still be standing after about ten

So.

glass tightly. She was exhausted, and her legs were giving out. Sleep was pulling at her hard, but her mind stayed sharp. She couldn't

fingers slowly clenched tighter and tighter until the jagged glass

looked terrifying now, with blood trailing down her legs, pooling in her palm, and staining

crept in, she would squeeze the shard again, forcing the pain to keep her

she'd last ten minutes, tops. But half an hour had passed, and she was still standing

How could

breath and

Grace's putting up a serious fight. What do you want me

voice as he wanted Grace to hear every word. She needed to know that this was all

and hadn't been able to leave. Alice

heard what was happening with Grace, her anxiety spiked. She stood by the window,

really don't want to hear anything about Grace.

doing well. As for Grace, handle her however you want. If

up quickly and

Hendricks to see Grace. Don't you want them to get married? It's happening

flashed with satisfaction. Her effort to put on such a

of relief and sat her down gently at the edge of the bed. She said, "Don't worry about a thing. Mr. Henderson Senior himself approved your