Regret Came Too Late

"Then stand up on your own," Ethan said.

Grace braced herself against the wall, slowly pushing to her feet. Her thigh was wrapped in gauze, and now, the bandage was clearly stained with fresh blood.

Ethan's eyes lingered on the red spot for a few seconds before he slowly extended a hand. She carefully took it and steadied herself, muttering softly, "Thanks."

He paused for half a minute, letting the silence hang in the air before he exhaled softly.

By the time Grace was back in the bedroom, her face had gone pale.

Ethan retrieved the first aid kit and gently unwrapped the gauze around her leg. The injury was on her upper thigh, so she had no choice but to roll her skirt all the way up, revealing her long legs.

At first, she felt awkward, but Ethan didn't so much as glance at her legs. He quickly cleaned and rewrapped the wound, then turned away without a word.

Grace had wanted to say something, or maybe ask something, but Ethan was already walking off. He placed the kit aside and flipped off the light switch.

Darkness filled the room, and she couldn't read his expression anymore. Something about him seemed angry-maybe even avoidant-but she was too bad at reading people to be sure. She leaned back on the couch with a sigh. "Goodnight, Mr. Henderson."

Ethan responded with a low hum.

That was it—short and clipped, just like always.

The room was quiet, but outside, the firestorm caused by the leaked recording was still raging. The entire social circle was abuzz with gossip, trying to figure out whether the audio recording was legit.

Then, the Lambert family finally issued a statement-the recording had been faked by Grace herself. They claimed she'd be making a public apology in a few days.

years. Everyone knew she had never been warm to

It didn't sound like the Alice I know. She's so

incredible patience. After all the

know someone in audio engineering. They said the voice wasn't

Grace says in

a drama, waiting to

spiraling. She tried calling Grace, hoping to get her to admit that the video was fake, but Grace had already blocked her. She tried calling Yancey again,

face twisted with

to urge Sloan to act faster.

Grace, force

pushed Alice, confess

and then make

...

at Palm Bay for three more days, and

walk normally again.

I'm heading out tonight. I've got to deal with Sloan. He's basically

"Okay."

than necessary, and lately,

he was

got, the quieter he