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.

cruelty for years. Everyone knew she

sound like the Alice I know. She's so

patience. After all the crap she's pulled, they still won't

engineering. They said the voice wasn't faked, so what's the

says

stood around like spectators at a drama, waiting to see how it would

Alice was 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, ready

twisted

had no choice but to urge Sloan to

Grace, force her

she pushed Alice,

and then make her disappear

...

at Palm Bay for

walk normally again.

she stole a glance at Ethan before finally speaking. "Mr. Henderson, I'm heading out tonight. I've got to deal with Sloan. He's basically Alice's lapdog. She cries, he acts. He's definitely planning something

"Okay."

said more than necessary, and lately, she couldn't shake

he was holding

he got, the quieter