Regret Came Too Late

Grace closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep. She dreamed again, this time of a beautiful butterfly that seemed drawn to people despite its icy colors.

Everyone assumed these colors were its entire identity and kept their distance. Only one person dared to touch it gently, and suddenly, the whole space shifted from freezing cold to burning hot.

The butterfly spoke with that man's voice. "Just wait a bit longer. You don't know the real me yet, and I'm scared to show you this version of myself."

When Grace woke up, her head felt like a ton of bricks had weighed on it. She called Paul first to check on things at the hospital. After hearing that everything was normal, she felt relieved.

Then she asked about moving Taylor somewhere else.

Paul went quiet for a few seconds. "Henderson Group sent someone this morning. I took their suggestion to transfer Taylor to a larger hospital. The only reason I've stayed at this small place was because of you."

Grace felt a rush of gratitude.

When she arrived at Henderson Group, she overheard employees on the executive floor gossiping about her project. Someone made a snide comment, "Grace really does succeed at everything."

can do.

might get you noticed, but my connections and smarts seal the deal." The colleague hadn't expected such a bold comeback and blushed. The others kept their heads down, continuing their work without saying

But turning around, she spotted Ethan and several executives standing behind her. Her comment had been loud enough

carefully composed face for a moment before simply saying, "You'll get a

took a deep breath, keeping her cool. "Thank

had team walked away, she caught his faint chuckle. Several executives

the raise from the HR department. Ethan had always been generous

soaring. But her good mood instantly vanished when she spotted Alice walking into Henderson

not Alice's first visit to the executive floor. When she saw Grace, she looked like she had

she thought that she would let Yancey do whatever he wanted with Grace

thought she was hallucinating. She blurted out, "How are

was surprised by Alice's fancy makeup today. Yancey hadn't been at the company for days, so she wondered who Alice

teary. "Grace, if you're alive, why didn't you contact our family?