Regret Came Too Late

Grace opened her mouth, but for a moment, she found herself unable to respond.

The day they first met, she had felt Ed's intense emotions-love, hatred, longing, and sorrow. His complicated feelings had made her reluctant to hurt him, and step by step, she had lowered her defenses until they got into a relationship.

The more she got to know him, the more she felt for him, and the more she lowered her own boundaries.

"Ed."

Before she could even finish her sentence, Ed, unwilling to listen to her, grabbed

her waist with an intense and forceful grip.

After it was over, Grace heard his hoarse voice.

"I don't want you to see me like this."

With that, he opened the car door, slammed it shut, and walked away.

Grace lay back in the seat, still feeling the sticky mess below. He hadn't even cleaned up after himself. It was clear that he was really angry.

She slowly sat up, her mind still swimming in the rush of emotions he had given her, unable to focus on anything else.

She reached for a tissue, quietly cleaning herself, and then began to understand his feelings.

Ed felt like he shared his loneliness, sadness, and unfulfilled longing with her. He expressed his struggles, feeling disconnected and loyal to something he couldn't fully believe in, as well as the emptiness he constantly felt.

threw the tissue into the car's trash bin. She could understand

the cold shoulder for a few days. After all, adult relationships weren't just about love and romance. Besides, depending too much on someone was a

she wasn't careful, she could end up destroying

get

night, her sleep was restless. She dreamed of the hot spring pool in the dark, her body

whispered to her, asking if she knew

her face was flushed,

know what she said in the

The night was chaotic.

up, all she felt was exhaustion and a headache that

the car, she noticed Ed had sent her a

soften again. She didn't know why, but she couldn't bring herself to be hard

swayed by

had planned to

their relationship; even considering whether they should break up to give each other some space. But when she saw that he hadn't slept at all and

relationship could last a little longer. Maybe he would

immediately. Instead, she got in her car and drove

arrived at her desk and got the documents related to the Yule family collaboration, she was about to leave. But when she looked up, she saw Jodie standing in front of Ethan,