Regret Came Too Late

The next day at 6:00 am, Ethan's car drove past Grace. She had been standing there all night, and her head was fuzzy from the exhaustion. However, the second she saw him, her eyes lit up with hope. "Mr. Henderson..."

The car didn't even pause. It rolled past her without a single glance. She froze, then stepped back to her place.

The day dragged on, and Druville was deep into winter now. The temperature had plunged since last night, and her feet had gone from cold to numb to pain. Moreover, it was starting to snow now. Grace sniffed once, then again.

She stayed rooted in place. She didn't have the guts to leave until Ethan forgave her.

Somehow, Yancey found out she was outside Palm Bay and drove over almost immediately. He wasn't exactly pleased when he saw her.

"Grace! What are you doing here? Why are you outside Ethan's place?"

After his previous run-in with Thomson, Yancey convinced himself that Grace liked him. When she didn't make a move afterward, he started second-guessing things and ended up unloading his confusion on his gang of good-for-nothing friends.

These guys used to treat Grace like a joke, like a pathetic, lovesick girl chasing after Yancey. They even liked riling him up about it.

Lately, something had changed. Whenever Yancey got drunk, he would start slurring her name, ranting nonsense.

"How the hell does someone just stop loving you? That doesn't happen. Did she ever love me at all? Oh, wait. What if Thomson wasn't the decoy and I was? Or worse, what if we both were? No, no way. I'm Yancey Henderson! I have the looks and the money. Grace would have to be blind to treat me like a placeholder."

Yancey would sprawl across the table in the private lounge while muttering to himself, and his friends would join in, trashing her right along with him.

of women in the city better

Yancey would

crap about Grace. You don't get to. It was my fault-all my fault. I was the one who screwed up. I was blind as hell. I chose someone

the same thing on loop

the day, he could say whatever he wanted about

enough to start yanking off his own coat. "What the hell is going on?

the coat over her shoulders, yet she pulled back. The rejection hit him square in the chest. He was ready to blow up but then remembered

using Thomson to replace me? If you still have feelings for me, let's stop playing games. Let's get married. I'll

his mouth, his eyes lit up. He was already picturing it-the life he

thoughtful too. If they really got married, he figured his life would be nothing short of bliss. The corner of Yancey's lips lifted until Grace cut

told you a hundred

faded, but he still reached out, trying to drape his coat over her

a memory

made him chicken soup. In the dead

him to come

who was faking being sick. He didn't even bother to pick up her