Regret Came Too Late

The voice on the other end stayed calm, offering Ed quiet reassurance.

"I ran tests on her before. Her brain trauma was severe, and the death of that person caused deep emotional damage. Subconsciously, she's been rejecting anything connected to him. For at least the next six months, her memory will be a mess."

Ed finally started to calm down and leaned against the tree beside him. He was tall, and the street lamp threw his shadow long across the pavement. It stretched until it nearly covered the road.

He had the kind of build that turned heads without even trying. Sure enough, a woman stumbled by, clearly drunk, and her eyes lit up the second she spotted him. She slurred the words, "Hey, handsome. Do you want to come home with me? I'll pay you real good."

The woman, Melissa Horton, was dressed head to toe in luxury, including expensive heels and designer perfume. Every inch of her screamed money. She stared at Ed, utterly entranced, then reached up to touch his face without hesitation.

The next second, a white-hot bolt of pain shot through her wrist. There was a sickening snap, and she screamed.

Ed's expression had shifted in an instant. What was blank before had turned terrifying.

"What are you offering to have your fun with me?" he asked, his voice low and his eyes dead. "Your life?"

The pain snapped her right out of her fantasy. She staggered back several feet while clutching her wrist, gasping. If she could've run straight through the wall and back to her place, she would've.

The next morning, Grace stepped into the elevator after washing up. When it stopped on a lower floor, two women stepped in-one with a bandaged wrist. The other woman glanced at it immediately. "What happened to your hand?"

The injured woman, Melissa, groaned, looking rough from a hangover. "Ugh, don't even ask. I went drinking with friends last night. On my way back, I ran into this total psycho outside the building."

She winced, rubbing her temple.

So, I flirted a little and asked if

he grabbed my wrist

voice dropped into something lower-half stunned, half

fun with me?

broke your wrist? What the hell is wrong with him? Is he

woman sighed, exhausted

that face. God, he was hot-like ridiculously

such a messed-up temper, I swear I'd pay him to

Melissa was talking about Ed. But Ed would never do something

the kind of man who snapped a

the women's voices kept echoing behind her,

I swear," Melissa added, rubbing her temples. "There's something about that guy's face it felt

friend waved

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like him before. Maybe he's just some rich woman's boy toy. Let's be real-your last exes? Including the one before that? They were all celebrities.

bandaged woman snorted. "All I'm saying is, yeah, he broke my

say yes. Hell, I'd date