Regret Came Too Late

Liam fought through the aches in his body and quickly moved to sit at the small table. Carefully, almost reverently, he laid out the stack of books Andrea had brought. There were more than a dozen of them. They were all thick, heavy volumes packed with real-world business case studies.

Andrea was betting on her future. The better Liam did, the better her life would be down the road.

"I'll read every single one," Liam said seriously. "Will Grace come to see me if I finish them?"

It would take him at least six months to get through everything. By then, Grace would probably be ready to let him out.

Andrea smiled sweetly. "That's what she said. She's counting on you, so don't let her down."

Liam nodded fiercely, his expression turning determined. "I won't!"

For the next three days, Andrea visited him daily.

Since Grace hadn't called to check in and the guards assumed Andrea's entry to the venue was authorized by her, nobody questioned it. After all, all she did was chat with him and keep him company-nothing suspicious.

What they didn't understand was how easy it was for emotions to form when two people were thrown together every day, especially when one of them was barely 20 years old, vulnerable, and desperate for comfort.

Grace's plan had been simple. She wanted Liam to reflect on his mistakes and learn his lesson. She had planned to check on him when his 20th birthday rolled around.

Meanwhile, Liam buried himself in his studies. Every day, he pushed through his physical pain, and every day, Andrea was there to encourage him.

Whenever he was about to break down, she would softly remind him, "Grace doesn't want to see you give up."

carried

was drowning in work. After finalizing all the investment terms with Yasmine, she started chasing down new partnership opportunities

expected to see Ethan's name pop up

was

out of politeness. Ethan had more resources at his fingertips than most people could dream of. Even crumbs from his table could keep the

said lightly.

silent for a beat. Then, he said, "Meet me at Velvet Eclipse at 7:00

She nodded so fast it made her dizzy.

"No."

up without another word. Not even a breath

hung up on by someone who

the mall. If she was

watches. Someone like Ethan wouldn't even glance at a watch unless

pair of silver-blue cufflinks that cost 200 thousand dollars. It was high-end enough to be tasteful without being over the

the mall, gift bag in

vendor was selling colorful beads, and a little stand next to them offered thin strings for threading. Something about it caught her eye. She crouched down, intrigued, and started picking through the beads one by one. With each one she chose, she held it up to the sunlight, checking

and began threading the beads onto a thin red string. It was more work than she expected-fiddly and time-consuming-but somehow, she

feeling Ed would