Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan)

Grace felt a little uncomfortable. Damien's gaze never left her. Sometimes, he

frowned; other times, he pressed his lips into a thin line. She had no idea what he

was thinking. All she knew was that under his stare, she felt like an object on

display.

The whole private room felt colder by the second. When she finally glanced up,

she realized something else was wrong. Ethan didn't look so good either. His face

was pale, and he kept sipping water, his wrist tense around the glass.

Grace quickly got up and walked over to him. "Mr. Henderson, are you feeling

alright?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

Ethan lowered his lashes. Both his hands were wrapped around his glass. "I'm

fine," he said simply.

But Grace knew him better than that. Even if he was really hurting, he wouldn't

waste words complaining about it.

She leaned in a little closer, whispering, "Is it your stomach? There's a pharmacy

nearby. I can run and grab you something if you want."

Before Ethan could answer, Damien slammed his head on the table.

"Ms. Lambert, why don't you sit back down and keep some distance, yeah?" he

asked sharply.

Grace finally caught on. Damien wasn't just being weird; he was guarding Ethan

against her. He thought she had ulterior motives.

Grace couldn't help but laugh even as she straightened back up and went to sit

down.

Ethan's fingertips twitched for a moment. He gave Damien a long, steady look.

Damien raised an eyebrow and gave himself silent credit. In his mind, a woman

like Grace didn't deserve someone like Ethan. As long as he was around, she'd

better give up whatever she was planning.

Grace had already straightened up, and since the tension was obvious, she asked

directly, "Do you need me to go get some medicine?"

"No need."

She immediately sat back down, keeping a good ten feet between them.

The table was huge, built for private banquets and meant to host VIPs. There

were no small tables in a place like this.

Grace had barely sat down when Damien let out a low, mocking laugh beside her.

"Don't think I don't know what you're

trying to pull. You'd better drop

whatever ideas you've got. I've heard

all the rumors going around lately.

Those were your doing, weren't

they? You spread them on purpose,

didn't you?

"Well, for your information, Mr. Henderson Senior is still lining up blind dates for

Ethan. That should tell you everything. The Hendersons have never seriously

considered you."

He said it just loud enough for Grace to hear.

She smiled calmly and closed the menu in her hands. "Mr. Jensen, I know exactly

where I stand."

Once all the dishes had been served,

Grace quickly leaned toward Ethan

and began introducing the meal. To

make sure she didn't sound clueless,

she had gone over every ingredient

and cooking method when making

the reservation.

"Mr. Henderson, the broth in this dish is said to—"

Before she could finish, Damien cut in, "No talking while we eat."

Grace's mouth snapped shut. She was worried Ethan might actually dislike her

trying to describe the dishes. She quickly apologized, "Sorry about that."

She could practically feel the air around him growing heavier. The pressure in his

presence made her uneasy.

Thinking she had misstepped, she glanced at Damien and offered him a small,

grateful smile. "Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Jensen."

Damien gave a cold laugh. "Don't bother flattering me. It won't work."

Grace held back a sigh. She had heard the gossip that Damien had a reputation

for being notoriously difficult. Still, he wasn't like Simon, who treated her with

extreme hostility.

Damien was passive-aggressive, sure, but not dangerous. He just clearly didn't

think she was worthy of Ethan.noveldrama

Fine. She could live with that.

After that, she said only one thing during the entire meal. "Mr. Henderson, Mr.

Jenson, I hope you both enjoy the food."

Then, she stayed completely silent, terrified of saying anything that might upset

Ethan further.

But the longer the meal went on, the heavier the mood around Ethan became.

When it was finally time to leave, she

rushed over to push his wheelchair,

trying to be helpful. As she reached

for the handles, she asked carefully,

"Mr Henderson, did you not eat

enough?"