Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan)

The pill slid down her throat, but Grace barely had the strength to react. She slumped against the couch, drenched in sweat. She was exhausted.

She wanted to tell Ethan that she wouldn't be able to cook for him tonight or go out to eat. But no words came out. Faint, fragmented memories flickered through her mind. Her period had always been this painfully unbearable.

The only difference was that back then, she endured it alone. She would curl up on the couch and quietly wait for the pain to pass.

At this moment, she could feel just how much she was sweating.

Then, something cool pressed against her forehead. It was a damp tissue. Her body, weak and exhausted, instinctively leaned into the cold touch.

She reached up, her fingers brushing against his hand as it wiped her face. Slowly, she nestled into his palm.

Ethan held the wet tissue in his hand but didn't pull away.

Her face was pale. Whenever she felt weak, she tended to cling to someone. But once she recovered, she always distanced herself again.

He slowly uncurled his fingers, his palm cupping the side of her face.

She stayed like that for five minutes, rubbing against his touch before finally retreating.

Ethan stood to turn on the air conditioning, but her hand caught his wrist. Her consciousness was slipping, and even her fingertips were damp from sweat.

He glanced down and reassured her, "I'm not leaving."

He gave her a comforting pat before Grace loosened her grip. Then, she drifted off to sleep.

Ethan closed the window, leaving only the curtains open to allow the faintest breeze in. The temperature in the room slowly dropped. He walked over to a cabinet, pulled out a blanket, and draped it over her.

Just as he was about to sit back down, someone knocked on the door. It was Tim.

"Mr. Henderson, the meeting starts in 30 minutes."

He had originally planned to have dinner here, but things had long since gone off schedule. Tonight's meeting wasn't just any meeting-it was with international executives.

Ethan didn't hesitate. "Bring my laptop inside. And the Bluetooth headset."

Tim quickly complied, setting up the laptop nearby. Ethan put on the headset and began the meeting right there.

Tim waited outside just in case.

The moment the meeting started, the overseas executives noticed something strange.

Ethan's voice was unusually low, almost a whisper. They had to hold their breath just to hear him, but no one dared to ask him to speak louder.

The meeting was halfway through when another knock echoed through the apartment.

This time, it was Yancey. He didn't bother to be polite as he pounded on Grace's door.

Everyone in the meeting heard it, but no one dared question it. They all pretended to ignore it.

Ethan's brows were furrowed together. Then, he heard Yancey's voice booming from the hallway.

"Grace, who the hell allowed you to transfer departments? You didn't even discuss it with me first? You're really getting out of control!"

He had thought that if he promoted Grace to the manager, she would beg for his approval. Instead, she had quit without a word. How the hell was he supposed to keep her under his thumb now?

"Grace, get out here and explain yourself!"

Ethan calmly reached for his phone and dialed Yancey's number.

"Get to the office now. You have work to do."

Yancey froze for a moment, thinking he must have misheard. Ethan had never personally called him before-let alone about work.

Although he was an arrogant man,

he was fully aware that his position at Henderson Group had nothing to do with talent and everything to do with

with his last name. He never had to work at all.

Yet here was Ethan, ordering him to stay late. He couldn't help but feel upset.

"Ethan, do you know that Grace transferred departments?" Yancey asked. "Yes. Anything else?"

Yancey clenched his jaw, his hand slowly curling into a fist. "I don't want her to transfer. Can you make her come back?"

Ethan kept one hand on the keyboard, his camera still on. The international executives on the call had a full view of his face. His expression was composed, unreadable.

"If that's all, I'm hanging up."

"Ethan!"

The call ended before Yancey could finish, and he slammed his fist against the door. The noise was loud enough to startle Grace awake. She stirred, slowly pushing herself up from the couch. Her voice was thick with drowsiness. "What was that?"

On the other side of the call, the overseas executives had seen everything. Although Ethan

remained calm, the atmosphere had turned strangely intimate. They couldn't believe Ethan was with a woman.

Everyone on the call was brimming with curiosity. At this hour, it was impossible for the voice they heard to belong to an employee. This meant the woman had to be Ethan's girlfriend.

Ethan turned toward Grace and said softly, "It's nothing. Go back to sleep."

Grace was too drowsy to process anything. She slowly drifted off to sleep again.

She didn't wake up until the middle of the night. But this time, she wasn't on the couch.

She realized that she had changed out of her clothes. Her eyes instantly flew open as she grabbed her clothes and looked down at her pants. She was no longer wearing the dirtied pair.

Her face turned red when she thought about Ethan.noveldrama

Panic jolted through her as she rushed toward the living room, but Ethan was already gone.

The only thing left behind was a bowl of chicken noodle soup on the table. Other than that, the room was empty.

Grace's body burned from embarrassment. She realized she had taken a bath too.

If Ethan had been the one to clean her up, that meant he had seen everything.

Her head buzzed, her mind spiraling in every direction. She couldn't believe that Ethan would actually bathe her and change her clothes.

The thought alone made her skin prickle with embarrassment. She wanted to ask but felt too embarrassed to do so.