Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan)

Ed opened his mouth to explain. "I....."

His voice was quiet, probably because he knew people were outside. He simply leaned in and hugged her.

Grace took his hand and led him into the bedroom. "We've got company tonight. If you don't want to see anyone, just relax here. Tell me what you're hungry for, and I'll save you some."

He was surprisingly good-natured about it and stood in the bedroom, saying, "Don't stay up too late."

Grace found that remark amusing and walked to the front door in the dark.

Outside, Yancey was staring at the door. Joanne, next to him, wasn't saying anything either. They were both dying to know who Grace's secret boyfriend was. Joanne spoke up first. "Mr. Henderson, have you ever met Grace's boyfriend?" Yancey's gaze seemed as dark as night. He reached for the doorknob and was just about to open it when Grace opened the door from the inside.

"Come on in, guys."

Joanne and Yancey clambered in together. They both looked around, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Had he really bailed to the bedroom?

Was he really that ashamed to be seen?

Yancey knew how guys usually were. If the man were good-looking, he'd be dying for Grace to show him off to everyone.

He sat on the couch, his eyes sneaking glances at the closed bedroom door every so often

He couldn't help but wonder.

On the other hand, Joanne acted normal as she pulled all the snacks out of the bags.

"Grace, come see what your man likes, and we'll set some aside for him."

Grace picked out a random assortment of stuff that wasn't too spicy so that Ed wouldn't get a stomachache later.

The things she picked looked kind of all over the place, like she didn't really know what her boyfriend liked.

So, Joanne asked, "Hey, why don't you ask him what he's in the mood for or if he's allergic to anything?"

Grace pulled out her phone and texted Ed a picture of the food. "What do you want?"

He replied quickly, "Anything's fine."

Thus, she just put the stuff she'd picked out to the side.

As he watched how they interacted, Yancey slowly tightened his fist by his side.

Joanne handed them some utensils

and asked casually, "Are you okane

with your boyfriend hiding? e would think it's rude

Grace grabbed her utensils and started eating slowly, not looking up.

"He can do whatever he wants, I guess. As far as I can tell, this is probably my first time actually dating someone," Grace said.

That was a bit of a jab for Yancey, as he used to be Grace's fiancé.

For Grace to say she thought this was her first time dating was basically saying their relationship never happened.

Yancey took a deep breath, almost bending his utensil, then relaxed again.

He, too, looked down and started eating without saying anything.

Grace was a little surprised, then

realized Yancey had actually

changed he was keeping itnoveldrama

vel

together. The old him would have

flipped out by now.

Halfway through eating, Ed sent a text.

"Are they still there? Isn't one of them your ex-fiancé? Even though I know you can't stand him."

The text seemed to drip with jealousy.

Grace found it amusing and simply got up, grabbed the nearby snacks, and took them to the bedroom.

She could hear the sound of water running-he was showering.

She said, "I put the stuff on the table by the window. Remember to eat when you're out."

His tall, blurry silhouette was reflected in the bedroom glass.

He paused his movements. He hummed in reply before asking, "Were you in a bad mood today?`I heard you had a run-in with your boss and went to the police station."