Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan)

Grace stood in the living room, watching the man in the white coat go into the master bedroom.

She stayed by the door, trying to hear something, but it was silent inside.

A little worried, she sat on the couch and waited ten minutes before the man in the white coat came out. She hurried over to him.

"How's Ed?" she asked.

The man had striking almond-shaped eyes that narrowed slightly when he looked

at people, giving him a commanding air.

"He's fine. He's often like this. The medication will help."

Often? It was no wonder some of the things he did seemed so obsessive.

She looked at the case the man was carrying. It was full of medication, probably all for mental health issues.

"Don't these drugs have side effects? Doesn't it make him more anxious?" Grace asked.

The man raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled. "What makes him anxious has never been the side effects. Ms. Lambert, haven't you noticed? You're the best medicine he has."

Grace fell silent. She knew Ed had high expectations of her, but she couldn't reciprocate them, and that was why he was in pain and anxious.

She rubbed her temples, feeling a little defeated. "Are you a doctor? Then maybe you can help me get my memory back. Maybe if I remembered the past, I'd understand why he's so anxious."

"If your memories were restored, would you still look at him the same? That's why he's worried. In your lucid state, you never even acknowledged his existence."

Grace had believed her amnesia fueled Ed's unease, yet his apprehension stemmed from the potential for her memories to resurface at any moment.

Once she remembered the past, this sweet dream would burst like a bubble.

"I..."

She didn't know what to say for a second, only to hear the man say, "He took his meds, and he's out now. You should go be with him, Ms. Lambert."

Grace politely showed the guy out and then opened the bedroom door.

It was pitch black and silent in there-it was as if Ed was always used to being in the dark.

She felt her way to the bed and slid under the covers.

Her hand reached out in the dark, down his arm, until she found the red bead bracelet.

"Okay, I shouldn't have gotten upset with you earlier. Let's at least wait until I'm not so busy to talk about marriage, okay?" she comforted him.

That was her meeting him halfway-she'd already given in a little.

The man's hand gently turned and held hers, but he didn't say anything.noveldrama

Grace shifted closer to him. "I won't take off this red bead bracelet and keep

wearing it. As long as I have it on, it proves I still like you. Even if we fight or argue until we're about to break up-as long as I haven't taken it off, we still have a chance, okay?"

She gave in to him a bit more.

Grace had her limits. At least so far, Ed hadn't done anything to hurt her. He was her boyfriend, and since she knew he had some mental health issues, it made sense to cut im some slack.

Ed's lashes fluttered lightly. He seemed really mellow, probably because of the medication. "Okay," he said simply.

Grace let out a breath and closed her eyes. "Sleep now."

They both just let the fight drop and fell asleep cuddling.

When Grace woke up, he was gone.

She got up and opened her closet to grab some clothes, but her notebook wasn't there. She remembered writing in it.

"Do not trust Ethan Henderson."

It was just a random line she'd written, and she still had no clue why she couldn't trust Ethan.

Only Ed had been in her room, so he was the only one who could have taken it.

She took a deep breath and called him to ask about it.

He answered with a low, heavy voice. "Yeah, I took it."

Grace felt speechless. She always went too easy on Ed.

First, she felt sorry for him living alone in the suburbs. He was used to being surrounded by darkness, guarding his brother's grave, and not wanting to see anyone.

Then, she felt sorry that their past didn't seem happy, but he still always liked her.

Loneliness, unrequited love, and many things she didn't know about had shaped his current personality. At least now, she was willing to be understanding.

"Why did you take the notebook? It's just something I wrote before. I don't even know why I wrote that sentence. Ethan and I are nothing," she said.

As she was worried he would become jealous because he saw the name, she quickly distanced herself from Ethan.

Ed's long fingers slowly traced the sentence on the notebook, his voice soft. "I believe you."

Grace chatted about other things for a while more. Then, when she pulled some clothes out of the closet, she saw the two cards.

"I'll come get you when it's all over."

"Happy birthday, Grace."

These two cards fluttered out of her pocket, landing on the floor like snowflakes.

Grace kneeled down and picked them up.

To this day, she still didn't know who had written them.

Meanwhile, Ed took out his phone. It had a photo on it—a photo of these two

cards. He hadn't taken the cards, but he had photographed them.

He stared at these two sentences.

He was lost in thought for a long time, staring until his eyes felt dry and Strained before he finally turned off his phone screen.