Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan)

Alice's eyes were filled with pure terror as she scrambled to open the door, but her hands wouldn't obey her anymore.

She never imagined things would spiral like this. Joanne had promised her that if they worked together, they could take Grace down for good. So why did she lie to her?

"Joanne! Why did you lie to me?" Alice cried out.

Joanne crouched down beside her and smirked.

"I didn't lie to you," she said sweetly. "I told you from the start that if you took the fall, I'd handle Grace. Well, look around. Lambert Group is about to go belly-up. Liam's life is wrecked. I'm keeping my end of the deal, aren't I? You're just paying a small price to make it happen... That's only fair. At least this way, no one will look at me twice."

Alice, barely conscious, reached out and grabbed the cuff of Joanne's jeans with trembling fingers.

"I'm begging you," she sobbed. "Please, don't do this to me. Please... give me the antidote..."

Joanne stood up and gave her a kick. She said coolly, "If you're going to be ruthless, you'd better be good at it. Just being cruel isn't enough. You'll only end up as a stepping stone for someone like me."

"Aren't you afraid Grace will see your true colors? You're the one taking care of me! If I end up in a vegetative state, you're going to be the first one she'll suspect."

Joanne let out a soft chuckle as she calmly tucked the syringe back into the medical kit.

"Do you think I'm as stupid as you? I got this drug from Edric, and he got it from Jayce. It's an illegal drug. Even if they haul you off to the hospital, they'll just think you had a sudden stroke and ended up paralyzed."

Alice's last shred of hope collapsed, and tears started rolling down her cheeks.noveldrama

She shouldn't have gone against Grace. She shouldn't have spent her time in the psychiatric hospital scheming, thinking she could drag Grace down with her.

Seeing how close Grace was to Liam had made her jealous, so jealous that it consumed her. She realized too late how badly she had screwed up.

Maybe the first mistake she ever made was coming back to the Lambert family in the first place.

Back then, Grace had been nothing but kind to her-even going so far as to blind Jayce in one eye to protect her. But she hated the light in Grace. The brighter Grace was, the uglier and more worthless Alice felt.

She had never once thought about getting along with Grace. She clawed her way back into the Lambert family through lies and manipulation. And the moment Alice saw Grace surrounded by admiration, all she could think about was ripping away everything Grace cared about.

She had lied without hesitation, claiming that when they were kidnapped years ago, it was she who fought for Grace's chance to escape and that Grace hadn't even bothered to call the cops. She twisted the truth, and Grace never once defended herself.

Predictably, the Lambert family's attitude toward Grace soured overnight.

Alice learned the rules of survival real fast. She knew that always playing the victim was the way.

Just like that, her mind grew more twisted by the day. As long as she could see Grace broken and defeated, it felt like a victory.

But now, she regretted it all. If she

had chosen differently from the start, maybe Grace would have kept protecting her. She regretted_ everything-but in this world there was no cure for regret.

Sobbing uncontrollably, Alice suddenly remembered something Albert had told her before he passed. He said, "What goes around comes around."

Five years ago, she made the choices that led her here. Now, she was paying the price in full.

...

Grace was stunned when she got the news that Alice had suddenly collapsed. She rushed to the hospital, only to find Alice lying there, pale and limp, on a hospital bed.

Joanne sat by her side, feigning panic.

The moment she saw Grace, Joanne jumped up. "Grace, I don't know what happened," she said breathlessly. "You hadn't been gone long when she just collapsed outta nowhere. The doctor said it's some kind of psychological thing.

Grace's hands tightened at her sides. She felt zero sympathy for Alice. After everything Alice had done, she deserved every bit of this.

Grace called for the attending physician and drilled him for answers. The official story matched what Joanne had said.

It left Grace exhausted.

Meanwhile, the scandals online were

still boiling, and that night, someone was supposed to publicly reveal Liam's real identity. Grace needed Alice's information but now, Alice was nothing but dead weight.

Grace lowered her eyes while Joanne reached out and gently patted her on the shoulder.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she offered.

Since Grace woke up from her coma, Joanne had been nothing but loyal. Hell, she had even taken a knife for her.

This mess probably involved Excellent Group and Jayce. There was no way she was dragging Joanne into it. Joanne was just an ordinary woman trying to survive.

"I'm good," Grace said quietly.

Joanne pulled a strained smile. "Liam paid me a lot to do this. I didn't do my job well. I'll pay him back the money."

"No need," Grace said. "Just keep it. Liam's... tied up right now anyway."

She didn't explain further, and Joanne didn't press her. Because deep down, Joanne already knew the truth.