Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan)

Liam sat in the Lambert residence, gripping his phone with an inexplicable frustration.

He had assumed Grace would return by now, but three

days had passed, and there was still no word from her to the past, no matter how upset she was, two days was the longest she could hold out. Then, she'd show upbringing his favorite gins as an apolog

To be honest, Liam had never thought highly et hig. She wasn't capable of much she just knew how in chase after men.

But he had to admit that her cooking was incredible, and she

always indulged in his every whim. After spending all these years together, he would've developed some attachment even if she were just a dog raised by his side.

Just now, he had logged of this game and casually checked the live streams, only to findAlice locked in a streaming battle against Grace.

He relaxed slightly so, Grice was still holding a grudge about Alice stealing Yancey

But even so, that was no reason to take it out on her own younger brother. How could she ignore him and not earn come back to cook?

He deliberately sent ten rockats in Alice's live stream to provoke her. He stubbornly stayed there after doing that, refusing to check in on Grace's stream. He was sure she knew exactly who he was

But from start to finish, her expression didn't change. She continued answering the viewers' questions, looking as composed as ever.

"Mm, I don't know who's sending the rockets. It has nothing to do with me. Let's stay focused on the apples,” she said lightly

Liam nearly crushed his phone in anger. Fine! It she wanted to act indifferent, he'd make sure the couldn't ignore him.

In a go, he threw docens more rockets, nearly a million dollars worth.

His extravagant show of wealth drew a flooded mattic to Alice's stream. The platform always prioritized big spenders, announcing their contributions across the site Curious viewers natmally clicked in, causing h "Alice, don't overwork yourself. Charity is a good thing, but our family isn't shocton money"

Alice's game sottened at the message.

"Thank

you for your concern, Liam," she said gently. "Dan though I don't need the money, helping others is its own reward."

Watching their intimate sibling exchange, the audience suddenly had an epiphany that she wasn't taking it. She really was a rich heiress. So, what was up with that other stre- mer?

While Alice and Liam played up their heartwarming

sibling dynamic, Grace continued doing what she did best-

selling apples. Her cool detachment made Liam feel oddly unsettled. For a moment, he hesitated. Maybe he should check out Grace's live stream But doing that felt like admiting defeat. So, he stayed put and continued to shower Alice with words of support

Meanwhile, over in Grace's stream, sales skyrocketed. She glanced at the rapidly climbing older count, a seismile curving her lips.

"We've officially hit ten

thousand orders and 200 thousand pounds of apples today. Thank you all for your support," she said.noveldrama

"Injured my knee last night, so I need to

take care of that. I must also coordinate with the farmers to pack and ship everyone's orders. See you all this afternoon"

With that, the stream ended.

They had expected her to ride the wave of momentum and keep selling, but she ended the stream cleanly without hesitation.

The crowd, eager to watch the drama untold, suddenly felt like they had been doused with cold water. This outcome was utterly unsatisfying Seeing Grace

log off first, Allor immediately put on a concerned expression and turned to the camera.

"You should check in on Grace," she said gently. "She's probably feeling hurt. Don't be like this next time. Send her some gifts when she goes live again too, okay? When Liam heard that Grace might be upset, his irritation vanished, replaced by a strange sense

of satisfaction.

ntion or just to

He quickly typed a comment "I won't. Why'd she suddenly run off to Southbrook? It's either to get someone's attention

"Don't talk about Grace like that," Alice chided softly

just to mess with you, Alice'

"Forget it do ply your games. I'll stay and finish selling these apples. At this rate, Eshould be able to complete my charity goal in a few days."

Alter exiting the livestream, Ham kept glancing at his phone, waiting for a message from someone.

Ten minutes went by, yet not a single notificationcame through. His good mood soured Instantly Meanwhile, Grace was meeting with the agricultural aid project coordinator on the other side of town The man looked visibly uncomfortable.

"Ms. Lambert, I. I have to tell you something," he said awkwardly. "The farmers. Well, they signed a contract with another beam last night. They've decided not to work with you Wymore. So, the orders you sold. Grace's expression remained untradable as she met his gaze. The coordinator scratched his head, clearly embarrassed.

"Ms. Alice offered to personally contribute million dollars

to subsidize the farmers," he admitted

Even though her sale prices lower than yours, when they did the math, they realized her offer would bring them even higher profits than in previous years. So, after discussing it, they decided to go with her inste "Twanted to warn you last night, but Ms. Alice didn't want me to. She said it was best to let you finish selling first"

cant me to. She said it i

Mandy immedeleesploded at his words.

"What the hell is this?" she snapped, nearly jumping to her feet. "We've signed an agreement for this project! Last night, while it was pouring rain, Grace was out there livestering, worrying about the farmers losi "And while she was breaking her back for them, you guys were secretly working with Alice to screw her over? Now that all the orders have been sold, you're telling us then pruduct in ship'Do you have any idea after she pushed another ten thousand orders?"

This wasn't just a betrayal. It was a deliberate setup

Grace had worked tirelessly to promote these apples, only to be left with nothing to ship out. When customers realized what had happened, the backlash would be aimed squarely

at her.

Mandy's gaze was filled with frustration, her heart heavy for Grace.