Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan) novel Chapter 494

Grace stood stunned for a few seconds. In a flurry of panic, she grabbed a vase from the cabinet and swung it at Ethan's head.

Just then, the fragrance of magnolias filled the air. The dried magnolias, painstakingly arranged, now dropped their petals in a soft cascade. And the vase—the one he had chosen so carefully—split apart on impact with his head.

However, Grace didn't realize those were the magnolias she had picked for him, and she certainly didn't know how much that vase meant to him.

She leaned against the wall, her eyes fixed on him warily.

"Are you sober now?" she asked.

Ethan didn't reply. He just felt something warm trickling down his face. He didn't reach up to check. Instead, his gaze dropped to her lips.

They were swollen and red from his kiss, and there was a smear of blood at the corner—left by him.

His stare pierced through her like a blade. This wasn't the Ethan she used to know.

If the Ethan from before was all poise and discipline, then this one before her now was streaked with shadows—part saint, part sinner.

The old Ethan had self-control. He had boundaries. Hence, she used to believe she could handle him.

However, she felt like prey now. She was warm, soft, and placed right in front of a starving beast.

She ducked her head and strode straight toward the door. Just then, he said, "I've asked Tim to get your documents. We'll register our marriage tomorrow morning."

Grace's steps halted with her hand already on the doorknob. She was gripping it so tightly that it felt like it was burning in her palm.

"I told you, Mr. Henderson. I have a boyfriend."

"But he doesn't matter to you."

It was the same response.

Grace took a deep breath, then refuted, "It's not that he doesn't matter to me. He does. I just don't let emotions cloud my judgment."

Staring at the broken vase shards, he let out a chuckle. "You're really heartless, aren't you?"

A sharp pain pricked at Grace's chest for no reason she could name. She didn't see how keeping a level head made her heartless. She had simply chosen what she believed was the right outcome.

Love didn't have to be a shared tragedy.

She didn't bother arguing. Without looking at Ethan, she said calmly, "If I leave, Mr. Henderson Senior won't hound you about marriage anymore. And I promise I won't come back."

Turning around, she flung open the bedroom door and rushed downstairs. When she reached the first floor, she bumped into Tim.

Tim didn't greet her, and she didn't say anything to him either. She strode out of the house and made her way toward the guard booth.

Palm Bay was massive—almost absurdly so. But she was too lost in her thoughts to care. When she finally got to the guard booth, she knocked on the closed window.

"Hello, can you open the gates for me, please? I want to go out."

There was no answer.

At his core, Ethan was ruthless. He only seemed easygoing because of his quiet nature. That calm demeanor had fooled her.

However, she didn't want to go back. Just the memory of Ethan's gaze made her skin crawl. She felt hunted.