Regret Came Too Late

For a full minute, the hospital ward remained deathly quiet.

At that moment, Jordan was the first to move. He gently guided Jodie back onto the bed with a voice full of

paternal warmth.

"Your forehead's bleeding. What good does this kind of impulsiveness do? Look at your uncle's face."

Jodie had made her way over on sheer adrenaline alone, and now that the rush had passed, she finally turned to

look at Ethan.

Ethan stayed true to his nature. Even after such accusations, he sat in his wheelchair with effortless calm as

though entirely untouched by the storm around him.

Instead, Jodie's heart was pounding in her chest as clarity slowly returned. She remembered he once told her

that as long as she behaved herself, he would protect her forever. Had she crossed the line?

Her gaze dropped to her injured limbs, and her eyes welled up once more.

"Grandpa, | don't care. Please... you must seek justice for me!" she cried.

Lying back on the bed, the pain in her body was nothing compared to the ache in her heart. She loved Ethan

more than anyone else. Yet here they were, on opposite sides of a chasm neither seemed to have any desire to

bridge.

Why Grace?

Why was it always her?

Her teeth sank deeply into her lower lip, drawing blood as her voice thickened with anger. "Uncle Ethan, you like

Grace, don't you? Are you so afraid that you can't even admit it? What kind of pathetic love is that?"

The moment she said that, Tim snapped, "Ms. Henderson!"

Jodie's eyes widened to an alarming degree, the last trace of sanity flickering before she plunged into complete

madness.

"Am | wrong? Maybe the reason she has never loved you back is because you've buried your feelings so deep

that no one can ever see them. That's why you lost her to my brother!

"If you had been brave enough to confess back then, maybe she would've chosen you! But no-you were so damn

restrained, so proud, so twisted in your emotions. No wonder she didn't choose you!"

After her outburst, the world seemed to fall into absolute silence. It was so still that Jodie could hear nothing but

the pounding of her own heart.

Her cheeks flushed with agitation, but she didn't dare to look at Ethan.

Jordan raised his hand and gently patted her head, saying, "Focus on your recovery, jodie."

Still avoiding Ethan's gaze, Jodie pressed on, desperately clinging to the last of her pride with every ounce of

strength she had.

"You'll seek justice for me, right, Grandpa? Look what she did to my hands and legs! You can't possibly let Grace

walk away unscathed. Will someone even marrylike this? My life is ruined. If even you take her side... |

swear, | will jump off this building."

"Don't worry. Your uncle loves you most. You'll soon have the answer you want." Jordan's tone remained as warm

as ever.

Those words weren't meant for Jodie; it was a message directed squarely at Ethan.

If he refused to act, then the Henderson family would. When that happened, Grace's fate would be far worse.

It was a threat.

A naked one.

Even Jodie, as foolish as she often was, could understand the unspoken words beneath that promise. The

corner of her lips tugged up The

and she announced with

ve

exaggerated cheer, Good! Thank you, Unele Ethan Thank you, Grandpa." s

She cast a sideways glance at Ethan after that.

However, just as she had said, he hid everything too well. There wasn't the

slightest change in his expression.

Jordan left as quickly as he came.

In the blink of an eye, the ward was left with only Jodie, Ethan, and a few others.

She lowered her gaze, bracing for him to explode in anger.

Yet instead, he responded with a simple, "Are you satisfied now?"

With just that one sentence, chills started running down her veins. She had already ended up like this, and yet

Ethan never offered a word of concern. Instead, he spoke to her with so much cold indifference. s

The ache in her chest consumed the agony of her burns, and the tears continued to stream down her face. Then,

all at once, something in her snapped.

"No, I'm not satisfied! How could | be? What are you going to do about it, huh? Do you wantdead?"

Her voice cracked with each word. "Well, too bad for you, | can't die! That child needs me! If | die, what will

happen to him? Who will comfort him? He needsthe most!"

Ethan closed his eyes slowly, his fingers tightening against the arms of his wheelchair as if he were suppressing

sunbearable weight within.

Jodie no longer cared. Her lips were torn, blood dripping steadily from them. Even so, she continued to hurl sharp

words.

"Oh yeah, you still need me. You

won't letdie. So, letmake this clear so long as I'm alive, I'll never stop going after Grace. | refuse to

believe that in your heart, she means more to you than that child does. Unless you want him to suffer forever!" s

She barely finished her words before Ethan turned to Tim and said, "Let's go."

Jodie was taken aback by that. She had thought he would at least say something in return.

In her desperation, she tried to climb out of the bed, but the pain held her down. "Uncle Ethan..."

Ethan, who had already reached the doorway, spoke with a cool detachment. He didn't even bother to glance

back at her. "I'm not your uncle. You were found and brought in. Have you forgotten?"

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