Lost Me Gained Regret

My eyes grew slightly moist, a peculiar sensation scratching at the bottom of my heart.

For a fleeting moment, I contemplated coming clean. What if this revelation impacted his health? I was ready to face it alongside him. Better that than having him spend nights agonizing, deeming me a heartbreaker.

Shaking my head, I began, "It's not like that, Gregory. These past two years, I've been..."

"Never mind."

Gregory's smile was thin, laced with unmistakable mockery, though his eyes betrayed a redness. "Jane, I guess I should've never harbored any expectations."

His words stabbed deep.

I struggled to keep my eyes wide, pinching the inner corners to hold back tears, feigning acceptance. "If that's what you believe, you might not be wrong."

After all, my efforts over the past two years to track him down had led nowhere. Like a traceless bird in flight, equivalent to having never tried. I didn't need to confess my actions to him. In his eyes, I was just that callous. He had barely been mourned before I was supposedly cozying up with someone else.

So, if that's how it was to be, further words were futile.

"Really?"

Gregory chuckled lowly, a sound filled with bitterness, and in the next moment, stretched out an arm, pulling me down to him. Then, his hand found the back of my head, and he bit down.

Yes. Not a kiss, but a bite.

The taste of iron bloomed across my lips, seeping into my mouth. The pain was sharp, and I gasped, cautious of his fragile legs, hardly daring to push him away, merely distancing myself slightly.

Gregory's gaze was dark, his voice carrying a warning. "This time, it doesn't matter if you're Jane or Lilliana, getting close to anyone but me is a big mistake!"

With that, he wheeled away.

Touching my lips, my fingers came away bloodied, a stark reminder. "Ike's still showering."Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

"I've been busy lately. Take care of him for me."

He didn't look back as he spoke.

Gregory returned to the ground floor where darkness engulfed everything but the faint starlight beyond the windows. In the shadows, pondering her attitude, his irritation surged from within. He had spent over two decades searching for her, only for her to not seek him out immediately upon leaving Bryant, but to mix up with someone else.

Was he so undeserving? The thought of how he had struggled through treatment for her sake now seemed laughable, utterly worthless. Yet, he had survived. The Ford family father and son, would pay a price. Whether it was for driving Jane away or orchestrating that explosion. Either way, they would face consequences.

His grip on the wheelchair tightened, veins bulging before uncontrollably trembling. He had hoped, with Jane moving back, that his sleep, just a wall away from her bedroom, would improve, perhaps even without medication.

It seems he was mistaken.

Without turning on the lights, he relied on the faint glow from outside to find a bottle of lithium carbonate, swallowing a few pills. The bitterness mingled with the taste of blood, an odd combination that oddly comforted him.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. Irritably, he glanced at the caller ID- Edith. At this hour, she should be boarding her flight. Yet, she had time to call him. Gregory answered lazily, "What is it?" His voice carried an unmasked frustration.

"Bad mood?" Edith, knowing him well, instantly recognized someone had upset him. "Who's the unlucky soul this time?"

Gregory's tongue flicked across his teeth, tasting the lingering iron. "Who else could it be?"

Edith realized at once. He had been in meetings all day, from home. None of his company's staff dared upset him. Besides, his temper had been volatile for years, but he always vented it immediately. Whoever crossed him would not escape easily.

Only Jane could make him stew in silence.

After speaking with Jane that

afternoon, Edith couldn't help but sympathize with her. Supposed to be a cherished rose, she had

become a wildflower in a storm

surviving on her own against the harshness of the Myers family. Her marriage was a disaster, struggling with depression for years before finally overcoming it alone.

While Gregory had her, Molly Ford, and friends to rely on, Jane had only herself during her two years abroad.

Gregory frowned, "Why the silence? Aren't you usually eager to mock me?"

"I'm not in the mood today."

Both of them were pitiable, even to someone as carefree as Edith. Clearing her throat, she continued, "I've got some news about the matter you asked me to look into. Thought I'd let you know."

"About Bella?"