Lost Me Gained Regret

Christine halted, leaning back against her car, suddenly asking, "Has something been bothering Mr. Clarkson lately?"

"Huh?"

Clarence was caught off guard by the abrupt shift in conversation, but he didn't overthink it, replying, “Ah, his ex-girlfriend showed up again, right? It's normal to be a bit off. He almost cut ties with his family over her before."

Seriously?

That much love.

Then why the hell did he kiss her!

Shameless.

Christine spun around and delivered a frustrated kick to the tire, wincing from the recoil, tears springing to her eyes out of sheer frustration.

Clarence, noticing her distress, finally realized something was amiss. "Feeling down? Who's been giving you a hard time? I can go sort them out for you."

Christine wished she could say it was Dailey, but alas, they were friends.

She'd have to deal with this herself.

"It's nothing, just worried Mr. Clarkson might hike my rent if he's in a bad mood."

"Or not lease me that prime spot anymore."

Clarence chuckled, "Don't worry about it, Ms. Jackson. I've got your back."

Christine really wasn't in the mood today, managing a couple of insincere remarks was already pushing it.

"I think I left the gas on at home, I need to hurry back."

Clarence panicked as if it was his house that had the gas leak, "Perfect, use my ride-share. Let me know when you get home."

Christine nodded and took her seat in the back.

As Clarence's gaze followed the car until it turned the corner, he pulled out his phone to message their small group chat, adopting a tone of regret. 【Ran into Ms. Jackson, had her gas not been leaking, we might have had a wonderful evening】

Gregory was up feeding the baby.

Jane was too tired tonight to breastfeed, so he warmed up some milk that was stored in the fridge.

He usually ignored the group messages, but feeling good tonight, he even replied.

【Didn't you drive her home? Could've lent a hand.】

Gas leak?

Sounded like an excuse Christine would come up with.

Clarence: [【I've had a few drinks, couldn't drive her myself, got her a ride-share. Told her to message me when she's home... what do you need help with? I'm no good with gas repairs.】

Gregory felt it was pointless to reply.

At this rate, chasing her would take an eternity.

It's only because he's a friend that he put it nicely, naive and sweet.

But let's leave it at that.

Now a father, he needed to set a good example for his daughter, so he held back any harsh words.

【Better head home and get some rest.】

Dreams have it all, including a chance at winning someone over.

But Clarence was excited: 【Christine was feeling down, and I cheered her up a bit, I think we have a chance.】

Gregory had no desire to respond anymore.

Yet Clarence didn't stop: "They say if you're there for a girl when she's most vulnerable, she'll fall for you.Text content © NôvelDrama.Org.

Gregory squinted, pausing before typing: 【Who says?】

Clarence sent over an image.

Gregory opened it.

<<108 Moves to Win a Girl's Heart)

After a moment of silence, he simply muted the group chat.

Little did he know, Dailey was peeking over his shoulder.

He guessed Christine's bad mood must be because of his impulsive kiss.

Having been slapped earlier, he felt her anger on the ride back, but now that he had calmed down after some iced water, he started to ponder how to mend their relationship. 

His eyes lingered on the image.

"108 Moves to Win a Girl's Heart..."

He muttered to himself.

...

The next day, after dropping Gregory off at work, I saw Christine storming out of the elevator, fury written all over her.

My gaze fell on the dark circles under her eyes, and I asked, "Didn't sleep all night?"

Christine, who had been too anxious to wait, had come over first thing in the morning.

"Let's talk inside."

I poured her a glass of ice water.

I had an idea of what she wanted to rant about, having seen it all unfold last night.