Slap!
The force of the slap echoed across the room, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks. Avelina's face reddened instantly, her cheek stinging from the impact. She stumbled backward, gripping the back of a chair to prevent herself from collapsing. Mirabella's hand still held the aftermath of the force it had just delivered.
Mirabella, her breath heaving with anger, pointed a trembling finger at Avelina. "This is your fault," she hissed. "We could have had Evelyn, but you had to weaken, to falter in front of him! Why was Elysia unaffected by whatever Tristan did, and yet you crumpled like a wilted flower?"
Elysia winced, both from the violence of the slap and the words that followed. She tried to find words, but they were lodged somewhere deep in her throat.
Avelina, her eyes filled with tears, shook her head. "It wasn't as simple as you think. Tristan... he has something different... I couldn't—"
