Mary stumbled backward and fell on her knees, her hand instinctively reaching for her cheek as tears welled up in her eyes. "I am sorry, father," she muttered, her head lowered, too scared to look up at him.
Mary's father glared at her with a mixture of anger and disappointment. "You should be sorry," he said, his voice cold and hard. "You have brought shame upon this family." He spat out and turned to storm out but paused in his step, finally aware of Aurora's presence.
The anger on his face twisted into a warm smile as he greeted Aurora with a broad welcoming gesture. "Oh, Aurora, my apologies for the scene. Just a little family matter. I hope it didn't disturb you too much," he said, as if he hadn't just hit his daughter, and worse, in her presence. Mary's eyes widened, also unaware of Aurora's presence. She lowered her head further to hide her face from Aurora.
