Simone’s POV
"You cannot hide me away like a broken doll," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet hallway before I even reached my bedroom door.
My father rushed after me, his heavy boots thudding against the floorboards. "Simone, stop running and listen to me!"
I did not stop. I threw my bedroom door open, marched inside, and left it ajar just enough to signal that I wanted him to follow. My chest heaved, the anger pulsing through my veins like hot electricity.
He stepped into the room a second later, his shoulders slumped as if the ceiling were crushing him down. The worry on his face was etched so deep it made him look a decade older. Good.
"Simone, please," he said, keeping his voice down to a harsh whisper. "Just look at me, baby."
I turned my back on him and walked to the w
