“Pah!”
“Ah!”
A sharp slap cracked through the room like lightning splitting the night sky, followed by a loud scream that rattled the silence. The sound was so sudden and so sharp that even Hazel’s heart trembled for a brief second. It was not her scream. It was not her pain.
It was Karen’s.
Jacob had swung his arm with all his force, his palm slicing through the air, aiming to crush Hazel’s cheek and punish her for daring to defy him. But Hazel, who no longer trusted her father’s hands or his heart, had already taken a step back. The movement was instinctive, born from years of being hurt and never protected. She did not plan it. Her body simply chose self preservation over obedience.
So when Jacob’s hand missed Hazel, he spun from the force of his own strike and hit the person stand
