You can throw money at every hollow promise, every loyal mask, but respect — real respect — slips through the tightest grip. It isn’t bought with fear or forced submission; it lives in the heart, in places you never bothered to reach. What you wanted, what you demanded — that’s the one thing you never earned.
The clattering sound of spoons against plates echoed loudly in the tense room. Hunter stared down, focusing on taking small bites, trying to ignore the tension simmering in the air. He had dreaded coming to his parents’ house tonight. His mother had insisted on a family dinner to celebrate her birthday, and despite his reluctance, he hadn’t been able to turn her down. But the thought of sitting at the same table as his father, breathing the same air in such proximity, made his skin c
