Time seems frozen in that split second between victory and defeat.
In midair, Andrea’s fingertips brush past the bouquet, and my left hand wraps around the bundle of flower stems, followed by my right hand.
I jerk the bouquet towards me, slamming it hard into my chest as Andrea slams into me in mid-air. I collapse in a heap on the floor, hitting my head as I land. I hear a sharp cracking sound as my skull hits the wooden floorboards, but every iota of my attention is fixed on the treasure clasped between my hands.
Andrea pounces on me the very next second, grunting and snarling like a wild animal as she clutches and claws at the smashed-up bunch of flowers, desperately attempting to pry them from my hands.
But I’m clinging on firmly with a steel-like grip, clutching the battered bouque
