CLARISSA’S POV
Janine smirks as she takes a slow step closer. Her heels clicks against the marble floor. "You know, Clarissa, I always wondered how it must have felt," she says and as she speaks, her voice drips with mock sympathy. "Losing not just your father, but your brother too. Tragic, really. One moment they’re there, and the next... gone. Just like that."
A lump forms in my throat, and my chest tightens. My vision blurs as tears threaten to spill. I clench my fists, trying to hold them back, refusing to let her see how her words cut through me like a blade. But she sees it. And she revels in it.
"Did your mother cry as much as you did?" Janine continues, tilting her head. "Or did she try to be strong for you? I mean, what else could she do? She lost the men in her life. And al
