Katrina pov
The slap didn't just hurt; it echoed.
It was a sharp, stinging crack that shattered the tense silence of the living room, sending a jolt of pure shock straight down my spine. My head snapped to the side, my cheek immediately flaring with a white-hot heat. For a second, the world tilted on its axis.
The smell of Mrs.Robert expensive lavender perfume, usually so comforting, now felt suffocating.
I slowly turned my face back to meet her gaze, my hand instinctively rising to cup my burning cheek. My breath hitched in my throat. Standing before me wasn't the warm, maternal woman who had welcomed me into her home with open arms.
This was a stranger. Her eyes, usually a soft, inviting brown, were wide, bloodshot, and burning with an intensity that terrified me. Her chest heaved
