Stacy Roberts POV
The click of the front door echoing through the quiet house felt like the definitive snap of a trap. Immediately after they left, the suffocating tension in the room collapsed into a heavy, ringing silence. I stood there, slowly rising from the floor where I had just degraded myself, my knees aching, my pride utterly shattered.
I turned around slowly, my chest heaving with a mixture of rage, humiliation, and bitter resentment. I looked at my mom and my brother, Adrian, who were still standing near the dining table like statues. The storm had passed, but the wreckage was left entirely in my lap.
Almost instantly, the heavy, panic-stricken look on my mom’s face vanished. I watched a sudden wave of relief wash over her, a sickeningly soft emotion that made my stomach tur
