Esme's POV
My palm still tingled from the last strike.
Raven’s head was turned slightly to the side, her cheek already flushing a deep red. Her hair clung to the corner of her lip where my slap had landed.
She looked stunned, almost childlike for the first time since I’d ever known her.
But only for a second.
Then the anger returned. Arrogance. The disbelief that someone she considered beneath her had dared to touch her.
“How dare you hit me, Esme?” she snapped, her voice shaking with humiliation. “What nerves do you have? Who the hell do you think you are? And even if I took your son anywhere, even if I decided to take your f*****g son—”
She didn’t finish the sentence and my hand moved again before my mind caught up.
**KPAA!** I gave her another one.
The sound cut through the w
