Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 32

"Enough!" Nathan shouted, his entire body trembling with rage. He abruptly stood up from his seat and stormed over to Claire, delivering a stinging slap across her face without a second thought.

The sound of the slap echoed in the room, and Claire was knocked onto the dining table. Her plate crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.

Her face swelled almost instantly, her lip split, and blood trickled down, staining the pristine white tablecloth with sharp contrast.

Already struggling with hearing loss in her right ear, the impact left her momentarily deaf, her mind buzzing as if a swarm of bees had taken up residence.

Did it hurt?

To Claire, the pain was familiar. After all, she'd grown accustomed to it during her time in prison.

But familiarity didn't equate to forgiveness.

expression but made no move to intervene. Ethan furrowed his brow, a flicker of something complex passing through his eyes before they hardened once more. Vanessa's glee was thinly veiled, her schadenfreude barely concealed. Years of

flipped the dining table with all her

in chaos as dishes, food, and cutlery clattered to the ground, creating a mess of

while Vanessa let out a shrill scream. "Claire, have you lost your mind?" Ethan

to treat me this way?" Claire screamed, her voice raw

her face, mingling with the blood at the corner of her mouth as they rolled down

away forcefully. "Claire, calm down.

"You ungrateful child, how dare you act out

whispered, "Sister, please don't do this. It's all

moving, their expressions a blend of anger, disappointment,

desperately roaring, but

door, her vision blurring, the world spinning

of strength to stay upright, her legs gave way