"Marry me. I'll give you everything you've ever wanted. No one will ever make you suffer again."
Hester's face glowed with triumph. She cast a slow, deliberate glance in my direction, then admired the ring on her finger, her voice dripping with sweetness.
"Thank you, Scott. You're so good to me."
I stood there, frozen to the bone. My nails bit into my palms until I felt the skin break.
From the time I was old enough to understand anything, I was taught two things: protect your country, and never accept humiliation.
This was a premeditated attack. A calculated degradation.
If the people above me ever found out what happened here, every last one of them—the entire Delgado family included—would face consequences they couldn't begin to imagine.
The moment that ring slid onto Hester's finger, she looked like a woman who'd finally gotten everything she ever wanted. Vindication radiated off her in waves.
Before I could react, her hand whipped across my face. The slap cracked through the room like a gunshot.
"Know your place, Elise. Get lost. This wedding is mine now."
My cheek burned white-hot.
That slap. Every humiliation I'd swallowed today. I filed them all away.