Caroline's head snapped up at Nicole's words. Something in her eyes shifted. The fear was still there, but it burned with something else now...anger.
Her shoulders shook, not from weakness this time, but from holding back. And then she let it out.
"You think it's that easy?" she spat, her voice cracking but louder than before. "You think if I could have just told everyone, I would not have?!"
The room went silent. Even Grace smirked, wiped off the next moment.
Caroline's hands slammed against the table, the sound sharp enough to make me flinch. Her tears were no longer just sorrow, but they burned with rage.
"If I could say it out loud…" her voice cracked, but she pushed on, "If I could confess everything openly…"
Her chest heaved as she sucked in a breath, her eyes blazing. "Then those people would not have had any power over me in the first place!"
She looked from one face to another, desperate for them to understand. "Do you not see it? Do you not understand?"
