Sallie's POV
Zora's palm connected with my face with a sharp crack. She put everything behind it—I could tell by how her hand trembled afterward.
But she didn't seem to care about the sting. She just stared at me with pure rage burning in her eyes.
"I thought you'd matured, but you're exactly the same," she spat. "Jill's shown you nothing but kindness, always eager to share whatever she has. Yet you continue tormenting her at home—and now you're doing it in public too. Have you forgotten everything I tried to teach you?"
"Sallie, you've let me down completely!"
The slap left my ear ringing. For a split second, I was back at St. Chaim's—the only place where people struck me without cause.
The buzzing gradually faded just as Zora delivered her final blow.
A bitter laugh bubbled up inside me.
Since Jill's arrival, the Noahs had found me disappointing no matter what I did.
I turned my head slowly, my voice flat as stone. "That makes twice you've struck me, Mrs. Noah."
