Chapter 179

• The slap cracked like a gunshot through the room. Anastasia’s head snapped to the side, her cheek burning bright red, her hair fanning out as if even the air had recoiled from the blow. For a heartbeat, the silence rang louder than the echo of skin against skin.
• “How could you stoop this low, how!!!” Charlotte’s voice tore through the stillness, raw and shaking with fury. Her chest heaved, her eyes blazing. “How long did you plan this, Anastasia? How long did you twist everything behind our backs?”
• Anastasia slowly turned her head back, her hand pressed to her cheek, her eyes narrowing into blades of pure anger. “You—” she began, voice low and dangerous.