The departure of Evan, his face a mask of wounded pride, had left a palpable void, the atmosphere awkward. Grandma Jia, relieved at seeing that her Areum was back and in one piece had retreated to her chambers, leaving Vernon, Alice, and Ma-Ri to confront the simmering chaos.
The silence that followed was heavy, laden with unspoken accusations and simmering resentment. Vernon, his face flushed with a dark anger, turned to Ma-Ri, his eyes blazing with a furious intensity. The sound of his hand striking her cheek echoed through the room, a sharp, brutal punctuation to the unspoken tension.
Alice gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. She rushed to Ma-Ri's side, her arms wrapping protectively around her daughter. "Vernon!" she cried, her voice laced with a mixture of anger and fear. "How dare you!"