face.
Gasps swept across the ballroom.
For one stunned second, I tasted blood from where my tooth had cut the inside of my cheek.
Daniel leaned closer.
“Apologize to my mother.”
I remained silent.
He slapped me again.
And suddenly, everything inside me became calm.
I struck him once across the face, hard enough to turn his head, then immediately stepped backward before he could touch me again.
“Security,” I said.
Two hotel guards moved toward us at once.
Daniel stared at me as though he no longer recognized me.
