Chapter 54 Chapter 54
At that moment, the instant Tasha finished speaking, the others rallied around her almost automatically, as though cruelty was easier to justify when shared.
Vincent gave a sharp nod, his face still clouded with anger. Deborah folded her arms with a look of grim satisfaction. Jessica’s lips curled into a smug smile, and even Mr. Bushman, who ought to have known better, stood there in silent agreement, his expression making it clear that he saw nothing wrong in what had just happened.
Then Deborah spoke, her voice heavy with contempt.
“She brought this on herself,” she said. “She was proving stubborn. Acting as if she is untouchable. Acting as if nobody can do anything to her.”
She gave Megan a hard, dismissive look from head to toe.
“Now look at where that has landed her,” Deborah added. “Humiliation.”
The word lingered, ugly and deliberate.
And as though the humiliation itself was not enough, the atmosphere around them began to shift in another direction. People nearby—guests, attendants, staff, passersby—had started noticing the torn fabric, the exposed patch of skin, the obvious tension.
A few of them turned fully toward the scene.
Some stared, some whispered.
Others pointed, not out of concern, but from the instinctive curiosity of people drawn to public disgrace.
Their expressions carried that same uncomfortable mixture of judgment and fascination that often accompanies scandal.
What is happening there? Why didn’t she just leave? What exactly is she trying to prove? Those were the kinds of looks being thrown her way.
The kind that made a person feel reduced to a spectacle.
For a brief moment, Megan stood in the center of all of it—Vincent’s family before her, strangers around her, eyes on her torn clothing, eyes on her face, eyes on her silence.
And then something in her expression changed.
Not dramatically, not loudly.
But decisively, she looked from one face to another, absorbing the gloating satisfaction in Deborah’s eyes, the smugness in Jessica’s, the self-righteous composure in Tasha’s, and the hard approval in Vincent’s.
Then Megan spoke.
“Well,” she said, her voice low and controlled, “you people seem to have gone too far.”
Nobody answered.
But the words landed.
“You have gone too far,” she repeated. “And I am not going to tolerate this anymore.”
There was no tremor in her voice.
No breakdown, no plea, Just a line drawn.
At that moment, Megan began walking toward Tasha.
It was not hurried, not reckless.
Not dramatic, Just steady.
Tasha saw her coming and stiffened, but she did not step back. In fact, she remained exactly where she was, standing her ground with her chin lifted, clearly refusing to believe that Megan would dare do anything to her—not here, not in front of these people, not with Vincent and the others at her side.
Why would Megan touch her? Why would she risk it?
That confidence showed plainly on Tasha’s face.
She parted her lips, preparing to speak, likely to mock her again, likely to ask what she thought she was doing.
But before she could get the words out—A sharp, resounding slap cracked through the air.
“Slap!!”
The sound was so sudden, so forceful, that everything around them seemed to stop.
The impact hit Tasha squarely across the face.
It was not a timid slap.
It was not the kind delivered in panic or hesitation.
It was clean, hard, and full of intention.
The force of it sent Tasha reeling sideways.
Her body tilted so badly that she nearly crashed to the floor, and if not for the quick reflexes of one of the nearby security guards—who instinctively reached out and caught her arm she would have fallen flat in front of everyone.
Immediately a collective gasp rose from the people around them.
Even the family froze.
Tasha remained half-supported, half-stumbling, one hand flying to her face as shock overtook her expression. Her eyes were wide, unfocused for a moment, as if her mind had not yet caught up with what had just happened.
Then Deborah and Jessica fell instantly silent.
Their mouths, which had seemed so eager moments ago, shut at once.
Because now they could see it.
Two teeth had already come out of Tasha’s mouth.
Immediately, both Deborah and Jessica cried out at once, their voices rising in horrified disbelief.
“Oh my goodness!”
“Oh my God!”
“What—what did you just do?”
Their earlier smugness vanished so quickly it was almost unreal. Only a moment ago, they had been speaking with confidence, basking in what they believed was Megan’s humiliation. Now all of that had shattered. Panic had taken its place.
Tasha, still half-supported from the impact, instinctively lifted one trembling hand to her mouth.
The pain had not fully settled in at first shock had delayed it—but now it was arriving all at once, rushing through her face in a wave so severe that her expression twisted instantly. Her breath hitched. Her fingers moved over her lips, and then, as though her body was finally catching up with the violence of the slap, the excruciating pain came in full.
Jessica, eyes wide, stared at Tasha’s face and then pointed abruptly.
“Your nose!” she shouted. “It affected your nose!”