"What happened?"
Ethan's voice cut through the tension hanging over the haunted attraction.
He reached Raina first, weaving through the crowd with obvious concern etched across his face. Around them, Lala Land remained as lively as ever. Children darted between attractions clutching oversized stuffed animals, costumed actors prowled the walkways looking for unsuspecting victims, and somewhere overhead a roller coaster thundered past in a blur of lights and screaming passengers.
Yet despite the noise and movement surrounding them, the small space occupied by Raina and Susan felt strangely isolated.
Like the world had narrowed to just the two of them.
"Raina, are you okay?"
For a moment, she couldn't answer.
Her cheek still tingled from the slap, but that wasn't what bothered her. The sting would fade. The words Susan had thrown at her would not.
You don't deserve him.
The accusation lingered in her mind like poison.
