Chapter 19

Sarina's POV:

"Why are you here? I thought you had left!" Ruth snapped, her tone laced with venom.

I felt my anger boil beneath the surface, and while I tried to remain patient, the scene I had just walked into made it increasingly difficult to hold back.

"Grandma, Sarina is my wife," Maximus interjected.

My eyebrows shot up at Maximus' swift defense. He had actually stood up to his grandmother!

"I don't care!" Ruth spat, her eyes blazing with fury as she leered at me.

"Well, if I had known you and that flirtatious woman were here, I wouldn't have bothered coming back. I could have just stayed on vacation and enjoyed myself."

"You dare talk back to me?" she hissed, then slapped me across the face.

I didn't see it coming and had no time to react.

I had forgotten that this was how the wealthy behaved—except for the Castro family, of course.

"Grandma!" Maximus exclaimed, jumping off his hospital bed and rushing to my side.

I cupped my cheek, fighting back tears, my jaw clenched