*~~Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Nine~~*

{~~Avery Sterling~~}

Darren was surprised. Hell, everyone was surprised when I hit him. There was this sharp crack that echoed in the room, followed by a stunned silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. His eyes widened with shock, his hand flying to his face as blood seeped through the cracks of his fingers. But, honestly, I just kind of needed to do that. There was a pent-up anger in me that I hadn’t even realized until the moment my fist connected with his skin. It felt like everything—the lies, the pain, the manipulation—had finally boiled over.

He staggered back, clearly dazed, but quickly tried to compose himself. Darren wasn’t the type to stay down for long, at least not without throwing some sort of insult my way. He swayed for a moment, his balance off, before slowly standing up. His shirt sleeve quickly became soaked as he used it to try to stop the bleeding from his nose.

“You bitch, what the fuck?” he spat, his voice rough, full of venom. But I didn’t flinch. I j