Immediately Festus opened his mouth, but no words came out. His lips trembled, and his fingers dug into the arms of the chair he was sitting on, like he was trying to hold onto something anything—but everything was slipping away.
"You," Cora's father said, his voice rising with every word, "you were the one who tried to ruin my daughter's life! For what?! Because of your stupid ego? Because you couldn't handle someone else shining in this family?! You are a disgrace, Festus. A disgrace to this family. And you know what hurts me the most?"
He took a deep breath, voice cracking for the first time, but the anger still burned. "I regret… I regret ever calling you my brother."
The silence that followed was heavy. Clinton, still lying on the floor, was too scared to cry. Even James looked like he wanted to disappear.
