Keeping a stern face and voice, Zane uttered, "Freshen up and come downstairs for breakfast, and don't try to do anything foolish, or the consequences will be very harsh," he warned while glaring at her.
Tears, hot and silent, traced paths down her cheeks as Aria stared stubbornly at the floorboards.
When he didn't receive any response from her, "Understood?" he barked, the question a formality.
Aria, her voice barely a whisper, choked out a single, "O-okay." It was all she dared to manage, the defiance she might have harbored earlier dissolving under the weight of his glare.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Zane's face, a fleeting change that vanished as quickly as it appeared. He tossed out a curt, "Good girl," before exiting the room.
Aria squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tear
