Bruised by my own family

As Martins stormed out of the house, leaving me to face my family alone, I felt a knot of dread tightening in my chest. I turned to my parents, hoping for some semblance of understanding or compassion, but what I got instead was a slap across the face from my mother.

"What do you think you're doing here, Carina?" she spat, her voice dripping with contempt. "And why are you with Luke's uncle?"

I stumbled backward, my cheek stinging from the force of her words, tears welling up in my eyes. "I... I just needed to talk to you," I managed to choke out, my voice barely above a whisper.

But before I could say anything else, my father stepped forward, his expression darkening with anger. "Cut to the chase, Carina," he snapped, his voice cold and unforgiving. "Why are you here, and why should we even care?"

I felt a lump forming in my throat as I struggled to find the words to explain. "I... Luke and I... we got a divorce," I finally managed to say, my voice trembling with emotion.

There was a