Nathan's hands curled into fists on his knees. He hadn't known. A flush of guilt and anger crept into his face. "I… I'm sorry," he muttered tightly, lowering his head with shame. "I didn't know she said that. Megan has been pampered all her life. She never really understood how her words could hurt someone—"
"I don't care if she is pampered, spoiled, or completely unhinged," Anne cut in sharply. "That's your problem. Your family's problem. I'm just glad I'm not part of it. Because if I were, I'd be forced to deal with yet another insecure, resentful woman lashing out at me for simply existing."
Her words struck with quiet, measured fury.
Nathan sat frozen, stunned into silence, fully grasping that Anne was drawing a comparison between Megan and the women who had tormented her life—Lorie and Patricia. That realization deepened his shame.
