Chapter 240
240:
“I’ll do it! I will slap myself twice!” Brendon burst out, cutting her off. His voice cracked under the strain, his face contorted in humiliation.
“What? Brendon?” Katie’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You can’t be serious!” Joselyn’s voice trembled, scandalized. How could he consent to such degradation?
“If you still want to attend the party, do as she says. Or walk away now.” Brendon looked at his crew. He had made the situation clear. The choice now rested with them: how badly did they crave access?
With a sharp inhale, Brendon raised his hand—and smack!—struck himself across the cheek. Then again.
The sharp sound rang through the air like gunshots. His skin bloomed red instantly, and the sting ran deep, not just on his face but in his pride. He met Christina’s eyes, jaw tight. “There. Happy now?”
Christina tilted her head, lips curling into a faint smile. “Acceptable. You pass.” Her cool indifference was worse than any insult, and Brendon felt it like a slap harder than the ones he’d delivered to himself.
Brendon’s crew was livid. The cruelest blow was their impotence—they couldn’t retaliate or curse Christina. They could only swallow their fury. One misstep, and she’d have them expelled, perhaps even their vehicles bulldozed from the grounds. Such a scandal would dwarf this moment’s humiliation.
Seeing her brother capitulate, Katie clenched her jaw and delivered two harsh slaps across her own face. “There! Content now?” she hissed, shooting Christina a venomous glare. If not for the party, for the chance to ingratiate herself with the Hubbards, she would never tolerate such disgrace.
She resolved that once she married into the Hubbard family, Christina would pay dearly. With these thoughts, her eyes blazed with fury—and something far darker.
“You pass as well,” Christina replied with a chuckle, ignoring Katie’s seething rage.
Joselyn hesitated, staring down at her palm. She raised her hand several times but couldn’t summon the courage to slap herself.
“I’ll go!” Finnegan stepped forward suddenly. Without hesitation, he struck himself twice. The force behind it left his jaw twitching and his cheek flaming red.
Sheila followed right after, not waiting for a beat. Her slaps were loud and swift, echoing off the nearby walls. Both Finnegan and Sheila glared at Christina, their eyes full of venom. “Is that satisfactory?”
Christina gave a slow blink, utterly unmoved. “Barely,” she said, stretching the word with a bored lilt.
Then, Christina turned her attention to Joselyn. Elegant, glittering in high-end designer threads and dripping with diamonds, Joselyn looked like a queen. But now, she was the last one standing without slapping herself twice.
“Mrs. Dawson,” Christina said sweetly, a mockingly warm smile curling her lips, “you’re the last one. Don’t mess this up.” Her tone dripped honey, but every word was laced with poison. “They all passed. If you fail, their slaps will have been for nothing.”
A sudden jolt gripped Joselyn’s heart. The weight behind those words was unsettling. Damn it! Had she known the crushing pressure awaiting the last to act, she would’ve slapped herself sooner just to get it over with. Then, disbelief dawned as her eyes widened, locked onto Christina’s. Was this a trap designed to pin all the blame on her? No matter how fiercely she struck, if Christina remained unimpressed, wouldn’t the entire fault fall upon her alone? Anger surged beneath Joselyn’s skin. Christina was setting her up. The audacity!
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