Chapter 354

Mara Hawthorne stormed back into the Hawthorne house with a heart full of frustration and rage, barely containing her emotions. Linda Quinn rushed over the moment she saw her daughter. “Mara, where on earth have you been? You just left without a word! Your grandfather’s furious—he just realized you were gone,” Linda said, gripping Mara’s arm, her tone quick and anxious. “Come on, go explain to him, apologize.” This time, Gerald Hawthorne had meant it when he grounded Mara. Apologize? Again? Mara was already fuming after dealing with the mess outside, and now hearing that her grandfather was upset about her slipping out? It just hit her harder—why was it always about Cassandra Taylor? “I’m not apologizing,” Mara snapped, the memory of being forced to apologize to Cassandra at the luxury store still raw in her mind. “I’m an adult, not some criminal. I just went out, that’s all. Am I not allowed a little freedom now?” With those words, her eyes glistened with tears as she hurried upstairs