Gloria stared at her mother in heartbroken disbelief, and Judith immediately dodged her gaze, turning her head away sharply, unwilling incapable, even to look her own daughter in the eyes anymore. The rejection was palpable, a final severing of the bond that had once defined Gloria's world.
Her heart felt so heavy, so unbearably weighted down with sorrow and betrayal, that it might burst at any moment, flooding her chest with an agony too profound for words. Her eyes were glazed over with a sheen of tears, brimming but refusing to spill—not here, not in front of her mother, who was already crying rivers of disappointment. Gloria wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing her crumble further.
Thus, with legs that felt like lead, she got up from the bed and walked slowly toward the door,
