Chapter 7 - Melissa Attempts To Salvage Her Shattered Pride Desperately
The heavy wooden doors of the private dining room swung shut behind me, but the tension inside remained unbearable.
Melissa stood frozen beside the ruined glass on the floor, her mind spinning out of control.
She turned violently toward her two junior officers, who were slowly easing themselves back toward their chairs.
“Don't you dare look at me like that!” Melissa snapped, her voice trembling with misplaced rage.
“She’s flexing her rank! She’s doing this on purpose to humiliate me in front of my unit!”
The two lieutenants exchanged uncomfortable looks, neither of them willing to validate her delusion.
“Captain,” one of the lieutenants said cautiously, keeping his voice extremely respectful.
“That was General Vance... he doesn't assist in personal flexes. If he’s here, she really is running Joint Operations.”
“I don't care who she’s running!” Melissa yelled, her composure completely shattering into hysteria.
“She’s my younger sister! She used to wear my hand-me-down clothes!”
“Melissa, shut up!” Dad suddenly roared, slamming his palm down against the table so hard the water glasses rattled.
The entire room went silent as Dad stood up, his face red with a mixture of anger, self-loathing, and complete humiliation.
“Just shut your mouth!” Dad shouted, his voice echoing off the wood paneling.
“We just insulted a high-ranking military official while she was paying for our three-thousand-dollar dinner!”
“You sat there and mocked her job, and I joined in like a total fool!”
“Do you have any idea what we look like right now?”
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Mom pulled a napkin from her lap and pressed it against her face, her sobs getting louder.
Melissa took a step back, shocked that the father who had idolized her for years was now screaming at her in public.
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