After five blows, my father flung the whip to the ground and barked,
“Now do you understand your mistake? Will you apologize to Olivia?”
I straightened slowly, met his gaze with defiance, and suddenly smirked.
“I’ll apologize—if you tell me how much you’ll pay me for it.”
His eyes bulged in fury, fists tightening until his knuckles whitened.
“Ungrateful wretch! I’ve never seen such a vile child in my life!”
He was shaking with rage, and my mother quickly stepped in to calm him, helping him sit back down.
“Alright, alright. We know her nature now—just take your time to teach her. Don’t get yourself worked up.”
Then she turned her reproach toward me—
“Your dad stayed home this morning just to have breakfast with you, and you had to stir up chaos until the whole house was in an uproar?”
“Today you’re going with Mr. Tom, the assistant, to change your last name back.”
I forced myself upright despite the pain.
“I’m not changing it.”
Everyone turned to look at me. Ethan Bennett’s voice rose in anger.
“Madison Clark, don’t be ungrateful!”
I took a deep breath, rolled my shoulders, and said,
“My name is already registered in the SAT system. Changing my last name would affect my exam.”