The first time Delphine learned that Stone Leclair hit people, she was sixteen. She attended the same prestigious school as Bessie Leclair. Though her academic performance was excellent, she was clueless when it came to artistic talents and was often mocked by her classmates. She felt deeply inferior and heartbroken, wanting to talk to her mother.
That night, before she could reach her mother's bedroom, she heard angry shouting, the sounds of beating, and her mother's crying and pleading coming from inside.
Standing outside the door, she froze in place, her body chilled to the bone. Without saying a word, she turned and returned to her own room, hugging her knees and trembling all over.
For the next few days, her mother didn't show up. When she did reappear, her makeup was still flawless, her smile radiant as always.
