A Second Life, A New Power novel Chapter 405

The crisp sound of the slap was followed by Ana's shocked cry as she instinctively covered her cheek, staring at Stephen in disbelief.

In all her years, this was the first time Stephen had ever slapped her.

Michelle and Daniel gasped beside her while Thomas gaped at his father in astonishment.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Michelle snapped out of her daze and immediately shielded Ana.

"What am I doing? The company's in chaos, and I'm out there working like crazy, worried and sleepless night after night until I'm ready to collapse. Has any of you thought of sharing my burden? No! You're all too busy with your petty schemes and selfish games! Is the damn company mine alone?

"Where do you think the money for your clothes, food, and luxuries comes from? Why should I be the only one tiring myself?" Stephen roared, his face flushed crimson with rage.

His fury stemmed not just from Ana's manipulations on the show or her lightning-summoning lies, nor merely from hearing her refuse to apologize to Demi. The root cause was the two shareholder calls and one partner's termination notice he'd just received upstairs.

The shareholders demanded to know why Stephen hadn't contained the crisis yet, pressuring him to act immediately—the partner was cutting ties.

Stephen was already seething. When he'd come downstairs only to hear Ana's selfish, willful words—combined with memories of her behavior on the TV–it was the final spark that caused him to slap her.

Ana's eyes welled with tears as she cupped her stinging cheek.

"Honey, she's just being childish. Let me talk sense into her, and she'll listen," Michelle interjected.