Alisha remained silent after he departed, his warning still echoing in her mind. She knew better than to provoke him. The memory of his touch and the pain it brought was too fresh, and she couldn't bear the thought of enduring it again. So, she resolved to keep her mouth shut.

"He talks about teaching me manners, yet he has none," she thought. "He's disrespectful and dirty. How can he expect to instruct me on proper behaviour?"

Alisha's mother, observing her frightened and tear-stained face, ...