Before Aurora could say anything else, Mia piped up again.
"How about we split up?" Mia suggested brightly. "It'll be faster if we shop in smaller groups. Otherwise, we'll just slow each other down."
She turned pointedly to Aurora. "Aurora, you should go with Spencer."
Betsy's face immediately stiffened.
"I-I'll go with her!" Betsy said quickly, grabbing Aurora's arm.
"And I'll go too!" Dana added nervously.
Before Mia could respond, Spencer said firmly, "I agree with Mia."
His deep voice carried through the air, and it echoed strangely because at the exact same time, Dana and Betsy had also blurted, "No!" and "I'll go!"
The mall's ambient noise seemed to hush for a second, leaving behind an awkward silence.
Betsy turned toward Aurora with tears welling up in her eyes, looking pitiful.
"Aurora...please don't ignore me," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm truly sorry... I didn't mean to hurt you."
But deep inside, Betsy's thoughts were far less pretty.
