Cassian appeared satisfied only after Silviya's humiliation had begun spreading across social media.
Comments appeared one after another beneath the photograph, some mocking her, some asking whether what she had written was true, while countless strangers told her to check her private messages.
He watched the numbers continue rising for a while before turning the phone towards her so that she could see the screen for herself.
"You have become quite famous, Silviya," he remarked with faint amusement. "A thousand messages already. Impressive." He nodded with appreciation.
Tears continued rolling silently down Silviya's cheeks, but she did not dare answer him. Her swollen lips and broken front teeth made even closing her mouth properly painful, and whatever arrogance she had shown earlier had vanished.
She simply stared at the screen while notifications continued appearing, one after another, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop them.
