Upon hearing Ramona's words, Mia was momentarily stunned.
She shot Ramona a glare and countered, "Did you ingest garbage before leaving your house today? Your breath reeks terribly!"
Feeling offended, Ramona responded sharply, "Is your anger a reaction to feeling embarrassed? Did I touch a nerve? Could it be that you're juggling two relationships at once?
"If the gentleman who escorted you here discovers you're involved with another middle-aged man, he might reclaim all those designer labels you were flaunting!"
Without hesitation, Mia delivered a firm slap across Ramona's face, causing her hand to tingle from the impact.
Ramona was left momentarily dazed, feeling as though she were seeing stars, with half of her face numbed by the force of the slap.
The entire room fell into silence.
After a moment of stillness, Ramona let out a piercing scream. "Mia, how dare you strike me! Who do you think you are to lay your hands on me? My father will never let you get away with this!"
Jolene interjected, "Ramona, are you alright? This is serious. We should contact the police! Mia needs to face the consequences of her actions!"
Gina swiftly responded, "Ramona, it's your words that are causing all this chaos. Verbal abuse is a form of violence, do you not realize that?"
Ramona's hands shook as she declared, "I'm calling the police! Mia, you're going to regret today! How dare you, an orphan, lay your hands on me? You're asking for trouble!"
Seeing the tension rise, Taylor stepped in, saying, "Ramona, we're all classmates. Let's not escalate things. And, well, what you said earlier was a bit too harsh."
"When did I cross a line? Did I say something wrong?" Ramona argued. "Mia, being an orphan, surely wouldn't have so many connections.
"She must be involved in some sugar baby and daddy relationships to have such an extensive network!"
In that instant, the restaurant manager, Peter Tishmal, approached swiftly and politely addressed the middle-aged man, "Mr. Russ, do you have any specific orders?"
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