LOGINElara's POVThe click of the library door handle made every muscle in my body freeze. My heart slammed painfully against my ribs. Someone was coming out. I instinctively took a step back, but before I could move any farther, a hand suddenly caught my wrist. I nearly screamed. Marcus. His eyes widened as he silently shook his head."Don't," he mouthed. Without another word, he gently but urgently guided me behind one of the massive marble pillars that supported the old convent corridor. It was the only place nearby large enough to hide two people. We stood in silence. I could hear my own heartbeat. The library door creaked open. Reverend Donald stepped out first. Behind him... Dark leather shoes appeared. Only the shoes. The rest of the figure remained hidden behind the heavy wooden door.Reverend Donald slowly scanned the empty hallway."...Who's there?".No answer.Marcus held his breath beside me.I did the same.For what felt like forever, Reverend Donald remained perfectly still.
Elara's POVFor a long moment after the call ended, I couldn't move.Helen's laughter still echoed inside my ears long after the screen on my phone had gone dark. Slowly, I lowered the device from my ear. The first person I saw was Marcus. He stood a few steps away from me, his brows slightly drawn together, concern softening his features."...Is everything alright?" His voice was gentle.I forced my fingers to loosen around my phone before I smiled. "I'm fine."It was the biggest lie I had told all day. Marcus didn't look convinced, but thankfully he didn't press further.Instead, he gestured towards the counseling room."Would you like to sit for a while? Since you'd be having your counseling meeting soon."I nodded.Anything was better than standing outside with my thoughts threatening to swallow me whole.The counseling room had always been my favorite place in the convent aside the library. Simple, quiet and safe.Sunlight filtered through the old stained-glass window, painting p
Adrian's POVThe road ahead was clear. Yet my mind wasn't. My phone buzzed again on the passenger seat. Elara. Her name flashed across the screen for the fourth time in less than twenty minutes. I stared at it. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel.Then... I rejected the call. Silence returned inside the car. Only the sound of the engine remained."...I'm sorry." The apology came out quietly. Not because she could hear it. Because I needed to say it. Another vibration, amessage. I didn't open it. I had already changed the settings weeks ago. Even when I read her messages, they would remain unread on her side.At first it had seemed ridiculous. Now... It was necessary. If Helen believed Elara could still reach me whenever she wanted... She would keep using her. And I refused to let that happen. Everything happening now... The scandal, the video, the threats, the press conference. Every single problem. It all started with me, not Elara. She had been living peacefully inside t
Elara's POVMy heart nearly stopped.The voice behind me wasn't loud.It wasn't threatening either.Yet it startled me enough that my phone slipped from my hand and struck the stone floor with a sharp crack.For one frozen second, I couldn't bring myself to turn around."...Elara?" The voice came again, softer this time.Slowly, I turned. Marcus stood only a few feet away, his brows knitted together with concern. Sunlight filtered through the courtyard, catching the edges of his dark hair. He looked more confused than suspicious. His gaze shifted from my face to the phone on the ground.Then back to me. "Are you alright?"I forced a smile that didn't feel real. "I'm fine."He didn't seem convinced. "You don't look fine."I bent down quickly and picked up my phone, grateful that the screen hadn't shattered. "It was just a call."Marcus remained quiet for a moment before asking gently, "Was someone threatening you?"My fingers tightened around the phone. The answer almost escaped me. Ye
Elara's POV"Who's in there?" Reverend Donald's voice came from just outside the library door. Every muscle in my body went rigid. I didn't answer. I couldn't. My heart pounded so loudly against my ribs that I was certain whoever stood outside could hear it. The old wooden door creaked another inch open. The narrow gap widened just enough for a hand to appear around the edge. I instinctively held my breath. One more step... One more push... And I would be discovered.Then—"Reverend." A young man's voice echoed down the hallway. "I beg your pardon."The hand on the doorknob paused. And that was when I noticed it.The hand. It was withdrawing from the doorknob. I frowned. Something wasn't right. There were only four complete fingers. The little finger... Or what should have been the little finger... Ended halfway. The tip was missing. There was no fingernail. Just smooth scarred skin where the rest of the finger should have been. A strange chill crawled down my spine. Before I could l
Elara's POVThe scream ripped through the convent before dawn. It wasn't just loud. It was the kind of scream that made your blood freeze before your mind even understood why. As my eyes flew open, for a second, I couldn't remember where I was. Then another scream echoed through the hallway."Oh, God!" Vanessa shot upright on the bed opposite mine, her blanket falling to the floor. "What was that?"Neither of us answered. Almost at the same time, the convent lights flickered once... Twice... Then every light in the hallway burst back to life.The silence that followed somehow felt worse. I was already out of bed before my mind caught up with my body."Elara!" Vanessa called after me as I hurried towards the door. The moment I stepped into the corridor, cold air rushed against my skin.Church servants... Young sisters... Workers... Everyone was running towards the same direction. My stomach twisted. No... Please... Not again. I followed the crowd. Each step felt heavier than the last.
Elara’s POVI didn’t stop running.Not until the library was far behind me.My breath came out fast and uneven, my chest rising and falling as I pressed my back against the cold wall of the corridor.Everything was quiet.Too quiet.But inside me—Nothing was quiet.It all kept replaying.The way h
Adrian’s POV I didn’t move. Not immediately after she left. The library door had slammed shut behind her, the sound echoing louder than it should have and yet, I could still feel her. Her presence, Her warmth, Her hesitation. A slow breath left my lips as I ran a hand through my hair, my ches
Elara’s POVThe morning after Sunday’s Mass felt unusually still.As I walked through the church’s compound, my mind drifted back to Mrs Rachel’s words."He will come by noon.Twelve o’clock".I had remembered it.---By noon, I checked my phone.Nothing, no text that her son wasn't coming as usual
Adrian’s POVThe club was alive.Not just loud—alive.Bass-heavy music pounded through the walls, vibrating through the glass in my hand, through my chest, through my bones. The DJ had just switched tracks—something darker, heavier—“After Dark” pulsed through the speakers, the rhythm thick and into







