Catherine stood by the window of her hotel room, the rain streaking down the glass like tears she refused to shed. The world outside looked as dreary as she felt, but her eyes weren’t focused on the weather—they were on the man walking through the church courtyard, umbrella in hand, his black jacket soaked at the shoulders. Arthur. His strides were confident now, his steps steady. Happy. Fulfilled. And all of it—because of her.
Isabella.Catherine’s fingers clenched the curtain tightly, nails digging into the fabric as her chest constricted with jealousy and bitterness. The nerve of him. Smiling like he had never known heartbreak. Like she hadn’t been a part of him once. Like their past hadn’t mattered.She turned abruptly, her heels clicking sharply on the polished floors as she crossed to the desk and opened the drawer. There it was—the letter. The one she had penned weeks ago, meant to unearth everything. Meant to be her knife in the dark. But she hadn’Rain slithered down the stained-glass windows of The Cathedral, casting murky colors onto the mosaic floor. The church groaned in the storm, ancient wood creaking like bones shifting beneath old skin. Inside the library annex—Arthur’s new sanctuary—a quiet war raged within him.It had been Six months since he took up his position in the church library, a seeming demotion cloaked in spiritual opportunity. But Arthur saw through the veil. He knew the church hadn’t reinstated him out of mercy. The library was a cage—quiet, gilded, deceptive. Yet within that silence, he found something powerful: whispers.Not the whispers of men, but echoes that clung to books too ancient for sunlight. Volumes that shouldn’t exist anymore. Manuscripts bound in dark red leather, inked in languages older than the cathedral itself.At first, Arthur ignored them. Focused on restoring old texts, cataloguing records, organizing theological archives. But one book changed everything—"
The bell tower tolled, each chime heavy with something deeper than time—almost like a cry etched into the wind. Isabella stirred in bed, tangled in bedsheets and sweat. Her dreams had been feverish. A great hall of fire and bone. An altar drenched in crimson roses. Her own face, glowing with light, shadowed by the hooded figures who once called themselves shepherds of the Word. She bolted upright in bed, breath ragged and skin clammy. The room was silent- too silent- save for the frantic thudding of her heart. For a moment, she couldn’t tell if she had truly woken or stepped into another nightmare.Arthur sat across the room, still dressed in yesterday’s shirt and slacks, staring into a flickering candle. The flame danced against his hollow eyes. He had been up all night reading the oldest texts he could find in the locked chambers of the church library. Texts long forbidden. Texts Michael had once warned him never to touch."You saw it again, didn’t you?" Arthur f
Autumn was bleeding into the air, carrying with it a sharpness that clung to the skin. The town buzzed with a different energy—one that came not just from falling leaves and colder winds, but from the whispered tales of a man reborn and a woman reclaiming herself.Arthur had become a quiet marvel in the community. His dedication to the church library had evolved into something almost sacred. More than a librarian, he had become a teacher, mentor, and trusted counselor. Faith-seekers came not just for books but for the quiet fire in his words and the peace in his presence. He spoke gently, but his words clung to souls like balm. The library wasn’t just a sanctuary—it had become a place of awakening.But inside, Arthur was haunted. The weight of the past pressed like a ghost at his shoulder. Catherine. The child. The guilt. It never truly left. And though he had told Isabella everything—well, almost everything—he often found himself teetering on the edge of what he h
The first light of morning spilled through the stained-glass windows of the church, casting soft hues of violet and gold upon the marble floor. Arthur stood silently in the church library, inhaling the scent of parchment, wood polish, and the faint perfume of incense that had soaked into the walls over the years. This sanctuary had become his solace. But even in sacred silence, change loomed in the shadows.The library had grown in reputation under Arthur’s quiet management. Locals now frequented it not only for theological study but for counsel, discussion, and reflection. Children sat at his feet for stories from the Bible laced with gentle moral teachings; young men came seeking guidance, and women, curious and skeptical alike, found themselves challenged and comforted by Arthur's composed wisdom.But Catherine was watching.From a distance cloaked in elegance and vengeance, she had begun weaving her web. She had seen Arthur at the town festival, laughi
The soft rustle of ancient pages echoed through the empty aisles of the church library. Arthur stood at the center of the quiet room, a space filled with relics of faith and time, breathing in the scent of old parchment and incense that seemed to permanently cling to the walls. He had found peace here—peace in order, in reflection, in prayer.It had been six months since the church had quietly brought him back—not as a priest, but as a steward of its spiritual knowledge. Arthur now served as the head librarian and unofficial mentor to a small group of parishioners seeking deeper spiritual understanding. His teachings were subtle, more conversation than sermon, often filled with the quiet passion that once made his homilies unforgettable.People began to gather under his teachings again. At first, it was just the curious—those who had once admired him from afar. Then came the desperate, the lost, the souls with heavy burdens. Arthur welcomed them with a calm presenc
Catherine stood by the window of her hotel room, the rain streaking down the glass like tears she refused to shed. The world outside looked as dreary as she felt, but her eyes weren’t focused on the weather—they were on the man walking through the church courtyard, umbrella in hand, his black jacket soaked at the shoulders. Arthur. His strides were confident now, his steps steady. Happy. Fulfilled. And all of it—because of her.Isabella.Catherine’s fingers clenched the curtain tightly, nails digging into the fabric as her chest constricted with jealousy and bitterness. The nerve of him. Smiling like he had never known heartbreak. Like she hadn’t been a part of him once. Like their past hadn’t mattered.She turned abruptly, her heels clicking sharply on the polished floors as she crossed to the desk and opened the drawer. There it was—the letter. The one she had penned weeks ago, meant to unearth everything. Meant to be her knife in the dark. But she hadn’