Chapter 1

POV - Stella Grace.

If you were to ask me what I liked most in the world, I'd immediately say Sunday mornings. I cherished them because that's when the townspeople would gather in the church to pray and bask in God's grace. I loved how the hallways of the church would fill with the light laughter of little children, brightening the entire surroundings. Their soft little feet padding around and their adorable faces always made my heart feel light. On Sunday mornings, I'd play with them like a child myself, which somehow made me feel even more content. Today was one of those Sundays I eagerly anticipated.

"Stella, hurry along! The mass prayer is about to start," Sister Ophelia called to me. Excited, I practically bounced behind her, heading towards the church hall, where I expected to see the usual townspeople.

However, today the hall was almost empty, save for a handful of tall, burly men dressed entirely in leather. I frowned at the suddenly dark atmosphere, my excitement quickly fading. For some reason, fear gripped my heart, and I instinctively tugged at Ophelia’s gown like a child, hiding behind her just as I used to do in my childhood. As if sensing my discomfort, Sister Ophelia gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

When we reached the Head Nun, she informed me that people from a nearby town had come to visit and would be attending the prayer today. Her words made me wonder why people from other towns would visit us and why our own townspeople weren't attending if visitors were here, but I decided not to ask. I simply nodded and faced the small crowd. Out of habit, I glanced at the men, and my heart plummeted at the sight of the man who had defiled my lips. When he looked at me, he gave an arrogant smirk, making me scowl. I didn't want to look at him any further, so I quickly averted my gaze.

Soon, the Head Nun began the prayer, so I focused on God instead of that burly man. After the prayer, I opened my eyes, and our gazes met again. This time, the man mouthed, "You have nowhere to run now, princess," and my stomach dropped at his words. He clearly had no intention of leaving me alone after our last incident. He smiled and started walking toward me, as if sensing the terror in my eyes.

"It's been a while, Head Nun," he said, walking past me, and subtly brushed his hand against mine. As if I had been scorched by fire, I snatched my hand away and pressed it against my chest.

"Yes, it has been a while, Mr. Lance. I hope you will help me again during this challenging period, just as you did last time," the Head Nun said, smiling brightly at him, which made me frown. The Head Nun I had known since childhood was always so detached from people, but today, she was all smiles and giggles.

"You know me. I'm always there to help you. By the way, I'm not only here to help you; I have a confession to make," the man, Mr. Lance, stated.

"Stella, go to the confession booth and help Mr. Lance out," the Head Nun instructed me. I pouted inwardly but led the man to the booth anyway. "Please, go in there," I said, and then quickly moved to my side of the booth. Once seated, I asked him to begin his confession.

"How have you been, Princess?" the man asked, sprawled casually in the chair, leaning back.

"Please confess your sins," I insisted, clutching my rosary. The man didn't speak for a while, watching me through the partition before a slow smirk spread across his face. His eyes twinkled with mischief, and even before he spoke, I knew whatever he was about to say wouldn't be good.

"I kissed a nun," he said, then leaned forward, looking directly into my eyes. "And I'm afraid I want to kiss her more and f—k her so good, she would forget who she prayed to".

"Atrocious!" I gritted through my teeth, glaring at him. "I can forgive you for anything, but you have no right to mock my God!"

"Calm down, Princess. We'll see how strong your connection to your God is later. Let's see who wins: your faith in God or my obsession to own you," Mr. Lance said.

"Are you challenging God?" I asked, breathing heavily. I couldn't bear the words coming out of his mouth, but if I left abruptly, it would only feed his ego, so I stayed seated. I knew my faith was much stronger than his obsession.

"I'm challenging you," he said, getting up. "That's all for the confession today. Be ready by seven tonight; I'm taking you out for a date". Before I could reply, he was gone. I prayed to God to forgive his sins before leaving the confession booth.

When I walked back to the Head Nun's side, Mr. Lance was already talking to her. "Head Nun, I have a request to make," he said, glancing at me. I bit my lips, knowing full well he wouldn't have anything good to say.

"What is it?" the Head Nun asked.

"She helped me last week, and I owe her. But knowing you, you wouldn't accept a gift, so I want to express my gratitude to her by taking her to dinner. Do I have your permission to take her out?" he stated, knowing I couldn't reject him in front of the Head Nun, which is why he said all this.

"Why not? It's not possible today, but you can take her out tomorrow," the Head Nun said, smiling warmly at me. "Stella, be ready tomorrow."

"Yes," I said, glaring at the man. In annoyance, I stomped to my room, unable to bear looking at him any further. I didn't have dinner that night because I heard that Mr. Lance and his men would be staying for the night. I really didn't want to see his face, so I stayed hungry.

I went to bed early but felt restless and couldn't sleep for some reason. My room felt stuffy, so I decided to patrol around the church. I started from the gardens of the Church, where I had planted my beloved peonies – my favorite flower. 

Whenever I felt restless, I came here to clear my mind. The garden hadn't always been filled with peonies; for generations, our Church had planted Madonna Lilies. However, after our previous Head Nun fell ill, our current Head Nun dedicated all her time to her, making her unable to tend to the gardens. So, when I volunteered to maintain them, the current Head Nun gave me full authority over it. I was seven then, and I'd fallen in love with peonies after a child my age gifted them to me during a Sunday gathering. Over the years, I slowly removed all traces of the Madonna Lily and planted peonies everywhere. Now, whenever I walk past the Church boundaries, I smell their sweet scent, which makes me incredibly happy to see my favorite flowers everywhere.

After sitting in the garden for a while, I got up and walked towards the church. I frowned when I saw the lights on and the doors slightly ajar. That had never happened before, so I stepped closer, and my heart dropped at the sounds echoing from inside the church. I could feel it in my bones that it was the Head Nun, but I decided to peek to confirm my suspicions. With shaky hands, I pushed the church door open wider to see, and I almost collapsed in fear. Mr. Lance was on his knees, licking our Head Nun down there.

As if he sensed my presence, he looked directly into my eyes. A sickening expression crossed his face as he pulled his lips away from the Head Nun. "It seems it's been too long, Head Nun. I might need to put my c—k inside you right now," Mr. Lance said, unbuttoning his pants and letting them drop to the ground. I watched, frozen in horror, as he tied the Head Nun's eyes. He roughly yanked her from the praying bench and turned her around. Still looking straight into my eyes, he slid his 'thing' into the Head Nun’s bottom. I clenched my fists and closed my eyes, unable to believe what I was seeing. How could the Head Nun defile such a sacred place? How could I bear to watch this insult to my God? In tears, I turned around and walked back to my room. I tried desperately to forget what I saw, but the Head Nun’s cries of pleasure haunted me all night.

~.~