Ivy returned to the east study the next evening because not returning had become the more frightening option.All day the compound continued in its ordinary sacred rhythm: dawn labor, shared meals, scripture in the common hall, eyes lowered, hands busy. Ivy performed every motion correctly and still felt marked. When she sat, she felt Cain. When she walked, the secret ache between her legs turned each step into memory. When Brother Vale passed the women’s work line at midday and did not look at her, the absence of his attention was almost worse than the weight of it.Sister Rhea noticed her distraction once and only said, “Keep your mind with your hands.”Ivy nodded. Her hands kept working. Her mind stayed in the east study on the edge of that table.After evening assembly, she did not wait to be summoned. She crossed the courtyard under the compound lamps with her linen neat and her hair bound, and she knocked.“Enter.”Cain was already waiting, robe dark, lamp lit, shutters closed.
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2026-09-11 อ่านเพิ่มเติม