Chapter 234

Evelyn PoV I could feel the fire of Odessa's stare upon me in absence of her physical presence. She was testing me. Watching. Waiting. Every interaction, every task she assigned, was meant to push me to my breaking point. But I had refused to give her that pleasure of seeing me crack wide open. I held my head high, shoulders squared, even when hunger left my stomach in torments and all signs screamed for rest. One ultimate attempt-breaking would be in her favour. I would not. Submission was what she wanted-a statement of weakness. I was not weak. Days went by, as Odessa kept count in a terrible prison of sorts that she had set up for me, with no shackling-but the guards outside the door ensured I was as good as trapped. They fed me only when they felt like it, and water only if I obeyed. There were bruises on my arms as a result of their unruly treatment, all because I would not comply. But even as my body traipsed into weakness, the spirit did not. One day, while I was leaning back ag