Chapter 536

A full day and night...

Lindey must've come straight here after I left the Johnston residence.

When I saw her kneeling there, hunched over, it felt like my heart was caught in a vice.

Abbot Levinsky moved toward her, but I just stood there, frozen.

After what felt like forever, I finally made myself move. I knelt down beside her and whispered, "Lindey."

She flinched, then slowly looked up at me, disbelief flickering across her face. Her lips trembled, but she didn't say anything—just let the tears fall.

I looked at her tear-streaked cheeks and the gray creeping into her hair, and I couldn't believe how much she seemed to have aged overnight.

"Rea..." Her voice was shaky as she said my name, then pulled me into a tight hug.

Her embrace had once been my safest place, the warmest in my world. But now? I couldn't bring myself to lift my arms and hold her back.

"I came to confess. I've been begging for mercy..." she whispered, her voice breaking between sobs.

But her confessions c