Chapter 35: The News They Feared
Thea did not ask questions when Ivy handed her the letter.
She only nodded, folded it carefully into the sleeve of her dress, and left the room like someone who had been given instructions she did not want to think too deeply about.
I watched the door close behind her, and for a moment I considered calling her back.
Something about the way Ivy had spoken to her did not feel normal, but I did not have the strength to argue anymore.
The nausea had settled, but the heaviness in my head had not gone away, and the word pregnant still felt strange inside my mind.
Ivy pretended nothing had happened.
She sat quietly near the window, watching the courtyard like she had nothing to hide, and after a few minutes she turned back toward me with the same calm expression she always wore when she wanted to appear harmless.
"You should rest," she said softly. "You don't look well."
