In the past, Caelith had always met Yvaine's provocations with quiet indifference, as though nothing in the world could stir her. Dorian had long believed his wife overly detached—almost dull in her composure.
It had always unsettled him––how still and calm she was even in the face of great annoyance. He wondered if Caelith was simply heartless.
Yet today, her words struck him like a sudden peal of thunder.
To send Yvaine to a villa beyond the city under the guise of "rest and recovery" appeared, on the surface, considerate.
But in truth, it was a move that cut the root from the tree, for the "villa" in question had long been given to charity and transformed into a convent.
Such a place lay far from the capital. Once sent there, it would be no different from exile. And with Yvaine's reputation already stained, her removal to a convent would seal her fate entirely—any hope of return to the Valehart household would become all but impossible.
