Chapter One — The Man She Should Never Love
The bells rang at six in the morning.
Cathy opened her eyes before the final chime faded into the quiet corridors of the convent.
For a few seconds, she remained still beneath the thin white sheets, staring at the ceiling.
Another day.
Another prayer.
Another reminder of the life she had chosen.
She sat up, pulled her robe around herself, and reached for the small Bible resting beside her bed.
Her fingers brushed the worn cover.
“Lord,” she whispered, “help me remain faithful.”
It was a simple prayer.
But lately, Cathy had found herself repeating it more often.
She didn’t know why.
Perhaps because something inside her had been restless.
Perhaps because she had begun to wonder whether devotion meant never wanting anything for herself.
She pushed the thought away.
She had made her choice.
God first.
Always.
By seven, the convent was alive with quiet movement.
Cathy walked through the courtyard carrying a basket of freshly washed linens. The morning sun warmed her face as she crossed toward the garden.
She loved the garden.
It was the one place where she could think.
She knelt beside the roses and began removing the weeds from around them.
“Cathy.”
She looked over her shoulder.
Sister Miriam stood behind her.
“You are expected at the chapel.”
“I’ll be there shortly.”
Sister Miriam studied her.
“You’ve seemed distracted lately.”
Cathy lowered her eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“You know you can speak to me.”
“I know.”
But she couldn’t explain what she didn’t understand herself.
That restless feeling.
That strange sense that something was approaching.
Something she couldn’t name.
Across the city, a completely different world was waking.
Anthony sat behind a massive desk in a dark office overlooking the city.
Three men stood before him.
Nobody spoke.
They knew better.
Anthony slowly closed the file in front of him.
“Who betrayed me?”
The tallest man swallowed.
“We’re still investigating.”
Anthony’s eyes lifted.
“That wasn’t my question.”
Silence.
Anthony leaned back.
He was young enough to still be underestimated and powerful enough to make men twice his age afraid.
His reputation had been built on one simple rule:
Never betray Anthony.
Because Anthony never forgave betrayal.
His phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
A message.
The shipment will arrive tonight.
He typed one response.
Make sure it does.
Then another message appeared.
There’s a problem.
Anthony’s expression hardened.
Before he could respond, his right-hand man entered the room.
“We need to leave.”
“Why?”
“There’s been an incident.”
Anthony stood.
“Where?”
“The old district.”
He grabbed his jacket.
“Let’s go.”
By late afternoon, Cathy had left the convent for the first time that week.
She had been asked to deliver supplies to a community center across town.
The streets were unusually crowded.
She held her bag close as she walked.
She didn’t notice the black cars parked across the road.
She didn’t notice the men standing beside them.
But someone noticed her.
Anthony.
He had just stepped out of the building when his gaze landed on her.
Everything around him seemed to slow.
The woman in the simple habit.
The quiet expression.
The way she carried herself as though the chaos of the city could never touch her.
Anthony stared.
“Who is she?”
His associate followed his gaze.
“I don’t know.”
Anthony’s eyes remained fixed on Cathy.
“Find out.”
“Anthony—”
“I said find out.”
Cathy suddenly looked across the street.
Their eyes met.
For one brief second, neither moved.
She saw a man dressed entirely in black.
His expression was cold.
Dangerous.
But there was something else in his eyes.
Something she couldn’t understand.
Anthony felt something unfamiliar tighten in his chest.
Then Cathy looked away.
She continued walking.
Anthony watched until she disappeared around the corner.
“Who is she?” he asked again.
His associate hesitated.
“Her name is Cathy.”
Anthony repeated the name quietly.
“Cathy.”
There was something about it.
Something that stayed in his mind.
“She’s connected to the convent.”
Anthony’s jaw tightened.
“A religious sister?”
“Yes.”
He gave a humorless laugh.
Of all the women in the city…
He had noticed the one woman he could never have.
But Anthony had never been a man who accepted the word never.
That evening, Cathy knelt inside the chapel.
Candles flickered before the altar.
Her hands were folded.
Her eyes were closed.
But she couldn’t concentrate.
She kept remembering him.
The stranger in black.
His eyes.
The intensity of his stare.
She didn’t know his name.
She didn’t know who he was.
And she certainly didn’t know why her heart had reacted the way it did.
Cathy opened her Bible.
“Lord,” she whispered again.
This time, her voice trembled.
“Whatever this is… take it away.”
She closed her eyes.
But somewhere across the city, Anthony was already asking questions about her.
And neither of them knew that their brief encounter had just changed the course of both their lives.
Cathy had prayed for protection.
Anthony had found his obsession.
And God alone knew what would happen when the two worlds collided.
