There were only two months left until the end of the contract.

Every day, John’s words echoed in Elizabeth’s mind like a sentence:

“In three years, I want you out of this house.”

She knew she had to make a decision. She couldn’t bear the humiliation of being kicked out of the house, much less face the contempt in John’s eyes.

After Mass that morning, she didn’t go straight home. She stayed in the church for a long time, praying.

She knew, with quiet faith, that somehow her pleas reached the h