Catherine's pov

Slap!

Slap!

Slap!

With each sound, another whip mark was left on my body. In the darkened room, I knelt on the frigid floor, surrendering to the relentless lashes that tore my clothes apart.

"Does it hurt?" My father, Elder William, asked me in the darkness.

"Not at all." I clenched my teeth, biting my lips until they bled. I heard myself utter the response, and words escaped through the parting of my lips.

Pa!

The whip struck my back, releasing my father's wrath. It ...