Chapter 171

Pandora's POV 

I was on the verge of collapse, my body aching from hours of backbreaking labor. The rough dirt ground felt unforgiving beneath my bare feet, and my hands, bound tightly in front of me, were sore and calloused. 

Ms. Edna had made sure of that. She stood a few feet away, watching me with that familiar twisted grin on her face, a look that sent shivers down my spine.

"Keep going," she barked, her voice sharp as the crack of a whip. "We’re not done until every single vegetable is planted."

I swallowed the lump of exhaustion in my throat and continued, digging into the soil with my tied hands. The sun had long disappeared behind the horizon, but the relentless cruelty of Ms. Edna knew no limits. 

She enjoyed this, the sight of me on my knees, helpless, doing her bidding. Each seed I buried felt like another piece of my dignity being ripped away.

"Why are you doing this?" I finally dared to ask, my voice t