If a woman refused to obey, she did not stay the property of one man for long.
She was passed around the village until she broke.
Boys might be kept.
Girls were another matter entirely.
None of the women wanted to become a shared toy or a baby-making machine.
So they chose the smaller cage.
“Better one man than the whole village,” someone said quietly.
Naomi felt the words settle like ice in her stomach. Her determination to leave only hardened.
She already knew these women would never stand with her. The best she could do was gather whatever information might later become a bargaining chip or a map.
“Once you accepted it,” she asked carefully, “did any of you ever leave this place?”
The room went still. Every gaze turned toward a soft-faced woman sitting in the corner. Before
