The next morning, Aarushi woke up before the alarm even rang. Her body still ached from the rough treatment of the previous night — a dull throb between her legs, tenderness on her breasts, and faint red marks on her ass. Yet, as she lay there in the soft bed, a strange new feeling stirred inside her. The shame was still there, burning hot in her cheeks, but mixed with it was something else: a quiet, fluttering curiosity. Last night had been painful and humiliating, but it had also awakened sensations she had never felt in the quiet orphanage. Her skin remembered the heat of their bodies, the weight of their hands, the taste that lingered on her tongue.