“You are learning,” Silas said. “An object does not justify its existence. It simply is .”
Week two, the training shifted. She was placed on a pedestal in a circular studio. A dozen other women, former CEOs, surgeons, and activists, sat in a ring. Silas handed each a slip of paper. One by one, they approached Ava and used her. Not cruelly—ritualistically. A woman draped a necklace over Ava’s neck and stepped back to admire. Another rested a book on her upturned palms. A third placed a single rose between her lips. Ava was not to speak, not to react, not to help . She was a coat rack, a bookshelf, a vase. empowered feminist trained to be an object
She went because she was arrogant enough to think she couldn’t be broken, and honest enough to admit that winning every argument had left her lonely. “You are learning,” Silas said