Chapter 4
After the pastor finished speaking, her two disciples grabbed Elvira's shoulders and head from either side.
They slammed Elvira down hard, forcing her head and shoulders onto the cold floor.
The thudding sound echoed from the icy ground.
Elvira was knocked unconscious, a deep gash splitting open on her forehead, blood splattering across the floor. The pain was so agonizing it pierced straight to her core.
With a heavy thud, she was slammed onto the ground.
But before Elvira could even catch her breath, the pastor pulled out a sharpened spike.
"Only when you suffer will Eden's wish be fulfilled," the pastor said.
As soon as she finished, she grabbed Elvira's finger.
Elvira screamed, her voice echoing in the cold room.
The sharp spike pierced under her nail, and blood instantly welled up and splattered.
The agony was so overwhelming that Elvira huddled up, her face completely drained of color.
Elvira endured this kind of torment for three days straight.
Then, Eden's assistant came to take her back.
The assistant looked at Elvira, who had lost so much weight that her clothes hung loosely on her, his eyes filled with a complicated mix of emotions.
"Mrs. Becker, I'll take you to the hospital first," he said softly.
After three days of torture, Elvira was in so much pain she could barely stand upright, and her hands were too weak to even hold anything.
Her face was haggard, with a harsh edge, and her eyes burned with hatred that refused to fade.
She pushed the assistant away with all the strength she had left.
"I am going home!" she snapped.
The car drove for what felt like ages. When they finally pulled up outside her home, Elvira snatched up a baton in the car.
The assistant tried to step forward to stop her.
"Don't forget, I'm your boss too!" she snapped.
The assistant froze in his tracks.
Elvira stormed into the house, but Eden was nowhere to be seen.
Then, she heard the sharp crack of a whip echo from the garden.
She stepped forward, and the sight stopped her cold.
Eden was outside, shirtless, commanding his men to lash him without mercy.
His back was a bloody mess, covered in welts and bruises.
But not a single trace of pity stirred in Elvira's heart.
At the sound, everyone except Eden turned to look at her.
After a long silence, Eden finally spoke, his back still turned to her. "I let down everything we had for more than ten years. I failed you. If you resent me, if you hate me, I can't argue with that.
"But Elvira, being with you wears me out. You're smart, sharp, and capable. Whenever we're together, everyone keeps saying how much you've done for me and how great you are.
"I agree with them. But no matter what I do, as long as you're there, they all see me as a guy who only made it because of his wife.
"So much has happened to the Becker family. My parents both ended their own lives. I'm not the same man I used to be. I've suffered, I've taken so many dirty looks just to get here.
"Nobody else knows what I've been through, but you do. Now that I'm back on top, all I want is to shake off all that pain. But Elvira, every time I look at you, all those helpless days come rushing back..."
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, then went on, "Being with you, I always feel suffocated, like I'm forced to wear a mask. But with Claire, I can finally let my guard down and just be myself.
"I'll pay for what you have suffered with three hundred lashes. I don't care what you do to me, but Claire is where I draw the line!"
Out of nowhere, Elvira let out a cold, mocking laugh that shattered the silence of the garden.
Tears slipped from her eyes as she laughed, but she clenched the baton in her hand, forcing herself to ignore the pain.
Elvira approached Eden step by step, then lifted her arm high.
The heavy baton crashed down hard on Eden's back with a muffled thump.
Caught completely off guard, Eden collapsed to one knee.
Elvira practically ground her teeth as she stared daggers at the back of Eden's head.
"Eden, if that's how you feel, then why don't you just divorce me?" she spat.
He clenched his jaw, sweat trickling down his brow.
"I've told you before, you'll always be my wife," he said, his voice low and unwavering.
Elvira found herself wanting to laugh at those words.
Eden used to make many promises to her.
He swore he'd love her for a lifetime.
He said she was his everything.
He even vowed that if either of them ever betrayed the other, they'd die.
He'd made all those promises, but in the end, the only one he ever bothered to keep was that she'd always be his wife.
Her tears had dried up long ago, leaving her face cold and emotionless.
Her heart was numb now, untouched by anything Eden said.
"You're only staying married to me because it's convenient for you, not because of any vow you ever made," Elvira said.
Eden had changed completely.
Not only had his heart change, but he had also grown sharper and more calculating.