It's Been 8 Years

Ariella's body froze the second her eyes met with her husband, Eldric’s dark brown eyes which were already glowering at her. Ariella hurriedly stepped down from the bed which made her hiss in pain because of feeling that painful aching in between her entire lower body but ignoring it, she stood up on her feet and lowered her head.

Her blood ran cold when she heard his footsteps coming closer to her. Ariella gripped the front of her nightgown. Terror washed over her when she witnessed him standing right in front of her.

“So my dear wife finally decided to wake up from her beauty sleep?” She heard him uttering to her and his words made her grip her nightgown more tightly. Her body had practically started shivering in front of her husband because she knew what he was capable of doing to her and how painfully, as he had done it countless times in the past one year. In fact, now enduring this pain had become a part of her every single day.

“I am sorry,” she apologised to him, trying to make sure not to stutter in front of him. Her eyes were still downcasted.

“My b…body was hurting badly last night so I had to take pain killers and that made me….” She could not even complete her words because the very second she felt him gripping a fist of her hair and pulling them harshly. A painful yelp escaped from her mouth while tears stung her eyes.

She found him forcing her head upward to look at him.

“This is not my fucking headache to take,” he seethed out at her, pulling her hair more aggressively. She cried out while clutching his palm so that he could let go of her hair but he didn't. Instead, with every passing second, his hold around her hair turned more rough. Her head started throbbing badly in pain as she felt like he was going to rip apart her hair from her scalp.

“You knows that I want my breakfast at my table at sharp 8 o'clock and it's already 9 in the morning, so now who the fuck is going to compensate for that one fucking hour?” He snarled at her. 

“Besides, I told you I have a very important meeting in the afternoon today with someone, so I need to leave for my work earlier today but your memory seems to turn weak,” he pulled her hair more viciously.

“I…I am sorry. I am really very sorry. This won't happen again,” she apologised to him, begging, even though it was not her mistake. It was because of his brutality on her last night which he continued to do almost half of the night with her, she had to take those painkillers in order to numb that aching pain she was feeling in her entire body and it made her sleep for longer but she knew she had no right to defend herself here because if she would defend herself then it was going to bring more pain for her as she had turned so pathetic and vulnerably helpless that she was not even capable of standing for her own self.

“I…I am really very sorry, Eldric. I…I will prepare your breakfast,” she said to him. Tears were falling from her eyes, vigorously. 

Gritting his teeth, he shoved her down on the bed roughly. 

“Make sure to clean your filthy self before preparing my breakfast as even looking at you makes my eyes feel disgusted,” he spat at her which made Ariella clench the bedsheet beneath her.

After sending her one last glare, Eldric walked out of that room which made Ariella unclench her fist and then she got up from the bed. This was not something new for her. It had become a part of her everyday life where her husband behaved like a cruel animal with her and she had to endure it in complete silence because she knew her fate had even snatched that right of shedding her tears on her own helplessness.

Wiping her unshed eyes, she walked towards the cabinet beside the bed. Ariella opened that cabinet and took out her contraception pills. Grabbing the glass of water from the top of the table, she gulped down a pill with it. It was a strict instruction from her husband to her to never forget about taking her after pills as he didn't want her to conceive. Besides, Ariella would also never dare to forget taking those pills again because she could not even imagine what he would do to her and her child….again….

Closing the cabinet after placing her pills back inside it, Ariella turned around and went to the bathroom, feeling her every step bringing a scorching pain in her lower body but like her every other pain, she ignored it and went inside the bathroom.

Striping herself naked, Ariella stood inside the shower and switched it on. The cold water started falling on her warm body but as soon as the water reached those bruises and wounds on her skin, it made her fist her palms in order to stop herself from gasping in pain. 

Trailing her eyes to her front, she looked at that huge mirror in front of her which was showing her entire body's reflection and was making her aware of how pathetically helpless she was.

Multiple bruises had covered her entire body. His deep red teeth marks were visible too. One of the marks on her cleavage was looking so cavernous and bad that it was still bleeding a bit. The corner of her lips had a brutal cut. Her wrists were covered in his fingerprints and she was even ashamed and disgusted to accept all of that pain had been given to her by that person who was supposed to protect, care and love her the most. Her own husband.

Two years ago, her father got her married to Eldric as Eldric's father was a very close and good business partner of her father's and Eldric's father, Brune Kohler, suggested their business relationship to turn into personal one by asking for her hand for his son, Eldric, from her father. 

Her father had met Eldric a lot of times and in their every meeting, Eldric prove it to him that he was a good and perfect person to become his daughter's life partner and believing, he would take care of his daughter, her father agreed to take the proposal to her and there, Ariella agreed to it because she used to blindly trust her father's every decision because she knew her father would never choose something against her well-being as no father would do that for their own kid. Besides, Eldric showed himself as the best person in front of the entire world, so even her father failed to understand what kind of monster was hidden inside Eldric and got his daughter married to him two years ago.

During their first year of marriage, everything was going good and normally in their married life. He used to stay mostly outside home due to his business reasons but had never tried to harm her in any way but after her father passed away due to some serious illness last year, his behaviour changed suddenly.

In that moment when she lost her father and needed her husband's love and care the most, her husband started behaving like a brutal animal with her. From hurting her physically to abusing her mentally, he started torturing her every possible way. Ariella had even thought about filing for divorce but she couldn't as after her father's demise, her mother couldn't endure that pain and it turned her mother extremely ill and sick. From the past year, her mother barely got up from the bed and talked to someone. She was receiving multiple therapies and different kinds of treatment but nothing was helping her state, so she couldn't dare to add more pain to her mother's agony by giving her more mental pressure because of her divorce.

Besides, when she talked to her elder brother, Seth, who had taken over their father's business after his demise, regarding all of this, her brother and his wife, Reagan, didn't support her. Instead, they told her that if she would divorce Eldric then it would cause a great loss to both their business and family reputation in the market as Eldric was one of the biggest investors in her father's company. 

Things turned so worse that her brother even threatened her that if she would think about divorcing Eldric then he would stop providing money for their mother's treatment and would even throw her out of their house if he would have to as somehow, her brother has successfully managed to get their father's every single asset and property under his name. So, for the sake of her mother's well-being, she was continuously enduring Eldric's physical and mental torture from the past one year because she knew if she would divorce him, then it might cost her her mother's life which she could even dare to think about paying with.

Squeezing her watery eyes shut, Ariella completed cleaning her body but what about her heart which was bleeding terribly because she knew her fate had not written any kind of cure to any of her pain. But little did she know that 8 years ago, her destiny had already written her in the fate of someone else to make her his salvation.

………..

“Yes, as per your order, I accepted his request to meet you….” He silently heard those words of his personal assistant while sitting on his chair.

“Your meeting with Eldric Kohler has been scheduled for today in the afternoon, Mr Sinclaiz,” 

The corner of his lips slightly tugged upward while his calm turquoise eyes continued to gaze at that silver beads bracelet on his wrist with that initial E which caused those words to roll off his tongue on their own.

“It’s been 8 years, Ella….”