Back at Elias’s apartment...

When Elias came out for dinner, Elena noticed the redness and scratches across his knuckles. Concern flickered in her eyes.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked, crossing the distance between them and holding his hand. She checked the wound. Then she looked up at him.

"How did you get hurt?"

"Uh..." He hesitated for a moment, looking at his torn knuckles. "I accidentally broke the glass. And while cleaning it up, I got injured."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. She didn’t believe him. Those injuries didn’t look like cuts from shards of glass. They looked more like he had punched something hard.

She, however, didn’t expose his lie. "Let me bring the first aid box."

She fetched it from the kitchen cabinet and returned to him soon. Sitting beside him, she carefully cleaned his wounds before applying antiseptic cream gently over his knuckles.

Elias watched her quietly. It was the first time in a long time that someone had taken care of him.

Warmth spread through him, his heart alight with joy. At the same time, he was terrified—terrified of losing her.

Almost unconsciously, he reached out and caressed her cheek gently.

She flinched at his touch.

Their eyes met, and sparks flew instantly. None of them could look away from each other.

Elias’s gaze dropped to her lips.

Her lips were glossy, plump, and naturally pink. They looked dangerously tempting, inviting him in without mercy.

A strong urge to kiss her overwhelmed him. Before he could stop himself, he leaned in.

Elena instantly pressed her hands against his chest. "The food is getting cold," she whispered. "We should start eating."

She quickly stepped away from him. Closing the first-aid box, she walked straight toward the cabinet.

A faint smile danced on his lips as he watched her escape. ’How long are you going to avoid me, Elena? I’ll make it impossible for you to ignore me.’

He picked up the fork and started eating. Elena joined him soon.

No one talked. Only the soft clinking of forks against plates broke the silence of the room.

"About that card," Elena started. She had wanted to ask him ever since returning from shopping. "The salesgirl said only a few people in the world possess that kind of unlimited global card."

She looked up at him, skeptical. "How did you get it?"

Elias immediately noticed the suspicion in her eyes. Of course, he had that card, and it had never been difficult for him. But he still hadn’t revealed the true extent of his family’s wealth or influence.

He swallowed the food in his mouth calmly. "Ascend Core is one of the various companies under Novacrest Global. You must have heard about the company, right?"

Elena nodded. Of course, she knew it.

Novacrest Global was one of the most influential corporations in the business world, which was exactly why Ascend Core had risen so quickly in such a short time.

She did not doubt that it would become one of the topmost companies someday.

"I know," she replied.

Elias smiled. "Last year, I received the card as a reward for my performance."

It was a plausible explanation.

Her suspicions slowly faded away.

"If you work hard enough, you might also be rewarded handsomely," he added with a teasing smile.

Naturally, he intended to give everything to his wife anyway.

Elena, unaware of his real identity, grew excited. "Then this year, I’ll beat you in performance."

Elias’s eyes gleamed with interest. "Competing with my wife sounds interesting."

Dinner ended quietly.

Elena cleaned the dishes while Elias returned to the study to finish some pending work.

An hour passed.

Elena was alone in the bedroom. She couldn’t sleep as she thought he would be here soon.

It was their first night together as husband and wife. Even though she had asked Elias to give her time, she still couldn’t stop herself from feeling nervous tonight.

’What if he demands to sleep with me? Can I turn him down?’

Her chest rose and fell unevenly. She remembered his closeness earlier, the heat radiating from his body, that gentle touch. Her fingers clasped the blanket unconsciously.

She couldn’t deny the fact that she felt the strange flutter in her stomach when his fingers touched her skin. His closeness stirred the hidden desire that she thought died the moment she found out about Noah’s betrayal.

She had never thought she could feel this aching need with another man other than Noah.

All those years, she had been loyal to only one man. She had dedicated herself to him and never thought of another man.

But Noah had destroyed everything. He betrayed her, shattered her trust, and crushed every dream she had built around him.

Elena once thought the emptiness in her chest would remain forever. Yet unexpectedly, Elias had crept into that empty space, slowly, stealthily.

The memory of his lips almost touching hers earlier made heat spread across her cheeks instantly. She tucked the blanket tightly to her chest.

’He will be here soon.’

The thought itself was enough to make her heart race wildly. With every passing moment, her nervousness grew.

More time passed, but he never came.

Elena yawned widely.

"Why is he taking so long?" she mumbled drowsily, her eyelids growing heavy. "Maybe he won’t come. Maybe he is sleeping in the study tonight. Goodnight, Elias."

She was too lazy and sleepy to get out of bed and check on him. Sleep soon pulled her under.

When Elias finished his work, it was almost midnight. Stretching his arms tiredly, he casually glanced at the clock on the desk and instantly froze.

12:00 am.

"What the fuck?" he muttered, face paling instantly.

He suddenly realized he had left his newlywed wife alone in the room on their first night together.

"Shit, shit. She must be upset."

Elias jumped to his feet and hurried to the room. He found Elena already asleep, curled up peacefully beneath the blanket.

Elias let out a deep sigh, his shoulders sagging. He slowly crawled up the bed and slipped beneath the blanket, making sure his movements didn’t wake her. He watched her quietly for a long moment, his gaze following the slow rise and fall of her chest.

Elena looked beautiful even in her sleep.

Elias couldn’t stop his hand from reaching out to her. But his fingers paused midway, hovering just a few inches away from her face. He chuckled softly.

"Good night, my beautiful wife." He turned to his side and closed his eyes.

He fell asleep in no time. But just like every other night, peace never lasted long.

Once again, the nightmare returned.

He found his younger self trapped inside a dark cabinet. His small frame trembled violently, his small hands clamping on his mouth tightly to stop himself from making even the slightest sound.

Horror flashed in his tear-filled eyes. The screams echoing through the house seemed to rip his soul apart.

Through the narrow crack in the cabinet door, he watched the large framed photograph of his parents crash onto the floor. The glass shattered instantly.

Then blood splattered across the broken frame.

The next second, his mother and father collapsed lifelessly beside it, right before his eyes.

His mouth opened in horror. He wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

Elias jolted awake violently, his entire body trembling. Sweat drenched his forehead as he struggled to breathe properly.

This incident happened when he was only ten. But even after twenty years, he couldn’t forget it. The memory of that night was still fresh, as if it had happened just yesterday.

In that one night, he had lost everything. His life had turned upside down. His world had collapsed right in front of his eyes, and he could do nothing but hide and watch everything helplessly.

He still didn’t know who those people were or why they had targeted his parents. The police had closed the case a long time ago, declaring it a robbery gone wrong.

But Elias never believed that explanation.

He got out of bed quietly and walked toward the balcony.

Cold night air hit him. The wind tousled his hair. Below, the city glowed. Everything outside looked calm, but inside him, chaos raged endlessly.

He didn’t believe it had been a simple robbery. Yet even after all these years, he still had no clue who the murderers were.

The police had long stopped searching.

Five years ago, after taking control of his family business, he had secretly reopened the investigation himself. But he had found nothing yet.

His grip tightened around the railing. ’I’ll find every single one of them,’ he vowed silently. ’Even if I have to drag them out of hell itself.’

"Elias..."

Elena’s voice broke through his thoughts, almost startling him. He spun around and saw her approaching.

"Elena?" He immediately felt guilty, thinking he had woken her up.

"What are you doing standing here?" she asked. "Why aren’t you coming to bed?"

She searched his eyes. "You look disturbed. Is something bothering you?"

Elias’s heart warmed at her concern.

Elena had only known him for a few days, but somehow, she could tell when something was wrong with him just by looking at his face.

He shook his head. He wouldn’t burden her with his darkness. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"It’s just work stress," he said.

Elena smiled. "Then let me share your burden. I’m joining the company tomorrow. And I’ll do everything I can to resolve your problems."

Elias watched her quietly. No one had ever told him they wanted to carry his burdens with him, not even the people closest to him.

Elena was the first one to say that.

His chest tightened with overwhelming emotion. He instinctively pulled her into his embrace.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Elena stiffened but didn’t push him away. Slowly, her body relaxed in his arms.