02

Elena dragged her sore body as she walked slowly back home. She had gotten out of the taxi two blocks away and taken a short walk to the mansion, so as not to raise suspicions. 

The man at the brothel wasn't satisfied with just doing it once. They had tried a few more times, and by the time they finished, it was almost dawn. The prostitute had fallen asleep, and Elena left some bills for him.

At least the revenge was accomplished: she was no longer entirely devoted to Damon. She was just as unfaithful and dirty as he was.

As soon as she opened the front door, she saw Laura stomping towards her. "Oh you still know how to come back? You are the daughter-in-law of the Donovan family, and yet you went out all night. Tell me, where did you go?"

Elena was tired so she ignored her.

Laura grabbed Elena's clothes. "How daring of you to act so rudely to me? Did you forget how your family begged our Damon to marry you?"

Elena snorted coldly and pushed Laura away. "They begged you, not me, so you should go and look for them!"

Laura accidentally pulled Elena's collar, revealing the marks on her neck.

"You!" Laura's eyes widened, her voice laced with a mixture of shock and fury. The words tumbled out of her mouth, carrying an unmistakable sense of betrayal. "Elena RoseFord, how dare you cheat behind my son's back?! I trusted you, welcomed you into our family, and this is how you repay us? I am going to teach you a lesson you will never forget." 

Elena's heart raced, her body trembling with a potent mix of fear and rage. Laura's face contorted with anger, every line etched with disappointment and rage. In that moment, her piercing gaze seemed to strip away Elena's defenses.

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

"I do not know!" Elena looked at Laura viciously and felt triumphant at the taste of sweet revenge.

The air crackled with tension, each passing second amplifying the weight of the situation. 

As the silence lingered, Elena's eyes met Laura's gaze with a glimmer of resilience and revenge.

"You do not want to tell me?"

Laura's hand descended upon Elena's face. Of course, it wasn't the first time she had been hit, but it was the first time she had truly done something.

The pain made Elena curl up and she smiled wryly. "Your son can drink and have fun outside, but I can't even find a lover? He does not have any self-control or respect for his wife, that is why I cheated on him!"

Laura was so angry that she staggered backwards. "Do you still believe you hold any semblance of authority as the eldest daughter of the RoseFord family?" she sneered, her voice dripping with contempt.  "Your family's luck has long since run dry." With a derisive scoff, she continued, "If it weren't for Damon's pity towards you, you'd be scraping the gutters for sustenance." Her eyes narrowed with disdain. "How dare you?" 

"How dare I?" Elena laughed bitterly. "My family wasn't the only one to benefit from this marriage." She stepped back and walked towards the stairs. "So screw you, screw your son, and screw this marriage!"

Laura's voice rose to a venomous crescendo. "Today, I'll ensure you learn a brutal lesson you won't soon forget!"

As Elena cautiously ascended the staircase, Laura sprang into action, her fingers curling tightly around the delicate porcelain vase perched on the nearby table. With a primal fury in her eyes, Laura charged towards Elena.

In the fraction of a second, Elena turned, her eyes widening in alarm as she caught a glimpse of the lethal weapon hurtling towards her. There was no time to evade as the vase crashed against her skull with a deafening shatter, splintering into a shower of gleaming shards. 

Pain exploded through Elena's senses, a blinding agony that momentarily stole her breath. She crumpled to the ground, her body tumbling and rolling down the staircase, before succumbing to unconsciousness.

"Now you know your place," Laura said, watching her faint daughter-in-law's body.

**

Elena RoseFord's eyes snapped open, a jolt of shock coursing through her body as icy cold water cascaded over her face. The sudden deluge soaked her hair.

'Is she dead?'

'Is she in heaven?'

Gasping for breath, Elena struggled to regain her composure, her vision blurred as water droplets clung to her lashes. The drenched fabric of her clothing clung uncomfortably to her skin.

"Oh, First Miss, are you awake?"

"You were caught red-handed by the Donovan family for having an affair!" Elena's stepsister Kesha RoseFord uttered in disdain. "They sent you back, do you know that? The entire RoseFord family's reputation has been ruined by you!"

"Kesha, what are you talking about?" It was her manipulative stepmother, Felicia Maurice.

Elena looked at the gloating faces of Felicia and Kesha in front of her, and she smiled bitterly in her heart. 

It turned out that it was not heaven. It was back to hell. Life with Laura and Damon was bad, but life in RoseFord Mansion could be even worse.

She struggled and winced at her aching body as she sat up. She smirked. "Well, I was just following the footsteps of this family anyway. The mistress now becomes the wife."

Everyone was in the main living room, gathered around Elena, who was on the sofa. It felt like a grand spectacle, where everyone was watching the main attraction: an unfaithful woman.

"You..." Kesha glared at her angrily. "Dad, did you hear what Elena just said?"

Gordon RoseFord stood next to Kesha. Elena finally noticed that her father was there as well. She puckered her lips, keeping quiet out of respect for her father.

"Dad, I want a divorce!" Elena said firmly.

"I do not agree!" Gordon spoke loudly.

She felt a pang of disappointment. She thought that even though her other family members had always mistreated her, her father would still stand by her side.

Elena sneered and tried to leave the room. "I do not care if you agree or not. I am already an adult."

"How dare you!" Gordon's anger surged within him like a raging inferno, boiling his blood until he could barely contain it. 

Suddenly, he erupted into violent coughs, each one tearing through his chest with a ferocity that stole his breath away. The coughing fit was so severe that it left him gasping for air, his lungs aching with each desperate inhalation.

Elena stopped walking, but she did not turn around.

Felicia and Kesha rushed to Gordon's side, their concern etched deeply on their faces as they witnessed his distress. 

"Gordon, you need to tell Elena about our family's predicament," Felicia urged, her voice tinged with urgency. "We're facing a crisis with our project, and we've already lost 50 million dollars. The very foundation of the RoseFord Family hangs in the balance, and without Damon's support, we could face utter collapse!" The weight of their words hung heavily in the air, adding another layer of tension to an already fraught situation.

Elena was shocked. She remembered what Laura said when she was hitting her. Was that what she said... true?

"What the hell is going on?"

"Elena!" Gordon's voice cracked, tears streaming down his face. His voice trembled with a mix of despair and guilt, his vulnerability laid bare before her. "I hope you do not blame me. I was not able to do anything. Your late mother and I built our wealth and influence together from scratch. But I have failed her. I am going to be the one who is going to single-handedly destroy it!"

Elena's heart ached as she witnessed Gordon's anguish. The weight of his words resonated within her, the depth of his sorrow palpable in the trembling of his voice. It was a painful admission, a revelation of his perceived failure and the impending ruin that haunted him.

Mother!

Elena remembered that when her mother died, she made her promise to do everything possible to protect the RoseFord family. If only her mother were still alive...

"This is the last time, I promise! Elena, please apologize to Damon again. As long as the RoseFord family is able to survive this crisis, I will definitely take you back!"

Gordon's tear-streaked face mirrored the burden he carried, the weight of their shared legacy now threatening to crumble beneath his feet. The depth of his remorse tugged at Elena's own emotions, a realization that their lives were intertwined by more than just a marriage.

Elena turned around and looked at Gordon pitifully. She no longer believed in her father, but for the sake of the promise she made to her late mother, she was willing to try one final time.

"I'll go back to Damon, but this is the damn last thing I do for you all."