Chapter 8
Out of nowhere, Marvin appeared and grabbed the knife with his bare hand. The sharp blade pierced right through his palm.
He jumped in front of me and blocked Luciana’s fatal attack.
But when I saw the blood pouring from his wound, I felt nothing, just exhausted.
Did he really think hurting himself would somehow make me go with him again?
When Marvin saw how cold I was toward him, the pain in his heart hurt more than the injury itself.
To him, every bit of my silence felt like another stab.
He stumbled down the sidewalk, clutching his bleeding hand, completely out of it, and eventually collapsed from blood loss.
Later, when he woke up, he made a decision
He wanted me to know he finally understood the pain he’d caused, and that he would do everything in his power to make it right–to give me
peace.
That night, the front page of Austin’s biggest media outlet was flooded with shocking updates about the Berman Group.
“The mafia boss, Marvin Berman, refuses to take the Berman Group’s special medicine and chooses electroconvulsive therapy for his bipolar disorder instead!
“Marvin is using self–punishment to win back his wife!”
That day, the whole internet was buzzing like crazy with all kinds of gossip.
Meanwhile, I had a sweet, quiet wedding with Ethan inside a small church.
Marvin showed up, barely able to walk, his body still weak from electroconvulsive therapy. He heard me, dressed in a white wedding gown, smiling shyly as I told Ethan, “I do.”
“No! Eleanor! You can’t marry him!” he shouted.
Not even the fifty–volt shock the doctors had pressed to his temples had hurt this much.
The once ruthless mafia boss–always sharp and cruel–was now on his knees, looking pitiful and lost.
He begged in a broken voice, “Eleanor, please don’t marry him. I’ll give you anything you want, just don’t marry another man…”
But I only looked at him with nothing but pure disgust.
He disrupted the wedding that Ethan had spent so much time preparing, and all I felt was even more hatred!
He just wouldn’t stop showing up!
I stared at him like he was something rotten and worthless.
I said, “Marvin, this is the last time I’ll ever speak to you.
“The biggest regret of my life was meeting you. But choosing Ethan was the best thing I’ve done.
“I don’t care what you do from now on. Ethan and I will never be apart, no matter what.”
When Marvin heard how firm I was, he couldn’t hold back anymore and broke down crying.
“Eleanor! I really know I was wrong! Please come back! Do whatever you want to me–hurt me, punish me, even kill me if you want! I’ll accept it!
“All I ask is that you don’t marry him! Just let me have one more chance treat you right…
“I was never addicted to your scent; it was always you that I loved from the beginning!”
I let out a cold laugh, looking at him like he was a stranger.
He’d never seen me like this before, just like he never truly knew who I was inside.
He stood there in a daze, as if something in my laughter finally made everything click.
I stared right back at his wild, desperate gaze one last time, staying calm and steady.
“Marvin, don’t you get it yet? I never loved you. Even if you die in front of me today, I’d only call someone to move your body so you wouldn’t ruin my wedding.
“This is the most important day of my life. Mr. Berman, do us both a favor -let me be free, and set yourself free too.”
Ethan slid a sparkling diamond ring onto my finger with steady hands.
Nobody paid attention to the heartbroken man huddled in the corner.
Chacter
No one even noticed that he had suffered a cardiac arrest due to excessive grief, and he fell to the ground, having already stopped breathing quietly.
Everyone around us was fully caught up in the joy of our wedding, with flower petals falling and people cheering for our happiness.
Ethan held my hand tightly as we walked past Marvin’s body, treating him like he was nothing more than a stray dog that had wandered in by accident.
Behind me was a place I once thought would trap me forever.
Į
Ahead of me was the bright future I had dreamed about so many times.
I let out a surprised laugh as Ethan suddenly lifted me into his arms. His deep laughter rang out, and all the coldness in his eyes faded away.
He walked out of the church in confident steps, just like the day he first rescued me. He never let go of my hand and gently carried me into the
car.
This time. I finally took control of my own life.
