Perhaps influenced by Elisa’s words, Hamish had a night full of continuous nightmares. He dreamt of Elisa lying alone in the hospital, surrounded by medical devices, with an oxygen mask on her face and a thin stream of oxygen. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t utter a word. It felt like there was a thorn stuck in his throat, causing excruciating pain.
Suddenly, he walked over to embrace Elisa, but her body gradually became transparent on the bed. He rushed forward, but before he could reach her, she disappeared. Darkness immediately engulfed the surroundings, and he groped around, searching for Elisa, but couldn’t find her. He heard Elisa’s faint voice echoing in his ears.
“Hamish, I’m dying…”
Hamish suddenly woke up, and there was Elisa nestled in his arms. He let out a sigh of relief, but the lingering sense of unease in his heart remained.
…
Elisa woke up late, her face showing exhaustion, a clear sign that she hadn’t slept well. The chain on her feet remained tight, restricting her movement to only the vicinity of the room. She couldn’t even open the door.
At half-past eight in the morning, Hamish left for the office, while Elisa sat by the glass window. The curtains were partially drawn, casting the room into a half-darkness. The maid entered the room to deliver the meal, not through the door but through a rectangular window on the wall.
Elisa heard the bell and turned her head to see the breakfast being pushed in-milk and sandwiches, both of which were foods she should avoid due to her stomach cancer.
The maid stood outside and said, “Madam, it’s time for breakfast.”
Seeing Elisa’s lack of response, the maid added, “If you don’t eat, Mr. Burns will be angry when he comes back.”
Upon hearing Hamish’s name, Elisa finally reacted. She got up, dragging the long iron chain on her ankle, and stumbled over to sit on the carpet, holding the sandwich and eating it bite by bite. Her throat felt constricted, so she drank some milk.
However, she had no appetite. After a few bites, she couldn’t eat anymore. The maid had been waiting outside, observing Elisa’s slow and reluctant eating.
“Madam, if you really can’t eat anymore, you don’t have to force yourself,” the maid suggested.
Elisa shook her head and forcefully stuffed the last bite of the sandwich into her mouth. “I’m done.” She placed the empty plate on the tray.
The maid bent down to take the tray and, after taking two steps, couldn’t help but look back at Elisa still sitting on the floor. For some reason, the maid suddenly remembered the wolf they used to keep in her rural hometown. It was so wild that they always kept the young wolf on a chain. When feeding it, they would casually put a plate on the ground and wait for it to eat.
That wolf was extremely difficult to tame. It would bark at anyone it saw and didn’t listen even after being beaten several times. In the end, an old man in the village was bitten by the wolf and died of rabies. The villagers took sticks and beat each wolf to death, including the one that had been chained.
She remembered that the wolf cried particularly pitifully that day, with blood flowing from its nostrils and its eyes wide open, transitioning from brightness to darkness.
It was so cruel… But now, it seemed there were even more cruel things happening.
Hamish returned home early today. The butler informed him that Elisa had eaten well today, and he smiled with satisfaction. Worried that Elisa would be bored being locked up, he had specifically brought her a gift.
Carrying a box, he went upstairs to their bedroom. The bedroom door had a password and fingerprint lock. He opened the door and found Elisa lying on the bed, facing the window.
“Elisa, get up and see what I brought back for you,” he said.
Elisa, like a robot about to run out of power, trembled as she heard Hamish’s voice and sat up. Her eyes, clouded with gray, turned towards the box in Hamish’s hands.
Elisa opened the box, revealing a violin inside. Hamish had taken the effort to learn about Elisa’s preferences in school and knew that she liked the violin and had studied it for five years.
If the Powell family didn’t end up with her, she might have gone abroad to study the violin and become an excellent violinist.
Elisa did indeed have talent in this area. The violin was known as one of the most challenging instruments to learn in the world, and she had already reached Level A3 after five years of practice.
This violin was estimated to be worth around 30 million, if not more.
“Do you like it?” Hamish asked as he saw her staring at it, unable to look away. He wondered if she wanted to try it.
“Do you want to hear it?” Elisa didn’t say whether she wanted to try or liked it; she simply asked if Hamish wanted to listen.
Hamish paused for a moment, then responded, “Yes, I do.”
Elisa was about to reach out to take the violin when Hamish noticed that her nails were a bit long.
“Wait a moment, trim your nails first.” Hamish found a nail clipper in the drawer and sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand gently to trim her nails. Elisa had beautifully shaped hands, slender fingers, and thin, pale pink nails. Hamish was careful not to hurt her as he trimmed each finger. After he finished cutting her nails, he put down the nail clipper and handed her the violin.
Elisa, with her frail body, was trembling as she held the violin. It wasn’t a lightweight instrument, and her hands were shaking. She placed the violin on her shoulder, closed her eyes slightly, and held the bow. She tested the sound, ensuring it was in tune before she began playing in earnest.
She played the chorus of “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” and the entire melody rose and fell, drawing people in and evoking a sense of oppression. It felt as though a person in despair was calling for help, waiting for someone to lend a helping hand.
Elisa played halfway through but didn’t continue further. Playing the violin required a lot of mental and physical energy, and she didn’t have enough strength to complete a whole piece. Elisa placed the violin down.
“You can ask someone from North Bankshire to bring my things here,” Elisa said, her voice slightly choked.
“What things?” Hamish asked just as Elisa was about to speak.
“I’ll buy new clothes for you, and I’ve prepared your skincare products as well,” Hamish said. “You’re locked up here all day long without any freedom. What else do you need?”
“I want the medicine from the drawer,” Elisa replied.
Hamish’s expression changed slightly as he thought of the medicine in the drawer. He remembered the contraceptive pills she had taken that night and realized that Elisa still had thoughts of avoiding pregnancy. Deep down, he didn’t want her to conceive his child.
“There are doctors in Shallow Bay who can provide you with any medicine you need. If you’re ill, there will be someone to take care of you, even if you need surgery,” Hamish said.
Elisa choked back her words, her lips quivering, but she ultimately remained silent. The lifesaving medicine she had put in the glass bottle seemed to have been cut off abruptly. Unconsciously, her fingers curled lightly, gripping her palm.
A painful sensation surged in her chest between breaths, as if her heart had transformed into a ticking clock being struck forcefully by a giant hammer. It felt as though it was on the verge of shattering, and the trembling sound gradually spread throughout her body.
Her eyes turned slightly red as she asked, “Hamish, my medicine is not ordinary medication. It’s a lifesaving medicine for me. Do you understand?”
Hamish didn’t understand. He had seen those bottles, which seemed like some kind of health supplements, colorful and without labels. The “lifesaving medicine” Elisa mentioned was probably just a different name for contraceptive pills.
Hamish pursed his lips slightly, a hint of irritation shadowing his handsome face.