Elin knew all too well. Whenever Dayton counted to ten, she had to crawl out like a dog. If she failed, he would douse her with whatever sauce he fancied at the moment, be it tomato, soy, or chili, and it would cover her from head to toe. Then, Dayton would take photos, printing them into large posters, forcing Elin to stare at her own humiliated images.

Besides the physical abuse, Dayton took a perverse pleasure in tormenting Elin psychologically, crushing her spirit, training her to comply with his cruel whims.

His behavior was rooted in his own impotence. Unable to accept this, he saw Elin as a potential cure for his failures since he temporarily erected as he first laid eyes on her.

On their wedding night, when his impotence persisted, Dayton demanded that Elin sleep with other men, hoping to derive some twisted form of excitement.

How could Elin comply? She had been raised by Annis to value self-esteem and self-love, these principles almost etched into her very being.

In a moment of desperate struggle, Elin had kicked Dayton's penis, and this useless organ of his hadn't had any reaction since then.

Instead of self-reflection, Dayton unleashed his fury on Elin, blaming her for his impotence and finding a perverse satisfaction in torturing her.

Elin had wanted to escape, but Dayton had craftily moved her to Aurora under the guise of work.

In Aurora, the law seemed nonexistent, and Dayton exploited this, doing as he pleased without fear of repercussions.

Dayton used Annis' safety to threaten Elin, locked her away, and took all means of communication. He confined her to their home, spreading lies that Elin was depressed and mentally unstable, which justified his control in the eyes of outsiders.

Elin was often left in a disheveled state, which only made Dayton's claims more believable to anyone who saw her.

Dayton controlled Elin's calls to Annis, ready to cut off communication at any hint of the truth slipping out, which would result in severe punishment for Elin.

As time passed in that foreign land surrounded by Dayton's allies, Elin learned that submission might prolong her survival. Each night, she would whisper to herself the necessity of living, of surviving until she could find a way to escape Dayton's clutches.

It was Raegan who first sensed something was amiss. She involved Erick, who used his connections to rescue Elin from Aurora.

Despite everything, Dayton refused to consider divorce, his twisted happiness derived solely from his dominance over Elin. He couldn't derive the same satisfaction from anyone else.

Living in constant fear, Elin was eventually liberated when Erick intervened, and Dayton reluctantly agreed to a divorce.

After the separation, Elin hadn't seen Dayton, believing him to be confined by Farley who had assured Erick that Dayton would no Longer be a threat.

However, Dayton's sudden appearance in Ardlens shattered the fragile peace Elin had begun to enjoy.

Under the table, Elin trembled as the counting continued.

"Three, four, five..."