Chapter 4

Slowly, Eloise got used to the dark and overcame her fear. She began to count every second as she listened to the noise coming from above. Sebastian, Benjamin, and Elijah were helping Iris move her belongings into the house. Then, the three of them proceeded to cook a meal and bought Iris a cake to celebrate her arrival. She heard Sebastian's voice, gentle and warm, as he said, "Iris, I've taken two days off from work. I'll stay home and help you settle in." The whole situation was ridiculous. Back when Eloise was about to give birth, she had asked Sebastian to take two days off and stay with her. However, he had merely said sternly, "My job is not like others. I can't take leave whenever I want. You chose to marry me, so you should've expected something like this to happen. Eloise, you need to be more independent." Eloise listened as her kids fought to clean the dining table. "Ms. Jones, your hand is so pretty, it's not fit to do rough chores. We're big kids now. We can clean the table instead." Then, she listened as they stopped Iris from doing the laundry and brought her to the couch. "Ms. Jones, don't come here. We don't want you to smell the dirty clothes." As they washed the clothes, Eloise heard one of them complain, "Mom is just so lazy. She can't even compare to your pinky!" Sebastian also chuckled as he said, "Iris, the boys are big now. It's time they learn to take care of themselves. You don't need to do these chores." It was ridiculous. The whole situation was utterly ridiculous. How could someone be so hypocritical? It turned out that after working tirelessly for the household, she couldn't even measure up to Iris' pinky. Eloise bit her lip as she listened to their conversation, unable to stop herself. First, she chuckled. Then, her chuckles quickly turned into sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks. … Two days later, Eloise was finally let out of the basement. Her vision spun from hunger. As she stepped out, she saw Sebastian and the kids wearing matching outfits with Iris. They looked like a happy family of four. Sebastian just looked at her coldly as he said, "We'll close this chapter. From now on, just do your part and don't cause any trouble." Her sons held Iris' hands, bouncing with excitement. "Mom, look," Benjamin said. "Ms. Jones bought us these beautiful clothes. They're so much nicer than the ones you made us!" "Dad, Ms. Jones, let's just go!" Elijah exclaimed. "I want to check out the new amusement park!" Eloise watched as the four of them turned to leave. It wasn't until their laughter slowly faded into the distance and their figures disappeared completely did Iris look away. In just two days, the living room had changed completely. The couch she had brought with her after marrying Sebastian had been replaced with a trendy leather couch. The pillows and ornaments she had carefully made had been tossed into the trash. All of the decorations had been changed into Iris' favorite minimalistic decor. The house that she had poured all of her hard work into decorating was now filled with traces of Iris. The only thing that remained was Sebastian and Eloise's wedding photo on the TV cabinet. In the photo, Eloise was smiling brightly, but Sebastian's eyes were filled with sorrow. Eloise looked at the photo before taking it out of the frame and tearing it into pieces. Then, she made something simple for herself before washing up and packing her things. She took out everything she had made with her own hands and slowly threw them away. Then, she sorted through their clothes. After ten years of marriage, she had sewn almost all of their clothes herself. Since the clothes she made weren't comparable to the ones Iris had bought, there was no point in keeping them. Once she gathered every piece, she started a small fire in the backyard and began throwing the clothes in one by one. She threw in the first button-up she made for Sebastian and the undergarments she had sewn with a flushed face. She burned them all. Eloise had made even more clothes for Benjamin and Elijah, as she had started making baby clothes while she was pregnant. All of those tiny blankets, baby shoes, and onesies, she burned them all. She burned all of the hundreds of clothes she had spent countless nights making over the past ten years. Soon, smoke billowed in the backyard. Then, the back door was kicked open. Sebastian stood there anxiously. However, his eyes quickly turned cold. When he noticed the pile of clothes that had yet to be burned, his eyes widened. "What are you doing?"