loving my hero: My husband's uncle

Elena Caine never thought this day would come. She sat quietly beside her husband, Mark Caine, in the luxurious living room of their mansion. It had been two weeks into their arranged marriage, and still, no form of bonding between them. Mark had always been cold and distant, only speaking to her when necessary. 'How on earth do I connect with him?'. Her mind swirled as she sipped her coffee, watching him focus on his magazine while she hoped and longed for the slightest chance to connect with him. "Your tea is ready, sir". The trembling voice of Anna, a maid in her teens, cut through the silence as she emerged with a golden tray of Mark's favorite ginger tea. Just like every other staff member in the mansion, she walked shakily towards Mark, trying her best to steady herself before her cruel master. Unexpectedly, she missed her step and twisted her ankle. The tray dropped to the ground with a sharp, heart-stopping sound, chattering the delicate teacup against the marble floor. She gasped in pain. "I am so sorry, sir!". She said, scrambling painfully to her feet as she attempted to clear the mess. Mark's eyes widened with rage. "You worthless piece of trash!". He thundered. "Do you know the worth of this ware? It is more than your whole miserable family could earn forever!". His voice echoed through the mansion. Anna trembled and applied more speed to clearing the pieces as blood trickled from her injured fingers. Elena immediately sprang to her feet to help Anna, but Mark was swift and already got to her. He hit her hard across the face. The slap sent her falling with a loud thud to the ground, injuring her palms even more against the shards of the broken teacup. "Mark, please be merciful!". Elena pleaded. "It was an accident!". She stood between them as she held the maid up. Mark's burning gaze shifted from the weeping maid to Elena with a darkened expression. "Who are you to defend the maid against me?!". His eyes flashed with brutality. "I am....". Elena tried to find soft words, but he grabbed her tightly by her upper arm and dragged her upstairs. She moaned painfully as his fingers dug into her soft flesh. He pushed her into their chamber and slammed it shut. Mark was not just cold and distant; he was worse: a brutal devil from the pit of hell. "What gave you the right to insult me in front of a maid?!". His eyes flashed with a deadly expression as he stormed towards her, while she backed away, trembling. "Mark, please....". Before she knew it, her vision went dark as a heavy slap landed on her face, sending an excruciatingly sharp pain through her eyes and head. She screamed and fell hard to the bed. She barely had time to take in the pain before another slap landed on the other side of her face. This time, the world went silent. "This should serve as a warning to you! Know your place. You are nobody, just a child-bearing machine I picked up from the gutter!". She shook vehemently with dread and sobs as she watched him turn to leave. He shut the door, and a clicking sound followed. He had locked her in. She lay still on their shared bed as she cried bitterly out of physical and emotional pain. Her parents had forcefully married her off to a monster for their financial upliftment. Her whole body ached, her vision was blurry, and the coppery taste of blood was thick in her mouth. After an agonizing hour of pain, she crawled to the phone on their bedside table and dialed her parents' home line. Her mother, Mrs. Fin, picked up after a few rings. "Hello, dearie". Sobs. "Mother". Her voice was shaky and cracked from crying. "Are you alright?". There was a hint of worry in her mother's tone. Amidst tears and sobs, Elena recounted the whole incident: the maid's accident, her attempt to calm her husband down, her assault and confinement. She paused after she was done and awaited words of sympathy, fury, or even the reassurance to come and take her away from her hellhole. But she got none. There was a cold silence on her mother's end. Then, her mother sighed and spoke in a restrained voice, totally void of sympathy. "Dear, marriage is not a bed of roses. Men could be hot-tempered most times. You are just two weeks in that marriage, and you are already complaining. You need to be patient with your husband". "Patient?". Elena said in a furious voice. "He assaulted me, mother!". "Yes, men are like that. You have no other choice; you are married now". Her mother replied flatly. A mixed feeling of disgust and fury overwhelmed Elena. "No problem". Elena said and hung up immediately. She cried even more as reality dawned on her. Is this her fate? After an agonizing moment, she made her resolve to contact the patriarch, her father-in-law, Alex Caine. He was a strict traditional man, and surely, he would not condone this. She reassured herself that everything would be better after she reached out to him. She gathered herself and splashed water on her bruised face in the bathroom. She took in a deep breath and stopped crying. As she dialed his home line, her heart pulsed reassuringly with hope. But what was left of her broken heart was shattered into a million pieces after their conversation. "You shouldn't go around spoiling the Caine's family name like this. Don't be an ungrateful wife. Remember how we helped your family". He had said. As she recoiled on her bed, his words and those of her mother haunted her. And so, she realized she was alone. The only thing she could do now was to conceal her physical bruises with makeup and her emotional bruises with a smile. But behind that smile was a woman, screaming and pleading to be rescued.