Chapter 28 Traumatized and Suffering From Severe Depression Skylar undid Elaine's blue and white petient gown , which was already the smallest size available . Even so , It hung sa loosely that it looked like she had a punny sack over her . He undressed her slowly , only to discover that she did not only have scars on her arms , calves , and neck . Her entire body was covered in wounds and His fingers trembled as he reached out slowly to touch those wounds of hers . With every spot his fingers came in contact with , he would imagine what Elaine must've ' ve gone through at the time . How forceful that attack had to be or how sharp the weapon must have been in order to leave such deep and wide scars on her body . She was the w woman who would once make a fuss over the slightest scratch on her finger . How was it that she was now able to withstand all these injuries over her entire body and not make a peep to the wardens ? All of a sudden , he felt terrified , knowing that the version of Elaine he once knew had become the person she was today . He had just brushed his finger against her body when she started shaking violently . Looking pale , she mumbled her pleas , " I didn't run away . I didn't misbehave … I didn't . Please don't hurt Eric . " Skylar felt like he might have misheard . That sounded like something important that was related to him . He leaned in so that he could listen closely . However , she stopped speaking Now that he was closer to her , he noticed a long scar leading from the left side of her neck all the way to the back of her head and out of his sight . Suddenly , he couldn't breathe . Despite trying his best to inhale , he still felt like he was about to suffocate . He pushed her head to the side slightly so that the scar was fully visible . His palms were big . This was something Elaine said to him personally on the night of their first wedding anniversary On their first wedding anniversary , his legs had just recovered and their relationship had just stabilized . He remembered that night to be the first time they made love to one another . Even with all the lights in the bedroom switched off , she had been so nervous that she didn't dare to open her eyes . At the time , he had pinned her hands down on the pillow . His palms happened to be able to cover both her hands , As he lay on top of her , she had remarked with her cheeks flushed red , " Your palms are much bigger than mine " She liked his hands , probably because she felt like hands like his could give her a sense of security . With his hands , he could hold her and wrap both her hands in his . But now , v , he realized that his palm wasn't big enough to cover the scar that was on her neck . The scar was so long that even if he put his fingers together in an attempt to cover it , he couldn't cover the scar fully . If he tried to relax his hand , he would be able to see the scar in the gaps between his fingers , He found that he wasn't able to cover the scar with his hand no matter how he tried . It was just like everything that he had done to her . He had sent her to prison and threatened her to her face to behave . These had all become marks in their relationship that could never be wiped away . From here on out , the version of Flaine who would place her hands in his would no longer exist . He tried his best to guess how this massive scar came about . Someone bad probably pinned her to the floor and pressed her head to the side . Then , they took a sharp weapon like a knite and started cutting her flesh from the front of her neck all the way to the back . She had probably screamed before passing out from the pain while Beth had probably stood before her and smiled while holding the knife in her hand . When Elalise was screaming , those two prison wardens had probably come over . While she had looked at them with despair and begged for help with her eyes , those prison wardens had most likely just stood outside and watched them . And what about him ? Had he been loolding at Thea in the beautiful and sexy new nightgown that she changed into ? Or had he been clinkding glasses and chatting at a networking event ? At this moment , Skylar felt like he could see fresh , bright red blood triclding from the bed and flowing to his feet . The unpleasant sight of fresh blood was like a python that wrapped itself around his teck without warning Ha released his grasp over Elaine immediately , spun around , and darted out of her hospital ward He didn't even notice Thea calling out to him from behind . He walked straight to the dimly lit stairwell and sat down on the steps . With his shaky hands , he lit a cigarette . He hung his head low , hiding his face in the shadows as he took deep breaths , inhaling the smoke into his lungs . In the go years of his life , he had never seen anyone with such a long scar on their neck . A scar like that looked more like something that would be left on | animal that was dragged into a slaughterhouse to get killed . Skylar lifted his hand and took a glance at his palm . For some reason , he felt like it was stained with blood . He wiped his hand on himself repeatedly , but 1so matter how hard he tried to clean his hand , he felt like it was still covered in blood . Elaine only regained consciousness the next day . She was diagnosed with severe depression . Not only that , but she was afraid of people and the light . Other than Marcus , no one was able to approach her .. As for Eric , Marcus was worried about something bad happening to him if he saw Elaine like this . He might become overly agitated . As such , Marcus transferred him to a different hospital temporarily and enlisted the help of the doctors there to treat hum Nevertheless , Skylar couldn't bear to look at the trust Elaine had for Marcus , especially when she looked at him . Two days after Elaine's hospitalization he insisted on taking her away . Now that Elaine had been diagnosed with a psychological disorder , as her husband , Skylar had become her sole guardian . With that , he had the power to make many decisions on her behalf . Marcus had no right to stop him . Despite being unwilling , he had no choice but to allow them to leave . Skylar first brought Elaine back to Birchwood Estate . However , she became unexpectedly emotional the moment she stepped through the doors . Skylar realized that she had too many bad memories in this place . So , he could only take her away and bring her back to Stonebrook Estate This was so ironic . Elaine had known him for ten whole years , two of which they were married . Even so , he had never brought her to Stonebrook Estate Skylar had always thought of Elaine as just a substitute whom he would never truly love . Therefore , he didn't think that she deserved to go to Stonebrook Estate After they got married , he purchased Birchwood Estate as their marital home and only allowed Elaine to live here . The massive Stonebrook Estate was brightly lit when Skylar brought Elaine into the place . Although she was still very much wary of this unfamiliar place , she was not as emotional as when she was back in Birchwood Estate earlier . He brought her to the bedroom , where he had specifically instructed the maids beforehand to draw the curtains and leave only a dim light on Elaine was afraid of the sound of flowing water and showerheads . As such , Skylar filled the bathtub with water before letting her in for her bath . Nonetheless , less than two minutes after she entered the bathroom , a scream of terror came from within . Skylar's face fell . He got to his feet and rushed in immediately . When he pushed the bathroom door open , Elaine was smashing the wall mirror in the bathroom in terror with the showerhead in her hands . All color had drained from her lace . It seemed like she didn't even recognize her own reflection . It was as if she had seen a ghost . With the mirror being smashed , splinters of glass fell to the floor . Even so , she continued smashing it with all her might . A tense expression came across Skylar's face . He grabbed a bath towel in haste and covered the mirror tightly . Then , he rushed up to her and held her in his arms to stop her from smashing the mirror further . " It's a mirror , EL That's a mirror . It's your own reflection , not someone else's . " Elaine struggled and freed herself from his hold . She stumbled backward before shrinking back into the bathtub and sitting down . There , she put her arms around herself and trembled involuntarily . Skylar walked toward her , only to hear her utter in a shaky voice out of the blue , " I want to go home . " He explained to her , " This is your home . This will be our home moving forward . You don't have to be afraid . There are no bad people here . " Looking distracted and anxious , Elaine asked , " Where's Eric ? Why isn't Eric In my home ? " Skylar breathed a sigh of relief . Fortunately , she still remembered Eric even when she was losing it like this . ally ill for a year . He passed away From the other end of the call , the director of the hospital informed him with regret , " Mr. Frey , Mr. Atkinson was critically after his condition suddenly flared up last weekend … "