Chapter 5

Dad's vein bulged on his forehead.

"All you do is sleep! Why don't you just sleep until you die? It'll be easier to deal with your corpse that way!"

Fear and hurt washed over me, and my vision blurred. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, Mom sat at the dining table, eating barbecue ribs. She acted as if I didn't exist.

Dad's face twisted with smug satisfaction. He picked up a whip and brought it down on me. The lash burned like fire across my skin.

I broke down, sobbing. "Dad, I don't understand. What did I even do wrong? For years, you've destroyed every relationship I've ever had. Isn't that enough? Are you actually trying to beat me to death now?"

His nostrils flared violently with every breath. Each one was a raw vent for the hatred burning within him.

"Beating you to death would be better!" he roared. "Just the sight of you makes me want to skin you alive! So desperate to be a bride, aren't you? Fine. I'll arrange a marriage for you after you're dead. How about that?"

The whip cracked again and again, landing with brutal impact. As it did, a sharp, searing pain bloomed across my skin.

The unbearable pain tore a raw scream from my throat. I screamed until my voice gave out, and my body thrashed violently as my mind was consumed by the agony.

All the while, Mom ate her ribs and scrolled through videos on her phone. She even laughed out loud at one, without a single concern for my survival.

I stumbled toward her, desperate. "Mom! Please, make him stop! He's going to kill me!"

I expected her to push Dad away and shield me like before, but she didn't even move. Instead, she glared at me impatiently.

"You brought this on yourself. You keep provoking him, so it's only right that he teaches you a lesson."

At that moment, my head throbbed and my arms trembled. A horrifying thought seized me. Mom must have entered Dad's study too.

I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mom, tell me the truth! You went into Dad's study, didn't you? You promised me you wouldn't! You also promised you'd go to the blind date with me. How could you just forget?"

I screamed hysterically, and Dad turned purple with rage at the sight.

Mom threw her fork at my face. "Enough! Who even went into that study? Just look at you. Who would ever want to marry you? If you keep this up, I'll have your father strangle you right now, so you can stop ruining men's lives!"

She had changed.

Just like everyone around me, she forbade me from dating and getting married. If I disobeyed, I was better off dead.

I was certain of it—she had stepped into that cursed study too. How else could the gentle, kind mother I once knew turn so cruel?

Then, Angela and Lawrence walked out. They were well-dressed and all set to head out for the day.

As they walked through the living room, they saw me beaten and bruised. But they showed no shock or sympathy and just left.

Dad's fists and kicks continued to rain down on me. I curled tighter with each blow, every strike landing like a sledgehammer to the bone.

The pain darkened my vision and drenched me in cold sweat. Finally satisfied, Dad stopped.

Mom leaned sweetly against him, and together they disappeared into the bedroom.

The torment had broken me, both in body and spirit. I couldn't understand. Why was I, a normal woman, forbidden from falling in love or marrying like everyone else?

It was summer, but a chill had taken root in my heart.

Now that Mom had abandoned me, I knew that remaining in this family meant nothing but a slow and painful death.

That night, I secretly packed my IDs and papers into my backpack. I would wait until the dead of night and escape once they were all asleep.

But as I crept into the living room in the dark, I noticed a faint glow from the study.

Through the crack in the door, I saw Dad sitting at his desk. His face twisted into a grotesque, sinister grin that stretched almost to his ears.

I stood there frozen, and my entire body went cold. At that moment, I finally understood why he would never allow me to date and get married.