My Lifesaving Money, My Last Straw

By the time I got back to that so-called home, it was already dark outside.

The sound of the key sliding into the lock made my palms go cold.

When I pushed the door open, my husband, Carl Blackburn, was on the couch drinking. The TV was blaring loudly enough to shake the room.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked without even turning around.

Without answering, I headed straight for the bedroom.

"Stop right there!" The thud of the beer bottle hitting the coffee table made me flinch.

He staggered to his feet. "Where's the 68 grand? Hand it over."

My chest tightened. So he knew.

"It's gone." I heard my numb voice. "My dad gave it to my brother to buy a house."

Carl paused and finally looked at me with a derisive laugh. "I don't care who you give it to. I just want the money. You hid it to divorce me, didn't you?"

As he stepped closer, the smell of alcohol and smoke hit my face. "Go ahead. Divorce me if you want. But every cent of the money is mine."

I clenched my empty pockets.

Throughout these five years of marriage, I had secretly filed for divorce ten times. Nine of those times, Carl found out, beat me nearly to death, and withdrew the divorce petition in my name.

The only time a case actually reached court, it was dismissed due to insufficient evidence of domestic violence.

I thought about calling the police, but I didn't dare. Carl said that if I called them, my naked pictures would be all over the streets.

I was scared.

Three days later, my phone rang.

"Julia, I heard you're cutting ties with your family?" It was my aunt, Lydia Palmer, the one who had always doted on me the most.

"Yeah."

"Oh, honey, don't say things in anger," Aunt Lydia said urgently. "Your parents just weren't thinking straight. Leonel's wedding is indeed a big deal—"

"Aunt Lydia," I interrupted her and switched to a video call. "Look at my arm."

I saw her gasp on the other end. "W-what happened?"

"He did this," I said, dropping my sleeve. "The bruise on my collarbone from the last time you saw me hasn't even healed yet, and now I have a new one."

"Oh my god…" Aunt Lydia's voice trembled. "But Leonel—"

"Leonel was 60 grand short on his house, so Dad gave him all the savings I'd been keeping for my divorce," I said numbly while leaning against the cold wall.

"But Leonel's your brother—"

"Aunt Lydia," I cut her off, my voice cracking. "I've been married for five years, earning six grand a month. And I've been getting beaten for those five whole years."

"I know you've suffered."

"I saved up the 68 grand for a long time, just so I could divorce Carl."

I stared at the stains on the concrete wall. "Now, the money's gone and I can't buy my way out."