Chapter 9

"And so what if I slapped you? What are you going to do about it?" Luke yelled, towering over me as I clutched my burning cheek.

Before I could even blink, his hand shot out and grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking me upward with brutal force.

"Stop it, it hurts," I screamed, crying out loud, as he violently slammed my head against the wall.

"You dare raise your voice at me in my own house,?" Luke roared, releasing my hair only to unbuckle his leather belt in one swift, terrifying motion.

"I think I have been far too lenient with you, I teach you to respect me today."

"No, stop, Please," I yelled at the top of my lungs, trying to scramble backward across the floor.

He didn't listen, the belt whipped through the air, striking my back and shoulders over and over again, Every swing felt like a burning fire searing into my skin, I tried to push myself up to run toward the door, but he kicked my legs out from under me, shoving me back down onto the floor.

"You can't even handle a simple pregnancy, and now you have the audacity to talk back to me and blame my mother?" Luke yelled, his arm rising and falling with the belt.

"I can't breathe, Stop, Stop, please stop, I am sorry," I screamed, sobbing uncontrollably as the pain grew unbearable.

The belt just kept coming, wave after wave of merciless strikes, until the room spun violently, my limbs went numb, and everything faded into complete blackness.

The next morning, I woke up to an empty side of the bed. Every single muscle in my body throbbing with excruciating pain, I dragged myself out of bed and limped into the bathroom, staring at my reflection, Both sides of my face were dark, swollen, and bruised.

"Luke, you changed so much... You actually raised your hands to beat me like an animal, What on earth did I ever do to deserve this much hatred from you?" I cried out, my voice cracking as a sharp surge of pain rippled through my chest, It hurt so much I could barely breathe.

Suddenly, the bathroom door flew open, and a ceramic plate came hurtling through the air, smashing directly against the wall right beside my head, Shards scattered everywhere.

"What kind of lazy bum are you, waking up this late in the morning?"

I jumped, turning to see my mother-in-law standing in the doorway, glaring at me, and Right behind her stood my husband's younger brother's wife, crossing her arms with a smirk.

I bowed my head quickly, squeezing my eyes shut to hide the swelling.

"I am sorry, Mum, Luke hit me last night, I don't even know what I did to him to deserve this."

My sister-in-law scoffed loudly, rolling her eyes.

"Luke would never just hit you out of nowhere, You definitely must have said something foul to provoke him, Bella, you honestly deserve every single beating you get."

"What? is this little beating you are whining and crying about like a baby?" my mother-in-law snapped, stepping closer.

"Back in my day, we never raised our voice when our husbands were speaking to us, But you, with your sharp, disrespectful tongue, are always finding ways to anger my son."

"Mum... I didn't say anything bad to Luke, I only confronted him for not coming home for two whole days."

"He is a man, Whenever he likes, he comes home, You have zero right to question his movements," my mother-in-law muttered.

"Back in my day, whenever our husbands hit us to correct our bad behavior, we thanked them for teaching us, But nowadays women like you have refused to submit to your husbands."

My sister-in-law nodded eagerly, patting my mother-in-law's arm.

"Mum, you know I always follow your teachings, I would never dare disrespect my husband."

"You are such a good daughter-in-law, that is why I love you," my mother-in-law mumbled, before turning her head back toward me and raising her voice.

"What are you still standing there for like a useless statue? Get to the kitchen right now and cook, Can't you see I am starving?"

I rushed out of the bathroom, ignoring the sharp pain at my chest, hurrying into the kitchen, I rushed through cooking the meal, plating the food, and bringing it out to the dining table.

As soon as I set the plates down and turned around to walk away, my mother-in-law's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Bella, where exactly do you think you are going?"

"I am going inside, Mum, I am exhausted and my body hurts, I need to rest," I muttered, gripping the edge of the chair for support.

My mother-in-law rolled her eyes in disgust.

"I just want to remind you that we have a place to go later this afternoon."

"Where exactly are we going mum?"

"You will know when we get there," she replied coldly.

"So make sure you get dressed and ready on time, and don't you dare try to embarrass my son today."