Chapter 4

After that day, I never saw anyone else. John locked me in the hut, where I ate and slept. I could only leave when he needed to release his desires.

Perhaps because of his limp, John had never received fair treatment and had a particularly volatile temper.

When he was in a bad mood, he would hit me to vent his frustration, usually after drinking, and then hold me, crying, "I've always been like this, but I don't want to be like this! Why do they all laugh at me? Why don't they respect me?"

He longed for respect, but when faced with someone weaker than him, someone like me, he resorted to even more cruel methods.

I was angry with him, but I didn't dare to hate him.

My mother had always said, "When you marry, you follow your husband." And she also had been beaten by my father, so I thought this was normal.

Luckily, I didn't endure these beatings for long because I became pregnant.

That was the first time I saw John smile at me and the first time I was able to sit at the table and eat.

He became much more patient with me, asking me to sleep in the same bed and gently touching my belly, saying, "Make sure you give me a son!"

Truth be told, I had always wanted a daughter. When I was younger, I imagined having a little girl and dressing her up like a little princess.

But now, I didn't mind having a son.

If I had a daughter, she would suffer with me, and I wouldn't be able to protect her. But if it was a son, I hoped he could protect me when John hit me.

With this thought, I eagerly awaited his arrival. Whenever I sat outside in the sun and saw people walking by with bundles, I would quietly rub my belly and whisper, "Hurry up and grow, and one day, like them, you'll take me away."