Chapter 6

The days I was pregnant felt like a dream. When I woke up, I had to return to the life that John had planned for me.

Fortunately, John allowed me to see Adam every couple of days.

Though my time with him was limited, as he grew older, he started to look more and more like his father, a painful truth I couldn't change.

It seemed like he was well cared for by John and had a gentle temperament, unlike his father. This gave me a glimmer of hope to keep going.

But life always seemed to strike me down. I miscarried when Adam was six.

This was the fourth child I had lost after Adam. The first two had been lost due to malnutrition, combined with years of beatings from John.

I held a deep hope for this pregnancy. I prayed every day that this baby would grow safely and come into this world.

But just because John kicked me, it was gone.

It was the first time in all these years that I broke down completely. The blood-soaked straw mat beneath me, and John simply called a midwife from the village to take care of things.

I heard Adam asking him from outside, "Mom's bleeding. I saw Jack bleeding before, and his parents took him to the hospital. Aren't we taking Mom to the hospital?"

"Why bother? That dog out front had a leg so bad you could see the bone, and now it's still hopping around. Your mom's just like that dog!"

"I get it. Women aren't worth it, right? I heard Jack's dad say that!"

John laughed heartily. Both of them entered the room, and not a single person came to see me.

The physical pain was nothing compared to the agony I felt at that moment. My son hadn't come to protect me when I was desperate, and instead, he was learning things I didn't want him to learn. He was quickly picking up all of his father's bad habits.