Chapter 3

I pulled myself together and started revising my resume, preparing to re-enter the workforce. Seeing the graduation photo of Neil and me on my computer brought back many memories.

Neil and I were high school classmates. I liked him from the moment I first saw him. It was love at first sight. I pursued him for six years, from college to graduation, doing everything I could for him. He had long been accustomed to my company and care.

In our free time after work, he would ask me to join him for drinks. The day he was promoted to project manager, he was so happy and proud that he drank too much and got into a fight with someone at the bar. A bottle that was meant for his opponent's head ended up smashing on mine instead. At that moment, all I could think about was preventing him from getting into trouble. The bottle hit my head, and the glass cut my face.

Neil had always been particular about appearances and didn't like my plain looks. I thought that after my face was scarred, I would never have a chance with him again. To my surprise, my parents threatened Neil to fulfill my wish. After I was discharged from the hospital, he quickly married me.

Our married life wasn't very happy. Neil didn't love me, and his mother disapproved of me both in appearance and family background. Neil felt forced by my parents and treated me colder than before. We didn't have a wedding ceremony or a honeymoon. It wasn't until a year later that our friends knew we were married.

Neil's mother, who cared a lot about appearances, criticized me behind my back. She insisted I learn to take care of Neil's daily needs. Since I didn't know how to do these things before, she made me quit my job to learn cooking and housekeeping. At that time, I was just starting to make progress in my career and didn't want to resign. She told Neil that I didn't care about him or want to make any sacrifices for the family.

To prove myself in front of Neil, I resigned as she wished and stayed home to learn cooking and housekeeping. Neil started coming home more often because he was well taken care of. I thought his mother was helping me because she seemed kind.

She made me scrub the floor three times a day with a small cloth. I did it diligently. She asked for the house keys, so I gave them to her. One day, after buying groceries, I found myself locked out as she left the house without telling me. When I called her, she said she'd be right back and told me to wait at the door.

I waited until my phone died, afraid to leave in case she or Neil returned and found me missing. Late at night, when they finally came home, she acted surprised. "Oh dear, how could you be so silly to lock yourself out of the house?"

When I tried to explain, she accused me of making excuses.

Three years into our marriage, she began urging us to have children. Neil was always busy and kept postponing it. She privately blamed me for not being able to keep him around. When nothing happened for a long time, she sought out dubious remedies for what she claimed were my health problems and made me take medicine daily.

The first time, after ten doses, I broke out in hives and had severe vomiting and diarrhea that landed me in the hospital for a week. She was scared and didn't bring any more medicine for a while.

The second time was six months ago. Traumatized by the previous experience, I refused to drink it. She cried to Neil about how disrespectful I was towards her feelings. Neil then told me that his mother had gone to great lengths to find the remedy and insisted that I take it no matter what.

After taking it, I gained weight rapidly. Neil then told me to lose weight. However, my attempt led to a miscarriage. His mother only visited once and publicly questioned why I needed to lose weight at all but privately blamed me for being brainless and insisted I continue taking the medicine.

Looking back now, I realize how stupid I was to follow their words blindly, causing myself harm.

I stopped dwelling on the past and began sending out resumes in search of a job again.

From now on, I would rely on myself for my future life.

With this new focus on job hunting, naturally, there was no time left for chores.

Neil was very displeased when he came home.