Chapter 1

On my wedding night, I had just gotten out of the shower when my mother-in-law, Margaret Shaw, kicked the bedroom door open and walked right in, holding a feather duster.

"As a new member, you need to learn how things work in this family," she barked. "Know your place."

Before I could figure out what was going on, my husband, David Shaw, shoved me to the floor and gave her a nervous smile. "Mom, she's new here. Take it easy on her, alright?"

Margaret raised the feather duster and brought it down across my back again and again while reciting the rules for me. "Rule one, don't talk back. Rule two, hand over your paycheck. Rule three..."

I looked at David, who was watching with cold eyes and helping his mother hold me down. That was when all hope left me.

The next day, with bruises all over my body, I threw the divorce papers and the medical report right in his face.

*****

I had just stepped out of the bathroom, still wrapped in the warm steam from my shower. The silk nightgown I was wearing for our wedding night made my skin look glowing.

David Shaw, my new husband, sat on the edge of the bed, watching me with soft eyes.

"Emily, you're so beautiful," he murmured.

I smiled, my heart bursting with joy.

I had almost ruined my relationship with my family to marry him.

My parents didn't want me to move so far away, but I trusted David. I believed he would be the one I could always count on.

As I started to walk toward him, there was a loud bang.

Someone kicked the bedroom door open from the outside.

I gasped and grabbed the neckline of my nightgown.

Margaret stood in the doorway, holding that familiar feather duster. Her face was cold and mean, her eyes slicing across my bare arms and legs like knives.

"Disgraceful," she spat.

I was frozen, completely lost about what was happening.

"Mom, what are you doing?" David stood up, but there was no blame in his voice.

Margaret ignored him and walked straight up to me. The smell of cheap makeup filled the air.

"As a new member, you need to learn how things work in this family," she barked, pointing the feather duster at me. "Know your place."

I thought I had misheard. "Margaret, what did you say?" I asked.

"I said, know your place. Are you deaf?" Margaret's eyes widened, her whole presence menacing.

I shot David a pleading look, hoping he would step in. He was my husband, and he was supposed to protect me.

David looked torn for a second, but then he came over to me anyway.

I thought he was going to stand up for me. Instead, he grabbed my shoulders and pressed me down.

"Emily, listen to my mom. She's the elder," he said.

I was caught off guard, stumbling as he pushed me down, my knees slamming hard onto the cold floor.

It hurt, but I barely felt the pain. My heart was too frozen from shock.

I couldn't believe my husband had forced me down in front of his mother on our wedding night.

"Mom, she's new here. Take it easy on her, alright?" David said, flashing Margaret a kiss-ass smile I had never seen before.

That smile crushed me.

Margaret made a pleased sound and lifted the feather duster. "In this family, the new wife learns the rules from day one. That is how it has always worked," she said. "I'm going to teach you right now, so you better pay attention."

The feather duster landed hard across my back.

A sharp, stinging pain shot through me.

I gasped and my whole body flinched. I tried to get up, but David pushed down on my shoulders and held me in place.

"Rule one, you don't talk back in this house. You listen and obey whenever elders speak," Margaret snapped.

Another sharp smack cut through the air as she lashed my arm hard once again.

"Rule two, hand over your entire paycheck from now on. I'll manage all household costs and take charge of every family expense," she added.

A third loud smack echoed through the room, and the stinging blow landed right on my leg.

"Rule three, you handle every household chore around here and you won't get away with lazy behavior," she continued.

The duster swung down again before I could process the new rule.

"Rule four..." she pressed on. Each rule rolled off her tongue in quick, sharp bursts, and every single one ended with the feather duster crashing against my skin.

I didn't cry or fight back in any way.

My head hung low under David's firm hold, my vision clouded as I stared hollowly at him. He was the one who should've defended me, yet he kept a tight grip to trap me in place for his mother's anger.

I thought back to our wedding earlier that day. He'd held my hands with soft affection and whispered sincere promises.

He'd told me he'd love me for the rest of our lives, keep me safe, and never let me face any pain alone.

Those sweet wedding vows still lingered clearly in my head. But this same man had become the whole reason for every bit of suffering I endured in this room.

Margaret kept spitting out her strict, cruel rules without pause, and the feather duster never slowed its violent strikes against my skin.

My body stopped registering the physical pain after a while. The raw ache in my chest felt far heavier and far harder to bear than any surface injury.

The warm, loving feelings I'd once held in my heart for David slowly faded with every single lash, every cold rule, and every moment he chose to hold me down instead of protect me.

I stared straight at him, and every warm emotion inside me faded away until my heart turned completely cold.

I finally knew what it meant to feel empty and dead inside.