There were five people in the room, each pretending to be busy, avoiding the real issue at hand.

Jeremy Noah, the head of the house, sat in his usual chair, reading a newspaper.

It was odd, hardly anyone under fifty still reads newspapers in this day and age.

Beside him, sat his wife Rose, quietly knitting.

This was clearly an old-fashioned family.

Their twins, Liam and Lyka, sat quietly in the corner, both busy with what they were doing, not saying a word.

They weren’t there to help, they just wanted to watch the drama unfold.

Since their older sister, Abby, came back about thirty minutes ago, the house had been filled with heavy tension and silence.

Abby was the only one looking like she was at their mercy in front of her parents. She was on her knees in front of her mother, pleading over and over with teary eyes.

“Please…” she said again, broken and desperate. Her hands clapped together and folded. “I need a divorce from Kelvin. I can’t take it anymore.”

Her voice sounded so tired, so worn out, one could tell she’d lost her voice. But her mother still wouldn’t budge.

“Abby, Kelvin is your husband,” Rose replied coldly, still knitting in a very reluctant way.

“Kelvin beats me!” Abby shouted back. “Can’t you see it? "Look at me, Mom…” she stood up, pointing to her bruised and swollen face. This is only a small part of what I go through every single day. He hurts me physically, mentally, and emotionally. Can’t you see that?”

Why couldn’t they see it?

Rose just glanced at her and went back to her knitting. “Do you have any proof that Kelvin did that to you?”

Abby froze, stepping back. She was shocked. What had she just heard?

“What?”

Was her mother serious?

She had visible bruises all over her face, and they were asking for proof.

Jeremy grunted, now touching his beard. “Your mom is right. How do we know you didn’t do that to yourself?”

Abby’s mouth fell open. “Why would I?”

She tried to explain, but her younger sister Lyka jumped in. “Mom and Dad are right. You’ve done it before, hurt yourself and blamed Kelvin. How do we know you didn’t do it again?”

“No!” Abby shook her head quickly, her eyes filling with tears. “I didn’t." Kelvin did this to me. Those times were… I only… I was just trying to…”

“Why do you always do this, Abby?” her mother interrupted with a sigh. She dropped her knitting and looked her daughter in the eyes.

Abby’s whole body trembled.

How could her own family not believe her? Especially her mother. How could she not believe her words?

“Mum…”

“You’re married to a man from a respectable family. A man who accepted you and still married you, despite your…” Rose paused, searching for the right word, turning her head in another direction. “Well… your flaws.”

“Flaws?” Abby repeated, stunned.

Rose gave a little shrug. “You know what I mean.”

“Mother, if you’re talking about my pregnancy, that was three years ago. It was a mistake, and I was young. But Kelvin beat the baby out of me just two months into the marriage. And then when I got pregnant again, for him, he beat that one out of me too… please, Mum. Believe me.”

Rose let out a cold laugh, then stared at her daughter with disgust. “You want me to believe you? After all the shame you brought on this family three years ago?”

Tears poured down Abby’s cheeks. “It wasn’t me. It wasn’t my fault.”

“Of course. "It was Barbie’s fault, wasn’t it?” her mother snapped. That split personality of yours. Maybe she’s the one I’ve been talking to this whole time.”

“No,” Abby whispered. “Barbie hasn’t come out since that day, three years ago." I swear. Mum, it’s me… I’m your daughter.”

She reached out to touch her mother’s leg.

But Rose slapped her hand away so harshly that Abby fell to the ground, landing flat on her face.

Her knees buckled. Nobody moved to help her.

She didn’t know what hurt more, her face, or the silence that followed her mother’s rejection.

“You’re not my daughter,” Rose said coldly.

“My daughter wouldn’t have gone to a club, gotten drunk, and ended up pregnant.

My daughter wouldn’t reject a good man like Kelvin.

My daughter wouldn’t hurt herself.”

For the first time, Rose’s voice cracked. She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes for a moment before finishing her word.

“My daughter would do whatever it takes to save her marriage. She would give her husband a child. That’s the only way you can prove you’re still my daughter.”

Abby couldn’t believe what she was hearing. And worse, she couldn’t believe those words were coming from her mother.

Did her mother really just say that?

She wanted her to give an heir to the same man who beat her nearly to death? To the same man who treated her worse than trash.

“Did you hear anything I just said at all?” Abby asked quietly, trying to make sense of it all.

“That man beats me. Are you going to wait until he kills me before you realize the truth?”

Jeremy stood up and went to comfort his crying wife.

“That’s enough, Abby. "Or is it Abby now?” he said.

“Can’t you see your mother is upset?”

Yeah, she could see that.

But couldn’t they see her pain?

If they couldn’t feel it, were they also blind to what was right in front of them?

“Go back to your husband,” Jeremy said. Apologize. I’m sure you did something wrong again. But he’ll forgive you.”

Forgive her?

If anything, she was the one who needed an apology.

But clearly, that wasn’t happening. Clearly, no one believed her.

Abby slowly stood up from the floor and wiped her tears the best she could, even though touching her cheek stung like hell.

It was clear now, her family wasn’t on her side.

“What if I don’t?” she asked, her voice calm but firm. “What if I still decide to leave this marriage?”

“If you do that, I will disown you and remove you from my will,” Jeremy said immediately, like he had been waiting to say those words.

Lyka gasped loudly. She was clearly enjoying the drama. If she had popcorn, she’d be munching on it like it was a movie.

Liam just stayed quiet, watching everything unfold.

But Abby didn’t flinch.

She was already prepared for the worst.

Between dying in Kelvin’s hands and being disowned by her parents, only one choice would keep her alive.

“Abby,” her mother called harshly, saying her name. She looked up and met her mother’s cold stare.

“If you ruin the only good thing you’re good for, I’ll curse the day I gave birth to you.”

Abby blinked in shock. Now she could only regret not refusing at the first instant to marry Kelvin.

She had never heard her mother talk like this, not even after everything that had happened three years ago.

Something inside her broke.

She could feel her soul tear from within.

“Leave,” her mother ordered. “Go back to your husband." Now!”

Abby nodded slowly.

She got the message loud and clear.

She wasn’t wanted here.

Everything makes sense now.

Her own mother was willing to curse her, for what?

A marriage built on pain?

A sad smile appeared on Abby’s lips.

She had held onto the tiny hope that maybe, just maybe, life would give her something better.

But she was wrong.

This was her life.

This was how it would end.

She walked out of her family’s compound without looking back. She just kept walking.

Abby had never seriously thought about suicide, not even after what happened when she was younger.

But now…

Now it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore.