"Susan, do you even hear yourself? You're my best friend!" I cried.

I grabbed her hand, but she shook me off with contempt. Her face was cold.

"I'm only telling the truth," she said. "You brought this on yourself."

In that instant, my heart felt like it was being torn apart. This was my childhood friend, the one I had grown up with. I couldn't believe that she had changed.

Then, I recalled a memory from when I was little, when Dad had punished me by withholding food. Susan would sneak over with bread, wait by my door, and quietly slip it to me so I wouldn't go hungry.

She had once promised that we'd be sisters for life, that she'd always be there for me.

I remembered a day we had walked hand in hand. I had asked, "Hey, what if I never get married?"

Her eyes had shone with sincerity and warmth as she replied with unwavering conviction, "It's okay if you don't. I bought a place, didn't I? You can live with me, and I won't get married either. I'll take care of you for life, and we can even adopt a child. From then on, we'll be family."

She was the one who told me not to cry over men. She said that men could change in a snap, and that only proved that they had never truly loved me.

But now, what made her any different from those men?

My chest ached as if it had been struck, while a thread of suspicion tangled like thorns in my mind, tightening until I could barely breathe.

I couldn't stop wondering—what power did Dad's study hold? How could it twist those who once cherished me, turning their care to cruelty… even making them willing to see me dead?

From that day forward, my friendship with Susan ended. We became strangers. I wasn't physically harmed, but the damage ran deep.

For a long time afterward, I went to therapy, trying to reclaim some piece of happiness.

Dad and Angela didn't care. All they knew was how to control and exploit me.

Then, Mom finally came home for her annual break. She would take a break once a year to spend time with family.

When she found out that I had been going to the hospital for therapy, she was filled with guilt. One night, she came into my room.

Mom stood by my bed and saw me lying there, my eyes numb and vacant. Her own face was streaked with tears.

She pulled me into her arms and said, "Ellie, this is all my fault. I've tried to talk sense into your father so many times, but he just won't listen."

Her voice trembled with pain, as if she wished she could take my suffering herself.

I knew how hard life was for Mom. Without her love, I wouldn't have lasted this long.

Every time Dad tried to beat or scold me, she would always step in and oppose him for my sake. She knew his temper better than anyone, and since she couldn't change him, she compensated by loving me even more.

But Mom was busy running her shop from dawn till dusk, and by the time she came home, I was already asleep.

Still, it didn't matter. I could always feel her care for me. It was what reminded me that someone in this world still cared for me and wouldn't turn against me for some strange, inexplicable reason.

I had thought about moving out, but Dad kept such a close watch on me. He was convinced that I would marry someone in secret the moment I left the house.

He even warned me that if I dared to move away, he would torture me until I begged for death. The very thought of his study sent a shiver down my spine.

I clung to Mom's arm and playfully said, "Mom, will you always listen to me, no matter what I say?"

She stroked my hair tenderly and softly replied, "Of course, I will. You're my beloved daughter. I'll always listen to you, no matter what you say."

Looking at her earnestly, I pleaded, "Then promise me that you'll never ever go into Dad's study. Can you do that for me?"

At that, Mom frowned slightly. "Is there something hidden in there?"

"I don't know," I replied. "But please, just promise me that you'll never go in there, okay?"

"Don't worry, my dear," she reassured me. "I'll listen to you. If you tell me not to go in there, then I won't, I promise."

"You're the best, Mom."

"Of course," she said firmly. "I will always be good to you, always."

Mom's expression was so serious, and I believed her. As long as she stayed out of Dad's study, she wouldn't be brainwashed by him and would still love me.

She even tried to comfort me, saying Dad was just stubborn and difficult, that I shouldn't take his words to heart.

Mom even told me that she had already arranged a blind date for me with a man of good character through a matchmaking site. She said no real parent would forbid their daughter from getting married, that it was unreasonable.

Feeling relieved, I agreed to meet the man that weekend. But the very next day, Mom told me the blind date had been canceled.

We were supposed to go for breakfast together that morning, but she didn't wake me. I slept in until noon, thinking she had gone back to work.

When I finally opened my door, Mom was there waiting. Without a word, she hurled a bowl from the dining table straight at my head.

Pain shot across my forehead, and warm blood spilled onto the floor.

Dad's vein bulged on his forehead.

"All you do is sleep! Why don't you just sleep until you die? It'll be easier to deal with your corpse that way!"

Fear and hurt washed over me, and my vision blurred. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, Mom sat at the dining table, eating barbecue ribs. She acted as if I didn't exist.

Dad's face twisted with smug satisfaction. He picked up a whip and brought it down on me. The lash burned like fire across my skin.

I broke down, sobbing. "Dad, I don't understand. What did I even do wrong? For years, you've destroyed every relationship I've ever had. Isn't that enough? Are you actually trying to beat me to death now?"

His nostrils flared violently with every breath. Each one was a raw vent for the hatred burning within him.

"Beating you to death would be better!" he roared. "Just the sight of you makes me want to skin you alive! So desperate to be a bride, aren't you? Fine. I'll arrange a marriage for you after you're dead. How about that?"

The whip cracked again and again, landing with brutal impact. As it did, a sharp, searing pain bloomed across my skin.

The unbearable pain tore a raw scream from my throat. I screamed until my voice gave out, and my body thrashed violently as my mind was consumed by the agony.

All the while, Mom ate her ribs and scrolled through videos on her phone. She even laughed out loud at one, without a single concern for my survival.

I stumbled toward her, desperate. "Mom! Please, make him stop! He's going to kill me!"

I expected her to push Dad away and shield me like before, but she didn't even move. Instead, she glared at me impatiently.

"You brought this on yourself. You keep provoking him, so it's only right that he teaches you a lesson."

At that moment, my head throbbed and my arms trembled. A horrifying thought seized me. Mom must have entered Dad's study too.

I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mom, tell me the truth! You went into Dad's study, didn't you? You promised me you wouldn't! You also promised you'd take me to a blind date. How could you just forget?"

I screamed hysterically, and Dad turned purple with rage at the sight.

Mom threw her fork at my face. "Enough! Who even went into that study? Just look at you. Who would ever want to marry you? If you keep this up, I'll have your father strangle you right now, so you can stop ruining men's lives!"

She had changed.

Just like everyone around me, she forbade me from dating and getting married. If I disobeyed, I was better off dead.

I was certain of it—she had stepped into that cursed study too. How else could the gentle, kind mother I once knew turn so cruel?

Then, Angela and Lawrence walked out. They were well-dressed and all set to head out for the day.

As they walked through the living room, they saw me beaten and bruised. But they showed no shock or sympathy and just left.

Dad's fists and kicks continued to rain down on me. I curled tighter with each blow, every strike landing like a sledgehammer to the bone.

The pain darkened my vision and drenched me in cold sweat. Finally satisfied, Dad stopped.

Mom leaned sweetly against him, and together they disappeared into the bedroom.

The torment had broken me, both in body and spirit. I couldn't understand. Why was I, a normal woman, forbidden from falling in love or marrying like everyone else?

It was summer, but a chill had taken root in my heart.

Now that Mom had abandoned me, I knew that remaining in this family meant nothing but a slow and painful death.

That night, I secretly packed my IDs and papers into my backpack. I would wait until the dead of night and escape once they were all asleep.

But as I crept into the living room in the dark, I noticed a faint glow from the study.

Through the crack in the door, I saw Dad sitting at his desk. His face twisted into a grotesque, sinister grin that stretched almost to his ears.

I stood there frozen, and my entire body went cold. At that moment, I finally understood why he would never allow me to date and get married.