Two months ago, it was the 18th time that Denny beat me since we got married.

That time, he drank too much alcohol, and the violence escalated.

He slapped me continuously, making me fall to the ground. He pressed his knee against my abdomen and choked my throat. His weight of over 150 pounds almost crushed me, making me feel a sour sensation.

"Bitch, what time is it? Do you still know how to come back? Are you playing with other men outside, huh?"

He dragged me by my long hair to the bathroom, causing a stinging pain on my scalp. The cold tiles pressed against my face, making me shiver.

"Denny, I, I didn't... You're drunk, let go... Gurgling..."

He forced me into a bathtub filled with water and made me drink the dirty water with his foam and vomit after being drunk.

"You bitch, how dare you come back in the middle of the night again!"

I felt like I was going to be killed by him in the bathtub in the next second. I struggled hard, but in return, I received a heavier kick. My head hit the edge of the tiles heavily, and the blood blurred my vision.

With a thud, he couldn't support himself and fell to the ground.

I struggled to crawl to the living room and dialed the police number.

The police came quickly and took us all back to the police station.

"When a couple quarrels, our principle is usually mediation. After all, as the saying goes, it's better to destroy ten buildings than to break one marriage."

The wound on my head, which was bandaged, was throbbing like a needle. My neck was covered in bruises from being pressed, and my voice was hoarse and unrecognizable.

"So, can he be sentenced?"

The police officer was a bit embarrassed, "But the hospital's assessment result has also come out. Yours can only be considered a minor injury. We can only detain your husband for ten days."

The conclusion I reached from the previous times I called the police was the same, and I was very disappointed.

"By the way... has my husband sobered up?"

In the police station, Denny cried heartbreakingly, knelt in front of me, and hugged my legs to repent.

"Honey, I really regret this time. Look, this is the written guarantee I made, with my fingerprint on it."

"Will you forgive me this time, okay?"

The people of the Women's Federation nodded repeatedly, "We have dealt with many family disputes, and your husband's attitude of admitting his mistakes is not bad."

The police officer started to persuade me, "Detention will leave a record. It will hurt his future employment."

I clenched my phone and numbly signed my name on the settlement agreement.

In front of them, Denny hugged my shoulder tightly.

"Let's go home, honey, and we will live a good life."

I knew he couldn't change. But I didn't expect the nineteenth time to come so soon.

When the phone rang, the snoring in the room was like thunder.

I struggled to sit up from the narrow sofa and checked the bruises on my body.

The right upper arm and left thigh both had large areas of obvious bruising. I tried to move a few times, fortunately, it was flexible and the joints should not be injured.

After deliberately strengthening exercises as advised by my best friend, my body had become more agile. When Denny's fist came down last night, I avoided vital areas.

However, the strength was still too weak. After resisting those few hits, my whole body felt like it had been disassembled, and it was sore everywhere.

Looking at the thick stack of papers in the drawer, I finally made up my mind.

After tidying up my clothes and using simple makeup to cover up the exhaustion from almost a sleepless night, I grabbed my bag and went out.

In the building, the receptionist in professional attire glanced at me.

"Models class, yoga class, turn left on the second floor. Weight loss course, turn right on the third floor."

I shook my head, "Hello, I'm here to sign up for Muay Thai."

The smallest classroom at the corner on the fourth-floor was where the one-on-one adult Muay Thai class was held.

My coach is my best friend - Austin.

She was pleasantly surprised when she seeing me.

"Annie, you come finally."

She pounced on me with such force that I cried out in pain.

The expression on Austin's face changed as she rolled up my sleeves, "Did that bastard hit you again?"

"That trash of a man. You should have left him a long time ago. Look at you, you're a mid-level leader in a company, how can you let yourself be bullied like this..."

I interrupted her, "Divorce would just let him off the hook, wouldn't it?"

"I plan to go with the second option you mentioned."

As my best friend, Austin had witnessed me being beaten several times. She angrily came up with two ideas for me.

First, get a divorce.

But I could guarantee that Denny would never agree to divorce me. After all, he didn't have a proper job now and relied on me for support. If we divorced, he would have nothing.

Divorcing through litigation was too complicated. It could drag on for a year or more, during which time my safety cannot be guaranteed.

Second, fight fire with fire.

Inviting Denny out and letting Austin beat him up to vent my anger for me.

At that time, Austin patted his chest and promised, "Annie, based on my years of experience, men like Denny are just bullies who are afraid of tough opponents."

"As long as I beat him up, he will know that someone is backing you up, and he will definitely not dare to bully you."

Good idea, however, I had decided to change the person in charge of implementation.

Austin's eyes lit up, "Tell me, when and where do we start?"

I held her restless hand.

"Austin. That's intentionally hurting someone if you hit him. I can't drag you into this. I came here today to learn Muay Thai from you, to do it myself."

I thought Austin would dissuade me, but I didn't expect her to hold my hand tightly and get even more excited.

"As my best friend, you should have done this a long time ago. Don't worry, I will teach you everything I know. Let me see first what skills you are suitable for."

Austin turned around twice and frowned, "Annie, you are too thin now. Look at your thin arms and legs, they can be broken with a twist. No matter how many skills you have, they are useless without strength."

"You weren't like this before."

Actually, I had a good foundation. I practiced sports for several years when I was in school. With a height of 5.6 inches, I was not considered short among girls.

Just that...

After getting married, I neglected to exercise and was rarely exposed to sunlight. My skin became pale, and my abdominal muscles disappeared. The slender and powerful limbs gradually turned into thin sticks.

The downside was that there was no strength to fight back when encountering violence.

"You should supplement protein first and start with muscle training."

After a busy day, Denny stayed at home.

Hearing the movement, his face turned grim.

"Where did you go today? It's the weekend."

I took out my phone and opened the photos in the album, "Denny, I just went to meet my best friend. You have also met her, Austin."

Denny pushed away his phone and sneered, "That crazy woman, it's better to have less contact with her so as not to be influenced by her wild thoughts."

In the previous few times when I was beaten out of my house, I hid at Austin's house. Denny was very dissatisfied with her.

The interrogation was not over yet. Denny crossed his legs and placed them on the coffee table.

"Then let me ask you, why did you come back so late last night?"

I pinched the bruise on my thigh and sat down on the floor, tears streaming down my face.

"Denny, I'm working overtime. Did you forget? You haven't taken any odd jobs this month. We're out of money at home, we don't even have money to buy food."

"In order to save more money, I work day and night for the company. Denny, I do all this for you, for our family..."

Denny was startled, "I was just asking casually, why are you crying?"

I rolled up my sleeves and continued to cry and complain, "These are all from you yesterday, Denny, do you remember what you promised me?"

"You said you would never lay a hand on me no matter how angry you are."

Denny pulled me up and his face turned serious, "Stop crying, it's not good if others hear."

"Annie, I just care too much about you, and I was drinking too much, I didn't control my strength. I didn't mean to hit you."

I used a little trick to break free from his control, opened the drawer, and pointed to a thick stack inside.

"Does that written guarantee still count?"

Denny's attitude was sincere, and he spoke as if it were true.

"Annie, I swear I won't lay a hand on you again."

"Otherwise, what?"

Denny casually made a promise, "Otherwise, let me leave with nothing!"

Denny obtained another 'understanding' from me and went out to spend the money.

Of course, he told me that a friend introduced him to a delivery job to make money.

In the three years since I married him, there had been such a scene almost every month.

If it was not for ten days or half a month, he basically won't come back. And when he came back, he always returned empty-handed.

I sneered as I played with the voice recorder.

I consulted a lawyer before, and the requirements for leaving with nothing are very strict. Denny's promise had no legal effect.

What I wanted was not these things, I just wanted to temporarily stabilize him.

Austin arranged a special training for me. I started the devil training day and night.

After greatly improving my strength and agility, Austin began teaching me some techniques.

"Denny is not tall and has a beer belly, making him unstable. You should take the initiative to attack his lower body. Yes, well done. That's it."

After the training, I sat down and wiped off the sweat, saying, "He's probably coming back tomorrow. Do you think I can handle it?"

Austin paused while tidying up the equipment and turned to look at me.

"Are you planning to take the initiative and beat him up?"

I shook my head.

It was not taking the initiative, but being forced to fight back.

Every time Denny stayed outside for a long time and came back, he became very irritable. He looked for trouble with me everywhere and hit me. It had become a pattern.

Austin listened in astonishment, "No wonder you come to my place every month for a few days. Is it to avoid trouble?"

"Did he spend all his money outside and then come back to attack you?"

I fiddled with the equipment, "Maybe. I used to think that he was working hard outside, and I wondered if there was something I didn't do well that made him angry."

"Now..."

Austin squinted at me and asked, "What do you think now?"

I clenched my fist and smiled, "Don't try to seduce me. If he dares to come, I'll beat him up."

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

"Did the scumbag come back early?"

I glanced at the screen and shook my head slowly, "It's not from him, it's a multimedia message."

"In this age, people still send multimedia messages? Who sent it? Can I see it? Hey, why do you look so pale..."