My husband promises to go to my hometown with me for the New Year holidays this year after I go to his. But before the trip to my hometown is due, he suddenly tells me he doesn't want to go anymore.

I argue with him about this, and he pummels me with a bat. Meanwhile, his family eggs him on, telling him to kill me.

Intense pain shoots through me as the blows land. I try my best to fight back, but I can't win against the majority.

As the sky darkens, everyone heads home for dinner after giving me a good beating. When I regain consciousness in a corner of the garden, I see sense.

My husband and I dated and eventually got married out of love.

We worked at the same company but in different departments. By chance, we got to know each other because we were assigned to work on the same project.

Upon meeting me, my husband, Gordon Baker, fell in love with me at first sight. After that, he went to great lengths to pursue me.

I was already 28 and not exactly young anymore. My family had been urging me to get married. They even said that if I didn't bring home a significant other by the New Year, they would start making arrangements for me to go on blind dates with potential suitors.

Gordon was tall and well-built. He had a sunny disposition and handsome looks. I'd found it hard to resist his advances. The fact that he was exactly my type earned him extra brownie points too.

And so, I agreed to become his girlfriend. We dated for two years, during which we met each other's parents. With both our families urging us and egging us on, we thought it was time to settle down and naturally got married.

This year was our first New Year together as a married couple.

Being newly married, I was homesick. So, I discussed it with Gordon and suggested that we spend a few days at his parents' home and then head to my parents' home for New Year's Eve.

At first, Gordon wasn't too happy about it, but he couldn't resist my pleas. Ultimately, he gave in.

Seeing that he still seemed a little upset, I bought him the gaming console he had been eyeing but hesitated to get for himself. I hoped that this would cheer him up.

After Gordon got his hands on the new console, he couldn't stop smiling.

Once everything was decided, I started preparing for our trip.

Soon, it was a week before New Year's Eve. We packed up our bags and drove over to his hometown.

When we arrived, Gordon's parents and siblings were thrilled to see us. They were pleased since I had thoughtfully prepared valuable gifts for each of them. Because of this, I had a wonderful time at his parents' house over the next few days.

Everything went well until it was New Year's Eve.

As I was worried about traffic during the inevitable festive travel rush, I packed everything we needed to take to my parents' home into the car on the day before New Year's Eve.

I also reminded Gordon to go to bed early. My plan was to get up early and set off. That way, we would arrive in time to have dinner with my parents on New Year's Eve.

The thought of going home soon and seeing my parents, whom I hadn't seen in half a year, filled me with so much excitement that I couldn't sleep that night.

The next morning, I opened my eyes just as the alarm started ringing.

Upon seeing that Gordon was still asleep, I gently woke him up. "Gordon, I'll go wash up first. You should get up soon and get ready. We can grab a quick bite as we head out."

I was so excited that I didn't notice the unnatural expression that flashed across his face when I said this.

After I finished washing up and getting ready, I waited for a while but didn't see Gordon come out. When I checked the time, I saw that it was already 9:30 am. If we set off any later, we would most likely be caught in awfully heavy traffic.

I hurried back into the bedroom to check on Gordon.

When I opened the door, I saw him still buried under the covers, sleeping soundly. His thundering snores echoed loudly in the room.

I lifted the blanket slightly and saw the dark circles under his eyes as well as his fatigued appearance. Then, I thought about how he had been so busy preparing for the New Year's festivities these past few days that he barely got enough sleep each night.

Besides, it wasn't absolutely necessary to leave in the morning. Based on my estimation, setting off after lunch would still be fine.

So, I tucked the blanket around him snugly and left the room quietly.

Once I was in the front yard, I called my parents to let them know that Gordon and I would be arriving a bit later. After hanging up the call, I went to the kitchen to start preparing lunch.

…

After lunch, I began urging Gordon to drive me to my parents' house.

"I've already packed everything. You just need to drive," I said, pulling him toward the car. "It's a long drive. You can drive for a while first. When we reach a rest area, we'll switch. That way, we won't get too tired, and we'll get home sooner. Maybe we'll even make it in time for dinner."

The more I spoke, the more excited I became. Hence, I didn't notice the impatient look on Gordon's face at all. I rambled on and on. Just as we were about to leave the front yard, he suddenly flung my hand away.

"I don't want to go!" he bellowed.

His loud voice startled me, and I stood frozen in place.

I turned to him and stammered, "W-What did you just say?"

Gordon looked very annoyed. Without answering my question, he frowned deeply and turned to walk back to the house.

He said irritably, "I said I don't want to go."

I chased after him and grabbed his arm. "What do you mean, Gordon? Didn't we agree we'd go to my parents' house for New Year's Eve? What's this supposed to mean now?"

Gordon shook my hand off forcefully and shouted at me, "I don't feel like going! So, I'm not going! Don't you get it?"

After yelling at me, he turned and started walking back inside.

I stood there watching his retreating figure. He walked away so briskly and resolutely without any regard for my feelings. His unexpected outburst echoed in my ears.

And then, I was hit by a bolt of realization—Gordon had never intended to go to my parents' house for the New Year.

He tricked me into coming to his house and hid the car keys from me. With my parents' house being far away from his hometown, I wouldn't even be able to buy a ticket to get back home no matter how much money I had due to the travel rush.

So, where we would spend the New Year was entirely up to him.

This epiphany made my anger surge. I rushed over, grabbed his hand, and kicked him hard in the leg.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? You were planning to stay at your parents' house for the New Year all along! You tricked me into coming here!" I snapped.

Gordon was about to lose his temper when I kicked him. But upon seeing how upset and agitated I was, he softened his tone and tried to persuade me that staying was the right choice.

"Look around you, Dakota. No married woman in this village goes back to her own home on such a major day. Now that you've married me, shouldn't you stay with me and my family?" Gordon reasoned.

I was so angry at his absurd reasoning that I laughed.

Without missing a beat, I retorted, "This isn't an issue in my family! My brother and sister are both eagerly waiting for me to come home for the New Year! I don't know how things are done in other families, but my family will be happy to see me home!"

Gordon realized that I wasn't going to back down without a fight. So, he tried his best to calm me down and coax me into complying with his wishes.

He said pleadingly, "Dakota, if you go to your parents' house for the New Year, what will the people in this village think of me and my parents? Please, just do me this favor and stay here for the New Year this time!"

"Why do you even care about something as trivial as keeping up appearances for outsiders? How is that of any importance?" I asked, seething with anger and gritting my teeth. I didn't even bother to listen to anything else he had to say.

I went on a tirade. "If you didn't want to spend the New Year at my parents' house from the start, you should've just said so! You agreed, and now you're going back on your word! You're absolutely shameless, Gordon!"

My outburst caused Gordon's expression to darken. He turned around and blamed everything on me. "If you hadn't pestered me ceaselessly, do you think I would've done this? I could only agree first and try to talk you out of it after we came home."

In all my life, I'd never seen such a selfish person. I couldn't help but retort, "Are you saying that this is all my fault?"

When I said this, Gordon had the audacity to nod in agreement. "Well, whose fault could it be? I'm definitely not the one to be blamed, Dakota."

I snorted in exasperation. "You're unbelievable! How can you say that so righteously with a straight face? Have you no sense of shame?"

As soon as I finished speaking, I noticed Gordon's family coming out of the house. His parents, along with his sisters, came out and stood by us.

I saw various expressions on their faces, but it was clear that they had all heard our argument.

With his family gathered around, Gordon's pride was wounded. He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.

The force of the blow stunned me, and I froze. The sharp pain on my cheek made tears well up in my eyes. When I came to my senses, I covered my face with my hand and glared at Gordon.

"How dare you hit me, Gordon? What kind of a man are you!" As I spoke, I raised my hand to hit him back, but he grabbed my wrist and twisted it hard.

A wave of pain shot through my wrist. I instinctively clutched my wrist with my other hand. As I was about to curse at him, a wooden stick struck me hard on the head.

The blow made my vision blur, and a buzzing sound filled my ears.

The temporary loss of sight and hearing only heightened the sensations throughout my body. I felt my legs give out, and I collapsed to the ground.

What followed was a barrage of punches and kicks from Gordon.

At the same time, his curses filled the air. "Stupid woman! I said I didn't want to go! You just had to push me! I'll beat you to death! What's the rush to go back? Have you got some lover waiting for you back at home? You shameless woman! You deserve this beating!"

The pain from all over my body made me curl up involuntarily. I covered my head with my arms, trying desperately to shield myself from the relentless blows raining down on me.

Then, I heard Gordon's family members cheering him on.

"Good job, son! Women need to be beaten! If you don't beat them, they won't listen!" Gordon's mother, Mary Hill, who had always been kind to me, voiced her approval of his violence.

"Don't hit her too hard, though. If she's all injured, how will you have fun with her tonight? Still, she needs to be taught a lesson! She's married, yet she insists on going back to her parents' home. Don't hold back, Gordon. I've had it with her appalling attitude!"

These atrocious words came from Gordon's father, Herman Baker, who was supposedly a kind and honest man.

"Easy, Gordon. If you kill her, we don't have any money for you to hold another wedding for your new wife. Besides, I'm still counting on her to buy me clothes and makeup!"

To think that these words came from Michelle Baker, Gordon's older sister who always smiled at me so sweetly.

"Hit her harder! She still managed to dodge. That means you're not hitting hard enough! Can't you do better, Gordon? Do you want me to get you a rod?"