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?"

Those unbelievably malicious words came from Gordon's younger sister, Jenny Baker, who'd said I was the best sister-in-law she could ever ask for.

Their words faintly reached my ears, and I instantly understood that the Bakers were nothing but pure evil.

A chill ran down my spine. I had walked into a den of wolves in sheep's clothing.

I gritted my teeth and endured the pain, trying to stand up and fight back. But to my dismay, my head spun and intensified the dizziness I was feeling. It must have been that first blow that caused this. I was probably suffering from a mild concussion.

My head felt heavy and disoriented, making it impossible for me to get up or resist.

Instead, I blacked out. Before I completely lost consciousness, I heard the noisy laughter and chatter of the Bakers as they all went back inside the house. And there I was, left in a corner of the front yard like discarded trash.

The winter wind cut through me like a knife. The night wind howled as I slowly opened my eyes.

The sky was dark with stars scattered faintly above. I was still lying in a heap in the yard, and no one had come to check on me.

Not far away, I could see the Baker family sitting around the dining table. They were enjoying their New Year's Eve dinner and watching the countdown programs.

The pain radiating from my body made me more alert. I tried to move my body. Then, I slowly propped myself up against the corner of the wall.

The sharp pain in my head and body, combined with the biting cold wind on my face and skin, chilled me to my bones. My heart sank into an icy abyss as well.

I finally saw the Bakers for who they really were.

They were so heartless that I wasn't even sure if they were human. They had watched Gordon beat me up and even cheered him on.

This was their way of telling me that as long as I was married to Gordon—as long as I was tied to him by marriage—I would have to bow down to them unconditionally.

Otherwise, they could torment me however they pleased. They could beat me, yell at me, and humiliate me until I relented and became what they wanted me to be—the perfect daughter-in-law, the obedient wife, and the ATM.

I looked at them laughing and enjoying themselves as if nothing had happened.

Carefully, I leaned against the wall and did my best not to make a sound.

I thanked the heavens that Gordon's bedroom was far from the dining room, where they were eating. With measured movements, I slipped back into the bedroom unnoticed.

Feeling my way through Gordon's clothes, I found the car keys in his pocket just as I had suspected. I took the keys along with my phone and bag. I held on to them securely.

Then, I made my way out of the bedroom stealthily and toward the gate.

It was still early, so the gate wasn't locked. It was slightly ajar. I reached out and opened it a little more to squeeze my body through.

Once I was outside, I took off and ran toward the village square frantically.

In the village where the Bakers lived, every house led to the main road, so all the cars were parked together in the main square.

Under the faint light of the moon, I sprinted as fast as I could. Only when I finally sat inside the car did I let out a small sigh of relief.

I gathered my wits and drove back to the city through the night.

At the same time, I called my parents. I tearfully recounted everything I had just experienced on the phone, leaving out nothing.

My parents and siblings were so furious that they couldn't stop cursing on the other end. They insisted that I head back to my apartment in the city and wait for them. They would bring the entire family the next day to confront the Baker family and give them a taste of their own medicine.

I cried so hard that I lost my voice.

When I got back to my apartment in the city, I could finally relax my tensed-up body and mind. The moment my head hit the pillow, I fell into a deep sleep.