Torn

Welcome to Limitless! I feel like it’s been a decade since I talked to you. What have you been up to? Have you been well? I have been though. My birthday was last Sunday, and thanks to all you Limitless fam who wished me a happy one! I really appreciate it.

 

The story you are about to read is fiction. Enjoy! 

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In the twinkle of an eye, he smacked me across the cheek so hard, that my head whipped to the left and the plate in my hands crashed on the floor. “Ahhhhh”, I held my cheek to reduce the burning sensation and shook my index finger gently in my now hot ear to clear the ringing sound.

 “Tundeeee! You slapped me all because I asked you to help me out in the kitchen. I told you to let us get a house help to assist me, you said no. I go to work everyday like you, do you want to kill me? Am I your slave?”, I asked on the brink of tears.

“Shut up! You are too lazy. A woman should be able to multitask. What’s there in plates that you cannot wash, or food that you cannot cook. We don’t need a house help for anything, you’re just so sluggish Tito”, he said. 

“Then, if there is nothing there, if it isn’t such a big deal, why don’t you want to help? Why do you always laze around on the couch playing football games immediately after work? Am I not your wife?”, I retorted. 

“Can you see? This is what we are saying o. It’s me you are calling lazy, it’s me you are talking to like that. Okay. To answer your question; yes, you are my wife, and that’s why all these things are your roles as a good wife. What if one of my friends walk in and see me washing plates? What will he think of me? You want the world to see me as weak and someone who doesn’t have control over his wife right?”, he said. 

I burst into tears and held my chest. “Is this the man I’ve been married to for two years? God!!! This is not what I bargained for! Why are you doing this to me Tunde? This is the second year of our marriage and i’ve always endured your insults and childish behavior. What exactly is wrong with you?”

“Please stop asking me foolish questions. You are the one something is wrong with, because I don’t know how a woman can be so lazy and slow. Since morning that I asked you to pound yam for me, you are still washing plates. Can you see that you are irresponsible? Did your mother not train you well?” He lashed out. 

“Ah. It is finished. You even have the audacity to bring my dead mother into this, can you see that you’ve gone mad? If you were so hungry, why did you not carry your legs here to come and assist me?” I asked.

 “See, let me tell you something Tunde. I know the reason you’ve been doing this is because we don’t have a child yet. The doctor has told us that it’s no one’s fault, so, I don’t know why you are transferring the aggression to me. You even had the audacity to slap me. Ah. You are a wild animal Tunde! You should be living in the thick forest. You need serious help!” 

I turned on my heels to leave the kitchen but he dragged me back by my hair. Before I knew it, a slap landed on my cheek again, then again. I screamed at the sting. “Ahhh!! Wild animaalll! Eranko! What kind of a man slaps his wife! Coward! You are a mad man!” I spat out. 

“You are still talking”, he said. As if a spirit took over him, his eyes turned red and he pushed me on the floor. I struggled to get up but he started kicking me. I groaned as he kicked me in the face, shoulders, legs. Then, he kicked me hard in the stomach. A sharp pain engulfed me. I screamed and curled into a ball on the floor. He kicked me from the back again. 

“Ahhhhhh, Tunde. Please stop. I beg you in the name of God”, I cried out in pain. I sobbed loudly and let the tears flow freely. It seems he heard me because he stopped. A searing pain pierced though my stomach as I tried to straighten myself from the curled up position. I clenched my teeth and sat up. 

Then, I felt liquid flowing from my pubic area. I looked down and I saw red. “Yeeeeee. I’m finished. Tunde has killed me. Is this not blood”, I screamed with a cracked voice. I shut my eyes tightly and wrapped my arms around my stomach. This man has finally ruined me. 

He crouched down to my eye level. Looking at me with regret and tears in his eyes, he got on his knees. “Ahh, I’ve sinned against God and dishonored my marital vows. Tito, please, I don’t know what came ov-“ 

“Ehnehn ehnehnn”, I held my hand up weakly. “No please. Just keep quiet. You’ve done enough. I gave you my heart but you crushed and shattered it into pieces. I don’t even ask for much but you always make everything seem like a big deal. I can’t do this anymore. You are always even more bothered about what people think than how I feel”, I cried.

“Please, let me even take you to the hospital. Please”, he said.

“No, thanks. I can drive by myself. But, just know that I’m not coming back. This marriage is over”, I said. 

He fell flat on his face and held his head as his body shook. I looked away because I couldn’t care less. 

I struggled to get up and limped to the dining table where my car key was. I bent for a minute and closed my eyes, allowing the tears flow freely. Two years of torture. I summoned the courage to move my broken and battered body. I should hurry and see a doctor. 

I think I just lost a baby. 

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If you are looking for a sign to leave that abusive relationship (any form at all),  this is it. Please don’t wait till it gets worse. Stop saying they will change. You can’t change them. Get help! 

If you are experiencing any form of abuse or violence in your relationship/marriage, please leave and get help from a professional therapist. DO NOT ENDURE! DO NOT SETTLE!  

Thanks so much for reading guys. Thank you for your endless support for Limitless. Kindly check back next Saturday for another episode. Till then, bye!