"Slap!" Once again, the woman Jake had helped earlier was struck. After visiting Jake's workplace—thanks to information from a nurse—she returned to her apartment. But instead of receiving comfort from her husband, she was met with rage.
Mary Hyde, 35 years old. The beautiful woman Jake helped turned out to be married. She was a manager at a famous fashion company named Gold Fashion. The man who slapped her was her husband, Kody Hooper, who also happened to be the CEO of the company.
"Where have you been all night and only returned now, huh?! Do you have any idea how I had to face the stakeholders asking about our new mall project plans? Because of you, I lost face!" Kody shouted at her without an ounce of sympathy, while Mary held her reddened cheek.
With tear-filled eyes, Mary bravely looked at her husband and asked, "Why did you hit me instead of asking why I didn't come home?"
"Oh, so you have an excuse? Fine, let's hear your nonsense," Kody said, arms crossed and mocking her.
"This is not nonsense. The construction manager I met turned out to be a scumbag. He drugged my drink—I don't know what he put in it. I felt weak and passed out. When I woke up, I was in a different place, and he was looking at me in a disgusting way, trying to touch me."
"If no one had helped me last night, I might have been raped by that monster, do you understand?!" Mary's tears finally fell.
"Oh, so that man already touched your body?" Kody sneered, which instantly stopped Mary's crying. She stared at him, shocked.
"Take it all off."
Mary was confused. "What are you talking about?"
Instead of answering, Kody grabbed Mary's arm roughly and dragged her into their bedroom.
"Take off your clothes and show me where that bastard touched you! Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe your story? What cat wouldn't eat fresh meat served right in front of it?" he shouted, shaking her body.
"Kody, stop it!" Mary resisted, but as a woman, she didn't have the strength to fight back.
Even though she begged and tried to explain, Kody—blinded by jealousy—refused to listen. His violent side, which had surfaced after a past tragedy, returned once more.
"Kody, please... you're hurting me..." Mary whimpered in pain.
Instead of being loved, Mary felt like she was being assaulted. Her cries were not of pleasure, but of pain and desperation. Kody didn't care if he was hurting her.
When he was done, he shoved her onto the bed with a look of disgust.
"Remember, you're my wife. Don't you ever think of leaving me or running away with another man. I'll kill you! No... I'll kill you and then kill myself."
With those words, Kody left the room. Mary lay sobbing, covering her bare body with the messy bedsheet. Only after Kody finished showering and left the room did her tears finally begin to dry. Slowly, she closed her eyes in sadness.
In her mind, memories of their sweet past replayed like a film.
"Mary, do you like the food? I'm sorry I can't take you to a fancier place for our date," Kody had once said softly while driving, glancing at her.
Mary had smiled happily, "Anywhere is beautiful as long as I'm with you."
They had exchanged loving looks. Then Kody pulled the car over, unfastened his seatbelt, and turned to her. From his jacket pocket, he took out a small red velvet box. Inside was a beautiful diamond ring, and Mary cried happy tears.
"Mary, I love you so much. I know I'm not as rich as the men who've proposed to you, but thank you for accepting my sincere heart."
"Mary, to end my worries and start a life of making you happy, please marry me and stay with me forever. I promise to give you all the love you'll ever need. I love you, Mary."
That was one of the happiest moments of Mary's life. After dating for two years, they got married. A month after the wedding, Mary became pregnant. But sadly, she miscarried due to Kody's poor sperm quality.
Still, their strong bond helped them get through multiple miscarriages over five years of marriage.
Eventually, Mary became pregnant again, and this time, her pregnancy reached the third trimester and neared delivery.
On the day Mary started to feel labor pains, both of them were filled with joy. Kody eagerly drove her to the hospital.
But fate had other plans. They were involved in a terrible accident. Mary was rushed to the hospital and delivered her baby via C-section. Unfortunately, the baby had already passed away before birth.
Kody also had to face the devastating news that he could no longer father children due to damage to his reproductive cells.
Even so, Mary stayed by Kody's side and comforted him, refusing to let him fall into despair.
She suggested adopting a child from an orphanage, but this only offended Kody. Adopting made him feel small and useless.
From then on, Kody's personality drastically changed. Once gentle and loving, he became violent and consumed by jealousy.
Despite the pain and emotional exhaustion from knowing she would never get pregnant again, Mary still loved him. She tried to understand his brokenness, even if his cruelty was the price she had to pay for loving him.
That evening, Mary woke up from her long nap, reminded of her promise to Stu, the fried chicken store employee she'd asked about her rescuer.
That night, Mary went back to the fried chicken store where Jake worked, and luckily, they met again.
"Good evening, Mr. Jake. I believe you still remember me," Mary said while extending her hand. "I came here to thank you."
But Jake stayed silent, staring at Mary's face, which looked different than the night he helped her.
"Did that bald guy come back and hit you again, Miss? Your cheek wasn't like that last night," Jake asked, eyes still fixed on her face.