Filed to story: The Disguised Billionaire and His Accidental Wife Novel
Hank‘s attitude toward Liberty changed for the worse less than three years into the marriage.
Zachary replied firmly, “Your sister doesn‘t want you to worry. Mrs. Zaks said that your sister chased your brother – in law down a few streets with a knife. It means your sister had the upper hand. Don‘t worry. It will be fine.”
It was hard for Serenity to take her mind off it.
Nevertheless, she did not dwell on the matter further with Zachary. She pulled Zachary up the stairs and pulled out the key her sister had given her to open the door.
Liberty was cooking in the kitchen. Detecting the sound of the door opening, she thought Hank was home. She picked up her pan and came out of the kitchen. She would not hold back if Hank had the nerve to lay his hands on her again.
Hank had not contacted her since returning to his parents ‘home. Nevertheless, her in–laws had bombarded her phone with hate messages and badmouthing her in the Browns‘ family group chat. Her in–laws brought together other relatives to accuse Liberty of her failure as a wife that warranted a beating from her husband.
In short, they were saying that she deserved it. Hank was not at fault. She was at fault instead.
Some older relatives believed they were of authority to persuade her to apologize to Hank, saying something about not going to bed angry. It was not about some blood feud, so there was no need to yak about it in the family group chat.
Of course, the Browns‘ relatives were on Hank‘s side. They advised her to be understanding of Hank and spend less money.
Apparently, Hank had it hard at work, so it was normal that he had a bit of a temper when he returned home. Liberty was supposed to be tolerant of his mood swings.
Livid, Liberty quit the Browns‘ family group chat.
She would never visit these relatives‘ homes with Hank ever again.
“Ant Swer.”
Sonny was sitting on the living room floor, playing with his building blocks when he saw his aunt entering the house. He rose from the floor with delight and ran toward Serenity.
With her sister here, Liberty intuitively hid in the kitchen. Since the bruises on her face had not gone down, Liberty had avoided going out to get groceries in the past two days. It was a good thing she had enough ingredients in the fridge to last a few meals.
Serenity picked up her nephew and kissed him on the cheek before persuading him to go along with Zachary while she went to the kitchen.
“Liberty.”
“Aren‘t you watching the shop tonight, Seren?” Liberty asked Serenity with her back facing her sister.
“Jas is at the shop tonight. Liberty, what‘s going on between you and my brother in–law?”
Serenity came directly to the question as she approached
her sister. Catching a glimpse of the black–and–blue on Liberty‘s face, Serenity immediately turned her sister around.
“I‘m going to make Hank pay!” Serenity saw red and turned on her heel to leave.
How dare he beat her sister up! Did Hank think her sister had no family to back her up? So long as Serenity was around, she would not let anybody walk all over her sister!
Serenity‘s sister was her rock. Now that Serenity was all grown up and had the means, it was her turn to protect her sister.
“Seren.”
Liberty held onto her sister and said, “Don‘t go. The injury is only superficial. Plus, I didn‘t let him get away with it. I chased him down a few streets with a knife and scared him out of his wits. I trust he won‘t be violent to me anymore.”
“If he has done it once, he will do it again, Liberty. He won‘t know fear if you don‘t fight back when he lays his hands on you. He’ll only assault you again.”
There should be zero tolerance toward domestic violence!
“I know. That‘s why I didn‘t give in and beat him up too. Teven went after him with a knife. You should‘ve seen the scared look on his face. His legs were shaking. I heard that you must win the first fight between couples, and I won! He should think twice before laying his hands on me next time.”
Liberty pulled her sister back firmly, keeping Serenity from getting even with Hank. “He‘s back at his parents‘ home. You‘ll be facing his entire family if you go there. It won‘t go well for you. Don‘t go. I won‘t tolerate his behavior anymore. I‘ll fight back if he screams and raises his hand at me.”
“Liberty, why didn‘t you tell me?” Heartbroken , Serenity caressed her sister‘s bruised face and asked in distress, “Does it still hurt, Liberty ? D*mn Hank! How could he be rough with you? You‘ve been together for so many years and even gave him a son.
I can‘t believe he hit you.”
Liberty curled her lips bitterly. “He has been disgusted by the way I look since a long time ago.
“Did Zachary come over too?”
“He‘s here. He‘s playing with Sonny in the living room,” Serenity replied.
Liberty spoke in a muted tone to urge her sister, “Seren, you see how my marriage is breaking down. At the end of the day, it‘s all because I quit my job and trusted your brother –in–law when he said he‘d take care of me. You need to always be financially independent. No matter what, women should have their own source of income.
“Don‘t believe the bullsh*t men say about supporting you financially. It‘ll put you in a passive position. It‘s fine if he follows through with his marriage vows and loves you forever, but if you get a man like your brother–in–law … Look at what happened to me.. Also, you have to take care of your appearance Take time for yourself and watch your figure. Men are lying when they say they‘ll love you no matter what you become! They‘re shallow and their values are only skin–deep.”
“I will, Liberty.”