Abigail ordered a few dishes, but I had no appetite.
I looked at her curiously and asked, "Did you bring me here for something?"
Abigail didn't answer right away. Instead, she stared at me and asked with a smile, "You are my husband. Am I not allowed to see you without a reason?"
I didn't know how to answer, so I just nodded.
None of the dishes on the table were anything I liked. Still, I forced myself to eat, fighting the nausea and discomfort in my stomach with every bite. Even when I felt like I might throw up, I swallowed the unpleasant feeling and tried to smile at Abigail.
"Is it good?" she asked me.
I nodded. "It's good."
Abigail smiled gently. Her eyes were sincere as she said, "If you like it, I'll learn to make it. I'll cook for you every day when you come home."
"Okay." I agreed.
However, Abigail's expression gradually became more complicated. She seemed a little hesitant, as if she wanted to say something. It was something I had never seen from her before.
"Samuel, when are you going to stop pretending?
I looked at her in slight confusion and asked, "Pretending? What do you mean?"
Suddenly, Abigail slammed her hands down on the table in frustration and glared at me. "Samuel, can you just tell me the truth? Is there anything here you actually like?"
This would happen all the time. She would often storm off when she was upset.
Once, we were in the car and got into an argument over a small matter. She was being unreasonable, and I felt hurt. She didn't even try to talk it out with me. Instead, she opened the car door and yelled at me. "Get out!"
After I got out, she drove off without a second thought. She left me on the side of the highway that day.
No cars were passing by that night, and I walked almost four miles home. My legs felt like they weren't mine. When I got home, I fell into bed exhausted.
There were countless other times when she tortured me like this. If I were to count them, there'd be at least a hundred, if not a thousand.
It still pained me to think back to the humiliation and abuse she had inflicted on me, but it was all in the past.
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