The very first time I had to witness what living and enduring an abusive marriage was when I had to live with one of my aunt who stayed close to the college I was admitted into, I was a fresher and kind of registered late so it was also late before I could secure a hostel space, as every room was already paid for, I hadn't made any friend yet, so I had no choice than to live with her and her family.

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She was a sweet aunt, very motherly, gentle, and a good cook, which was a plus for me as I wouldn't get to face the stress of hostel life yet, eating out and mostly stuffed with junk food as there was a rule against cooking in the hostel after several incidents of careless students who almost burnt the hostel down from fire incident as a result of cooking.

My stay with her was supposed to be a blissful one, if not for one disadvantage, she had an abusive man for a husband, he was egocentric and overly controlling, which in his understanding, was the best way he could show love to his wife, and worst still, he beats his wife at slight production also when drunk, I was new to this type of lifestyle among couples because all my life I lived with my parent and never for once did my mother live in fear of my dad, in fact they were best of friends, and I thought every marriage was supposed to be same, but living with them proved that wrong, that I felt if marriages were like that outside, never would I get married.

I pitied my aunt because she was a slave in her own home, her husband must give her permission before she leaves the house, and this didn't happen often, he was rich and provided all she needed, I guess that was what gave him such understanding as he met my aunt as just a young undergraduate with no parent, and decided to take over from her brother who was in charge of taking care of her and paying her fees, claiming to love her, and by the time she graduated, they were married with a child, and he wouldn't let her work still.

From the outside, they look like the best happy couples but on the inside, my aunt was unhappy and felt enslaved, but couldn't speak up because she felt indebted to him. After receiving abuse for several years, from emotional abuse to domestic violence, I guess she finally realized she was doing herself more harm than good remaining in an abusive marriage, so she started seeking help, first by trying to get a good job so she could free herself from her abusive husband's claws, one day she left the house hoping her husband would be back later in the evening as usual, but on that day he came back earlier and my aunt wasn't yet back, I knew this meant trouble when I heard his car horn, I quickly called my aunt and we decided on what to tell him, we had to be very precise in the excuse of where she went to, or else the house wouldn't be peaceful, my aunt told me to tell him she was at the hospital due to stomach ache, maybe she called her doctor as well, I"m not sure, but in my tension, because I was also scared of the man, O told him the lie, not realizing I was still holding my breath, thankfully my aunt sped up her return, and the man surprisingly believed us, I breath a sigh of relief, that the house contained everyone without him beating her that day

My aunt couldn't continue living that way, we never told him the truth, today, my aunt already divorced the controlling husband and lives peacefully on her own, even sent her children to school abroad, she has built her own wealth, a good name for herself and is respected by everyone, little do they know that she was once covered by the veil of marriage and left tor her talent to fade away by a controlling freak, I'm happy she took that bold step and not living in fear again, I don't regret telling a lie to cover up for her while she sought freedom to safe her life. If faced with the same situation again, I will still do same, protecting my aunt from abuse.

Thank you for reading.❤❤