Revealing to Hou Yi
Friday, continued…
Hou Yi sat quietly, considering Anna’s words. After a moment, he spoke softly, “We can sit on the couch, or if you want complete privacy, we can go into one of the bedrooms and shut the door. It’s your choice.”
“I think the bedroom, as I really don’t want anyone to overhear,” Anna replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
Once they were comfortably seated on the bed, Anna took a deep breath, gathering the courage to say what she needed to. “In working with the office to get the paperwork, I had to confront something I’ve been avoiding for a long time. It’s about things Lu Jinhu did during our relationship. I’ve been too ashamed to admit it until now, but I need to face it. Back then, I dismissed his actions, telling myself he loved me. But, as we know now, he never did. This has given me the courage to admit the truth, at least to myself, and to name it for what it was.”
“Anna, you’re worrying me,” Hou Yi said, his voice low with concern. “Was he physically abusive? If he was, he better watch out.”
Anna shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “No, it wasn’t physical abuse. But he was abusive in other ways, and in the context of our relationship, it amounts to domestic violence. He manipulated me psychologically. He would pick at small things with my friends until I started questioning myself. He’d accuse them of things, making me believe that he was the one being set up, that I was the one in the wrong.”
Anna’s voice faltered as the tears began to fall. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, “He even drove a friend with cancer to cut me out of her life. I wasn’t there for her in her final years, and now I feel so ashamed. He isolated me from the people who could see through him, allowing only those who liked him or were his friends to stay close. He verbally abused me, calling me names, belittling me.”
Hou Yi clenched his jaw, his anger rising as he listened.
“It was more than just emotional manipulation,” Anna continued, her voice growing steadier. “He also engaged in economic abuse. He never contributed financially to our relationship, even though he received regular funds from his family. He let me accumulate debt so he could have what he wanted, but he refused to help with any household chores, calling them ‘women’s work.’ I don’t remember him ever working during our entire relationship, yet he expected me to finance his lavish lifestyle.”
“The bastard,” Hou Yi muttered, his fists clenching at his sides. “How could he do that?”
“I let him,” Anna said softly, the weight of her words heavy in the air. “I was young when we met, and even younger when we started our relationship. He used my naivety to set the foundation of our relationship, a foundation I didn’t challenge as I grew professionally. He played on stereotypes, and even my family allowed him to get away with it, thinking it was normal…”
