As I lay on the floor, battered and close to death, I saw the dignified, refined Zhou Hongwu and Li Xiurong on TV.
The two of them, who had gone to the countryside as educated youths years ago, were speaking eloquently to the camera.
They talked about their status and achievements, and their romantic, enduring love story.
As my body slowly grew cold, I suddenly remembered that Zhou Hongwu had once been my fiancé.
But he had forced me to marry my current husband in place of the woman he loved.
In twenty years of marriage, I hadn’t had a single good day. Domestic violence was part of everyday life.
Whenever I wanted a divorce, Zhou Hongwu would tell me to hang on a little longer. I kept enduring it, year after year, for twenty years, until I was beaten to death.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment Zhou Hongwu forced me to marry in someone else’s place.
