I’d spent my entire life under my father’s thumb. He wasn’t cruel, exactly, but to him, everything was a cold, calculated, and profitable business.

A girl with her father | Source: Midjourney
In his world, I was an asset, a chess piece in his lifelong game. My future husband? He’d be the “strategic partner” for our family’s gain, not a person to love or laugh with.
“You’ll thank me one day,” he would always say, his voice firm and final. “It’s not about love, dear. It’s about stability. Real love comes from stability, from strength.”