WHEN LOVE TURNED BRUISES Episode 1

My name is Rita, and before my marriage turned into a daily battle, I was a woman who believed love could fix anything.

I met Kunle when I was twenty-six, working as a sales attendant in a small supermarket. He was confident, well-spoken, and carried himself like a man who knew where his life was going. When he asked for my number, I felt chosen. Seen. Safe. He made promises easily, and I listened eagerly. Within a year, he proposed. My friends warned me that everything felt rushed, but I thought love moved at its own speed.

The early days of our marriage were quiet and hopeful. We laughed often. He called me his queen, and I wore the title proudly. I believed marriage meant patience, compromise, and sacrifice. My mother used to say, “A woman’s strength is in how much she can endure.” I carried that lesson into my new home like a sacred rule.

The first argument came barely three months after the wedding. It was about food. I had forgotten to add enough salt to the soup. Kunle’s voice rose in a way I had never heard before. Sharp. Cutting. I felt embarrassed and angry, but instead of apologizing, I argued back. My words surprised him and me. Silence followed, thick and uncomfortable. That night, he slept with his back turned to me.

From that moment, our home began to change.

Arguments became frequent visitors. He criticized the way I spoke, the way I dressed, the way I laughed too loudly. I defended myself because I refused to disappear. I had always been outspoken, and marriage didn’t erase that part of me. Our voices clashed daily, each of us determined to win.

The first slap didn’t come with warning. One moment we were shouting, the next his hand met my face. The sound echoed louder than the pain. We froze, staring at each other, shocked by what had happened. He apologized immediately. He cried. He said stress made him lose control. I believed him because I wanted to.

I told no one.

I convinced myself it was a mistake, a one-time thing. I cooked his favorite meal that night, smiling through the swelling on my cheek. I chose peace over honesty, silence over truth.

What I didn’t know then was that the slap had opened a door.

And once violence enters a marriage, it never comes alone.

Continue reading Episode 2