My father called the police and Gerald was arrested, but the next day his parents came with their relatives, smashing up our home. They stormed into the hospital, loudly accusing my family of being heartless.
Gerald's mother's voice echoed through the hospital halls and in her fury, she picked up a toothpick from a fruit tray and stabbed it repeatedly into my arm through my hospital clothes, making me scream in agony.
She screamed, "You had my son arrested, leaving a criminal record. What about his future children? Hurry up and tell the police to release him."
His father spoke calmly, "We're all family. Why take it so seriously? Clara, can't you be more forgiving?"
Their words tore me apart, inside and out. Their threats and bribes left my parents suffocating under the pressure.
"Gerald is a good man."
"Everyone gets out of hand sometimes. Hasn't every wife been hit by her husband?"
"A family needs understanding and harmony above all."
Gerald's parents and relatives surrounded my mother and me, preaching incessantly.
Hearing their twisted beliefs, I closed my eyes, my heart dead and numb. Divorce meant severing ties, but it was also a release.