My father took my mother’s entire paycheck for 43 years. when she finally demanded her money back, he placed a folder on the table and said, “Once You open this, you’ll never look at me the same way again.”

“I said no.”

My mother didn’t say another word.

That night, I cried into my pillow. I felt that my father treated my mother like a servant. She worked from morning until

evening but had no right to use her own money.

Over the years, there were many similar incidents. My mother wanted to take a trip to the seaside with her sister. My father

refused. She wanted to replace our old kitchen table. My father said there was no money.

Even when my mother bought herself a pair of shoes for her birthday, my father took the receipt and stared at her silently for

a long time. My aunt witnessed that scene.

“Margaret, this isn’t normal,” she said after my father left the room. “You work, but he controls your entire life.”

My mother only whispered,