You were married off by force. Without being asked. Without a voice. He was 28, and you — only 18. It all happened so quickly, as if someone had just erased your life and written their own version over it. You didn’t know who he really was — and you didn’t want to. That day, they simply told you:

“Be a good girl.”

You screamed on the inside, but stayed silent on the outside. No one listened. Your parents said he was reliable. That he’d give you a good life. That one day, you’d thank them. And you just stared at one spot, trying to believe this was really happening to you.

The wedding was magnificent. Everything was beautiful: the dress, the flowers, the guests, the banquet. You stood next to him, smiled, as if it were all real. But inside — emptiness. You felt like a doll, dressed up just for a pretty picture.

After the wedding, he brought you to a large house — spacious, luxurious, perfectly furnished. He bought you dozens of dresses, jewelry, perfumes, shoes. All top-notch. All useless. You hadn’t asked for any of it, but he kept giving, as if trying to make up for something, or simply to buy your silence.

Time passed slowly. You read books, sat by the window, wandered through the rooms. The house was beautiful, but foreign — just like everything in your new life.

One day, you were sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, a book in your hands. The room was quiet, only the ticking of the wall clock. Suddenly, the door opened softly — it was him, your husband. He held a neatly wrapped box tied with a ribbon.

He walked closer and handed it to you, without saying a word.

You took it hesitantly, untied the ribbon, and lifted the lid. In the next moment, a small fluffy ball jumped into your hands. A snow-white kitten with huge blue eyes. It meowed softly and immediately curled up on your lap.

You looked at it in surprise, as if seeing something truly alive for the first time. The kitten was warm, soft, settled into your arms as if it knew — you were its person.

“He’s yours now,” your husband said quietly. “Maybe you’ll at least be able to love him...”