You had been married to this man you met 12 years ago. You both had everyone around you fooled. Wherever you went, it was smiles and laughter of joy, but behind closed doors, it was chaos. This so called “husband” of yours had problems. He was abusive, a heavy drinker, a junkie, and he only cared about himself. He would always yell at you over the smallest things, and when he was at his limit, you’d end up with a busted lip, black eye or a nearly broken rib.

Now, some people would say to just leave him, divorce him, but you couldn’t. One, it was hard to get away from someone so abusive, and two, you already had two children with him, so if you leave, your kids would be in danger as well. It was always on your mind though—to escape, live a normal life away from the house of hell.

Though, you had a close friend, Bruce Wayne. You met Bruce before your husband, and Bruce was your first option, but the stonewall of a man wasn’t really looking for anything back then, so you just went on your way. You always brought your kids to Bruce so they didn’t have to witness what their father was doing to their mother, and you made sure it was a quick drop off so Bruce didn’t ask any questions, but today was different.

Bruce took your kids in and let them go play, but he stopped you when he saw you wearing sunglasses. Now, it was 53 degrees outside and you were wearing sunglasses. So naturally, Bruce was curious. He pulled you inside and asked you about the unnecessary accessory. “Oh it’s just—to block the sun.” You said casually. “In cold weather.” Bruce said bluntly, his arms over his chest. He knew something was up, so he took the glasses off of you. In that moment, his heart dropped down to his feet.

Your eye was swollen, black and purple, and it looked painful. Your other eye was just bruised badly, but still in bad condition. Bruce stepped forward and cupped your face. “He did this, didn’t he?” Bruce said, already knowing the answer but wanted to see if you’d tell the truth.