BENEATH THE GOLD
Chapter 5: Bruises in the Mirror
The first time Dominic hit her, it was over something small.
Kate had forgotten to take the chicken out of the freezer.
She had been exhausted, mentally fogged from a restless night and a long call with her sister, one of the few connections she had left to her old life. By the time she remembered, the chicken was still frozen, and dinner was an hour away.
Dominic came home early. She met him at the door with a smile, trying to distract him. But the moment he walked into the kitchen, the air froze.
“You forgot,” he said quietly, dangerously. “Again.”
“I’m sorry. I—”
Before she could finish, his palm landed across her cheek. The sound was sharp, final. He slapped her.
Kate stumbled backward, one hand clutching her face. Her eyes filled with tears—not only from the pain, but from the shock. The betrayal.
He didn’t yell. He didn’t raise his voice.
He just looked at her coldly and said, “Don’t ever make me feel disrespected in my own house again.”
Then he went upstairs and closed the door, leaving her there—shaking, humiliated, and alone.
That night, she cried. She cleaned the kitchen. She made toast and eggs. She stood in the shower far too long, letting the hot water numb her skin. And when Dominic came down to eat in silence, she served him with a steady hand.
The physical abuse didn’t happen every day. Sometimes weeks passed without incident. But the emotional abuse never left.
He criticized her weight, then her clothes. He reminded her constantly that she was “lucky” he chose her. That other women would beg for the life she had. That she would be nothing without him.
He once tore up a letter from her father without reading it. “You’re mine now,” he said. “You don’t need anyone anymore.”
Kate began to lose her voice—not just literally, but in every sense. She spoke less, smiled less. Her world shrank to the walls of their home and the expectations of her husband.
One morning, she stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair. Her reflection startled her.
A faint bruise bloomed at the edge of her jaw. Her eyes looked sunken, her lips pale. She reached up and touched the bruise gently, not because it hurt, but because it proved she hadn’t imagined it.
Her phone rang.
David.
She didn’t answer. She couldn’t.
But she stared at the screen until it stopped. Then she placed the phone face down, looked back at herself in the mirror, and whispered, “You have to survive this.”
Not escape. Not fight. Just survive.
Question
1. What small mistake leads to Dominic physically hitting Kate for the first time?
2. How did Kate react after Dominic slapped her?
3. Describe two ways Dominic emotionally abuses Kate.
4. What is Kate’s reaction to seeing the bruise on her jaw?
5. What does Kate tell herself while looking in the mirror?
Vocabulary Guide
1. Fogged: Blurred or confused.
Example: “She had been exhausted, mentally fogged.”
2. Final: Conclusive; with a sense of no going back.
Example: “The sound was sharp, final.”
3. Humiliated: Made to feel ashamed or foolish publicly.
Example: “Leaving her there—shaking, humiliated, and alone.”
4. Criticized: Pointed out faults in someone, often harshly.
Example: “He criticized her weight, then her clothes.”
5. Betrayal: Violation of trust or confidence.
Example: “Her eyes filled with tears—not from the pain, but from the betrayal.”
6. Tore up: Ripped into pieces.
Example: “He once tore up a letter from her father.”
7. Sunken: Hollow or deeply set, often used to describe tired or unhealthy eyes.
Example: “Her eyes looked sunken.”
8. Bloomed (used for a bruise)
Meaning: Appeared or spread like a flower opening.
Example: “A faint bruise bloomed at the edge of her jaw.”