Confession of IT employee Chandana after getting married

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I’m 32, a working woman, and very ambitious. My husband is just 28 and helps with his father’s business. We got married in August 2024 in what was a love-cum-arranged marriage. He was my relative who had settled in a big city. We met three years ago and became friends. He was the one who approached me first. He was so in love with me. I hesitated because of the age gap and my lack of trust in men. I didn’t want a relationship, but my family was worried about me and wanted me to get married. Though I was reluctant, I eventually agreed to the marriage.

Over time, I fell deeply in love with him. He poured so much care and love into our relationship, often crying when we parted after our meetings. But two months into the relationship, he became possessive and suspicious. He monitored my Instagram account and made me cut ties with my best friend because of his insecurity. I tried my best to make him feel secure, even sacrificing my plans to study in the UK after receiving an offer from Coventry University.

My mom noticed our relationship and approached his family for marriage. After much hesitation and drama mainly over dowry they agreed. However, during the engagement and wedding preparations, he often scolded me and made me cry over small mistakes by my family. I was depressed but convinced myself that things would improve after the wedding.

We had a lavish wedding, and his family initially treated me well. However, the happiness didn’t last. He wanted a child immediately, but I asked for some time. He refused and I became pregnant in the first month. Soon after, he started picking fights over trivial things, slapped and hit me, and said hurtful things. When I told my in-laws about his behavior, they initially advised him to stop but later started blaming me instead.

I was working from home in an IT job, earning a good salary, and still helping my in-laws with cooking and household chores. But my pregnancy made it difficult for me to wake up early, and I often experienced morning sickness, headaches, and stomach pain. Despite this, they criticized me for not making tea and breakfast early in the morning. My mother-in-law ignored my doctor’s advice and insisted I do heavy housework, claiming it was good for the baby.

She also refused to provide nutritious food like fruits and milk, which were essential for my health. My sister-in-law, a law student with only two hours of class daily, never helped with housework. She often made snide comments and intentionally excluded me. She even claimed I seduced her brother and “trapped” him into marriage.

My husband took control of my salary, hitting me the first time I refused to transfer it to him. He made me transfer my entire salary every month. His father encouraged this behavior.

One day, my in-laws fought with me, demanding I quit my job. When my husband defended me, they turned on him. Later, he came into our room and hit me, blaming me for the fight. His mother even slapped me and accused me of disrespecting her son. Things escalated further when he locked me in the room, refusing to let me leave or even eat.

The physical abuse continued, and I had no choice but to leave. When I finally decided to leave, nobody stopped me. My husband didn’t even give me a single penny, despite taking all my salary for months. With help from strangers at a showroom, I managed to board a bus and reach my mother’s home.

After leaving, my husband and his family continued to harass me. They spread false accusations about me, questioned my character, and refused to return my belongings, including my jewelry. My husband even suggested I abort the baby when I asked him to care about our child.

I tried to resolve the issues through committee members, but his family turned everything against me, blaming me for everything. Despite accepting that his family was wrong, my husband insisted I adjust to them. He refused to live separately, even though I made it clear I couldn’t live with people who hated me. When I asked for peace, he quickly agreed to a divorce.

Question: What should I do?

Option 1: Accept him and live with his family.

Option 2: Divorce him and live a single life with my baby.