It was just like any other day. Jo was chasing after her 3 year old daughter, trying to get her to her potty chair and her husband of 5 years was sitting on his ass and couldn't give two fucks about helping her out.

"Lilyyy!" She sang out to the little girl, still chasing after her.

"Lily has to go potty! Come to Mommy so Mommy can help Lily go potty!"

Little Lily halted and turned to face Jo, her laughter now gone. She folded her arms to express her displeasure and yelled, "No!"

Jo couldn't help but to smile at her little girl's effort to look upset. Her beautiful smooth chocolate brown skin was free of blemishes and accentuated her baby doll face. With large brown eyes, inch-long, thick lashes, full chubby cheeks, a button nose, and full small lips, people stated that she reminded them of a little chocolate cabbage patch doll. Her pigtails on either side of her head adorned jet black tightly coiled hair.

Jo walked over to her baby girl and picked her up, showering her in kisses, which brought back the smile to the little girls face and introduced a laughing fit. She carried her over to her potty chair that sat in the living room in front of the tv.

"No Mommy, nooo!" Lily crooned as she tried to make an attempt to escape her mother's hold. Jo turned to Charles for help.

"Can you grab her a fruit-snack out of the kitchen for me?"

He stared at her and rolled his eyes, going back to the football game that was on the flat screen hanging from the wall.

Charles was not a looker at all. He stood at 5'8, dark brown skin, bald, and was beginning to form a gut. When the two first met, he took care of himself, as she did, the both going to work out together at the gym almost everyday of the week. Things began to change after the two found out they were pregnant. He began staying out late nights and their sex life came to a halt. She had gained weight from the pregnancy, but lost it after only 4 months post partum, while he began gaining it. She noticed the change in him especially after that. She didn't know whether he was jealous of her for being in shape because he wasn't, or jealous of the fact that she was gaining a lot more male attention due to her developed breasts, ass, and hips because of the baby. Either way, she didn't like it.

One day coming home a little later than usual from her job at the car dealership, she walked in the house only to be greeted with a hard slap to the face that made her see stars.

He scolded her about her tardiness and accused her of seeing someone else behind his back. She began packing her things immediately, telling him that she would never stand for a man who hit women and that she was taking the baby and leaving him. After much begging, pleading, and empty promises of not hitting her again and how he had made a mistake, she decided against her initial plans and stayed. A few months had went by, and they were back to their old selves, but things took a change for the worst, and he was back to hitting her; this time with closed fists.

With threats of what he would do to her if she tried to leave again, he scared her into staying. Jo never mentioned the abuse that she endured by the hands of her husband to her family and friends. They did, however, take note in her change of demeanor and noticed how she never went out anymore, but never confronted her about it. She was married with a new child after all, so they assumed that this was the reason.

With their history, Jo knew not to argue with Charles about the simple task of retrieving a fruit snack for their daughter, so she carried Lily into the kitchen with her to do it herself just to avoid any altercation.

After successfully calming Lily down and sitting her on her potty chair with bribes of the fruit snack, she grabbed her daughter's IPad mini off of the coffee table and searched for the Doc McStuffins game she bought off of itunes a week ago; Lily loved that game. She handed it to Lily, planting a kiss on her cheek, and stood up from her crouching position and turned to Charles.

"Do you need anything before I head off to work?" She asked, hoping that he would pardon her without request.

He looked at her in disgust, "I need you to stop wearing those frumpy ass clothes. I didn't marry a bum! And I need you to put some makeup on. You look ugly without it, bitch!" Turning back to the game, he dismissed her with a flick of the hand and shook his head. He then folded his arms and let out a sigh.

...TO BE CONTINUED...