How dare he strike me in such a barbaric way? I pondered, unable to stem the flow of tears. What if I ring Dad and tell him? He warned Luis on the evening of the dinner; he surely must have known that Luis was prone to violence against women and was cautioning him. Will he stand up for me, or is there truth in Luis's accusation that Mum manipulates him at her whim?

I must concede, he's not wrong about that; not even Grandfather could sway her once she'd set her mind on sending me to that school. Fortunately, grandpa visited me daily and his gifts and money sweetened the...