Breaking the Cycle by Zane

bright pink pillow, Dawn sniffed her little girl’s hair. She loved the way Asia smelled of baby powder and sweet cocoa butter.
    “Yes, I know you probably wonder why I forgave him, but I just did. He was so apologetic. He surprised me with this ring,” Dawn said as she wiggled her fingers on her left hand, showing the sparkly, round, half-carat diamond. “He held me that day, and promised that he’d never hit me again. I really believed him. And he didn’t. Well, not for a long time, anyway.
    “Your father moved in with me, and he kept his word. Even though he was still pretty angry about not being promoted, within the next six months, he got offered a job working for The New York Times . Boy, was he thrilled! For a while, things were really going great for us.
    “I went about planning our wedding, and we got a place in the East Village that was closer to your father’s job. That was really nice for him, especially since he was working long hours. I was actually moving up at The Ledger , and I became the assistant editor of the Metro section. Todd was even happy for me, and supportive of my career, and within a year, we were married at the Manor in West Orange. It was quite an affair. Simply beautiful. Something that I’d always dreamed about, ever since I was a little girl. A wee bit older than you.
    “We were quite the couple. We went to a lot of social events, and got invited to all of the nice parties. Your father was really networking with the right people, and he was getting pretty popular. He and I were also getting along so well. He got another promotion, and was really shining at the paper. He was getting quite a reputation for capturing the big stories, but things were pretty hectic for him. There were more deadlines, quicker turnarounds; everything was just kind of snowballing for him. Then the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 occurred, and it kind of pushed your daddy over the edge. The city was paralyzed with fear, and the police and the media were working nonstop. Your daddy clocked 14-hour days, and wasn’t getting a whole lot of sleep. We were busy at my paper, too, and I was unable to help him as much. Unfortunately, your father had so many deadlines that he missed one, and he blamed me. And then, well, then he struck me again.”
    Todd’s trance-like episodes came to dominate their relationship. “His abuse became more frequent after that. Not only physically, but mentally also. The more he stressed over work, the less supportive he was of my career. I guess he felt somewhat threatened. But, I never wanted to think that. When my editor went out sick and I was temporarily promoted to Metro Editor, he really beat me. He said that I was trying to usurp his position as the breadwinner in the family. He also said that I really didn’t care about him, and that I was being selfish. But, he couldn’t have been more wrong. I loved your father, and wanted nothing more than to be there for him. In every way. Even though he was physically abusive to me.”
    Her world became his. Todd would question any of Dawn’s actions, and slowly cut her off from the few friends she had.
    Todd’s mental cruelty toward Dawn was nearly as severe as the physical. He would berate and belittle her, constantly undermining her capabilities. Even though Dawn knew she was a good editor, she began to question her skills, too. She was beginning to think that maybe she should quit working, and the answer came, when she discovered she was pregnant.
    At first, Todd was less than enthusiastic. But for Dawn, maybe it meant that he’d stop putting his hands on her. And then, her career wouldn’t be as important. She could go out on maternity leave, and just not return. That would make one of their issues go away. Or, so she thought.
    She started the ritual of talking to her womb, while Todd remained detached and aloof. When her pregnancy became difficult, Dawn took an early leave of absence from her job. After her first