JOHOR BAHRU - Seven years is not a short time, but throughout that period Syakilla was forced to endure the pain of being the punching bag of her husband, Rashid.
She was beaten up and kicked by her husband almost every day and ended up being traumatised all the time.
The 38-year old woman said she met Rashid for the first time during a holiday trip with her friends at an attraction spot at the east coast of the country in 2008.
At that time, Rashid was there on holiday with his friends too.
The two of them became close since that day.
She said they decided to get engaged and then tied to knot, the same year.
"As soon as we were married, I quit my job at a law firm and followed my husband and moved to the north side of the country.
"At the beginning of our marriage, it was all rainbows and butterflies. Rashid was at that time taking care of his business as usual while I sold Nasi Lemak in front of our rented house.
"Until one day, the doctor confirmed that I could not get pregnant. Rashid changed since then.
"The man who was always cheerful became more quite. He did not even talk while we were having our meals together at the table and he would only speak if he needed me to pass him the rice," she said.
Syakilla added that the thing she feared the most happened one night when Rashid came home from work and for the first time he had slapped her in the face and yelled sickens and blamed his business failure on her.
She then found out that the reason Rashid’s behaviour changed was because his business went bankrupt after being cheated by his best friend.
"Losing the main source of income had caused him to be hot-tempered and it became worse. Even the slightest mistake, I would be the one who will get the beatings.
"He said his business went bankrupt because I was not able to get pregnant.
"From that moment, my body turned into his punching bag. Despite all the pain, the most hurtful thing was that he said I was the reason his business had failed," she added.
She said although she could not take it anymore, she remained patient and suggested that Rashid find a new job to help support them.
However, she said this only lasted for several months when her husband quit his job.
Syakilla said she eventually decided to get a divorce and return home to her family and start a new life.
"When I made that decision, he begged me to stay and promised that he would change.
"But I was determined to leave him," she said.