My father told me to take cold showers, always saying, “You smell horrible, go take a cold shower and use the soap I gave you.” And I did like five times a day — it was driving me mad. My mom stayed silent, which was strange since we were usually close. I tried to brush it off, thinking maybe my father had a point and perhaps I really did need to refresh myself more often. But deep down, something felt off.
One day, my boyfriend came over, and I asked, “Do I smell bad?” He laughed, thinking I was joking, and then headed to the bathroom. A moment later, he returned with a pale look on his face, holding the soap I used to shower. “Who gave you this?! Are you taking cold showers with this?!?” My blood froze. “Yeah, why?!” He started crying, “They didn’t tell you, did they?! Baby, this isn’t soap! It’s used to…”
