« I’ll never forget the day I freed myself from the control and power that my violent ex-husband had over me. For years I cried, trembled, and fell many times.
That day, I decided to stand up to him for the first and last time. I knocked on his door to pick up my daughter because he had not brought her back home as planned. I stood up straight and looked him right in the eye. Outwardly I seemed very calm, but on the inside my heart was nearly bursting out of my chest. He looked away first. He was the one who hunched his shoulders and could not hold my unwavering gaze. I’ve never had to write down what I said to him that day because it is imprinted in my memory and will be until the day I die.
Softly, I said to him: “No one is above the law. I don’t have the right to break the law, and you don’t have the right to break the law. I’m telling you that from now on, you will never again have control over my life, you will never again have power over my life. I am the one and only person who can decide what happens in my life. I’m not afraid of you anymore.” No matter how much he “lost it,” he couldn’t shake me.
I took my daughter by the shoulder, and we left. That day, an enormous weight was lifted from my shoulders. I was able to spread my wings and fly away! »