A year of me

We were together for 3 years, I was always in love with the man he could be, not the man who was infront of me. He was a binge drinker, and violent, but I excused it all. He moved in in August 2019 and a year ago TODAY, my neighbour called the police as his drinking and violence had steadily increased until he tried to strangle me. The police intervened and took him away, and I have never seen him since. Enough was enough.
Now for the love story: I rebuilt my relationship with myself. I spent a year reading and learning about my cyclical behaviour with fucked up men. I exercised, ate better, threw myself into work, got a puppy (almost as stressful as a violent drunk man, but not quite), worked some more, spent time alone, properly. I went to therapy, got a PT, and fell back in love with myself. I’ve never been more content with my life, never been more connected to my friends and family, and most importantly never been more confident that I won’t walk that path again.
You can get out of terrifying situations, you can break the cycle and you can be free. Feeling like a queeeeeeeen and celebrating with champagne - a year of falling in love with me 💓 🥳 👑