Episode 12 - This Shouldn't Be This Hard

More court hearings. More harassment. I don't want this to be my life anymore. The hardest decision I have ever had to make. 

More changes are made in custody without just cause. I am attacked and ridiculed in court. Those closest to me don't fully understand the reality of the situation even though they have been in it since the beginning. Time is taken away from me. 

More court hearings. More gaslighting. A kid is taken away from me. 

The court system is broken. More people get involved, more bad decisions are made by the people put in place to protect survivors and children. 

I left the abusive relationship so life should just be easy. There shouldn't be so much pain and struggle. But that is not how things work when you have created children with someone as dangerous as my abuser. They don't just let go. They don't make things easy. These are just some of the things that occurred during the years of 2015 and 2016. Just a couple years after I finally got free. 

I finally escaped the domestic violence relationship. Life was only going to improve. 

This is the end, in one way or another. 

A third baby is born. He leaves me, well sort of. Being used and then brought back into his life. 

A restraining order issued, a court date set, heartbreaking moments that lead to more pain. 

This episode references one of the scariest and painful years of my life. There are instances of domestic violence, rape, and suicide. May be triggering.