How Love Came to Find Me

I'm going to take you back to the beginning. I was in a very manipulative and emotionally abusive relationship on and off for six years. Early last year, 2019, I finally woke up and left. This is the story of what happened that finally opened my eyes and made me have the strength to leave. Then comes the good stuff about finding true, unexpected love.

I was helping my oldest son do homework and getting ready for work when I realized my ex was in a bad mood. I of course asked what was wrong, but he just stormed off without answering me. I continued to do what I was doing, and just ignored his huffing and puffing as he walked throughout the house.

Out of nowhere, him and his mother, whom we lived with at the time, ended up in a very heated argument. I again, continued to help my son and tried to ignore what was going on around us. I tried to keep my son calm and yet focused on his work. That didn't last very long unfortunately.

My ex's mother was getting ready to go out with her friends, as she did weekly for darts. My ex continued to follow his mother around the house screaming at her, cussing her out, and punching the walls. He continued to get louder and louder and more hostile by the minute.

When his mother finally was ready to leave and was heading out the door, my ex followed her and started throwing things and punching the garage door, calling her all sorts of horrible things. She ignored him and left. He came back in and was all worked up, even more hostile than earlier.

I told my son to take his stuff to his room and start getting ready for bed. I proceeded to ask my ex what was wrong, at which point he screamed at me all types of horrible things. Finally, he tells me he's pissed off because he wanted to go get a bag (he smokes a lot of weed), and then went on about how me and his mother never respect him and what he wants to do. I asked him to just calm down, seeing as though it was about to be my son's bedtime. He of course ended up escalated.

I was grabbing a few more things so I could head out to go to work, when he decided to block my way while still yelling at me about having no respect for him because I wouldn't call in to work so he could go buy his weed. I again said to calm down, and at this point, my son came to say goodnight to me, and at the same time, my ex pulled a clever out of the knife block, and wave it inches away from me. My poor child witnessed the whole thing.

I turned to my son, told him to go get his coat and boots and things for school. I followed him and grabbed some clothes. I contacted my boss and let her know I'd be late, and that I'd fill her in once I got there. I told my son to hurry up and get in the car. Once in the car, I called my sister, told her what happened and let her know I was bringing my son to her house so I could go to work (I was working 3rd shift at the time). She said to drive safe and we were on our way.

My job offered a traveling position, and that night, I reached out and took it. I placed my youngest son with my sister, and my oldest with his grandparents within the next few days. I started traveling to get myself away from my ex. We still didn't have a place to call our own, so my kids lived with the people they were placed with while I stayed in hotels for work. I felt this was the best and most safe option at the time.

Fast forward a couple months.....

While traveling for work, I connected like family with a lot of my coworkers. I also ended up getting extra companionship from one of the guys. I wasn't exactly proud of it at first, but eventually, I no longer cared. We both went into it as just fun, no strings attached. We agreed to only sleep with each other just to be safe. We traveled together, shared a hotel room even though we both had our own rooms paid for by our company, and started casually going on mini dates.

A few months later, I realized I had started to catch feelings and tried to push him away. I told him what was happening, and found out he felt the same as well. We agreed to still keep it as it was. It got to the point of me staying at his place with him on our short weekends off in between jobs. We really started to bond on another level. It felt so amazing.

He quit the company for another job, yet I was still going to see him since he lived a few hours away from where I lived. We'd go on dates, share intimate nights together, talk all the time on the phone and by texting. I felt it was all too perfect.

I was still working for the company, and was sent to Colorado for a week to go help them out. We still talked daily and when I came back, he made sure to have me stay with him. I went on to the next location the following Monday, and was honestly thinking things between us would be dying off. Yet we still continued to talk and text daily.

At this time, my oldest son's grandmother decided to call CPS on me, saying things that were far from true, and I ended up having to leave my job. I was able to switch from traveling to staying local, and began sleeping on my sister's couch. Throughout all of this craziness going on, he was a huge supporter and became my rock. I'd still go to see him when I could, and we got even closer.

Then one night while we were texting back and forth, we both ended up professing our love for each other. In July, we decided to actually start dating, yet keeping it quiet because all of mine and my kid's things were still at my ex's house, and I didn't want him to throw it out or destroy it.

This man had become my everything. He brought light to this darkness I was in when I had met him. He helped me regain faith in so many things. I was truly becoming happy again.

Then on October 2nd, 2019, he asked me to marry him. I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. I said yes, even though we still lived a few hours away from each other. People asked how I could be engaged to someone who lived so far away, and all I could say was because I love and trust him.

By this point, I had gotten a place of my own for me and my boys, and things were looking up. Then on November 1st, he moved in with us. My sister, brother-in-law and I drove down to where he lived, packed up the U-haul, and brought him home. I was so beyond happy and excited. I just couldn't believe this was really happening! We were finally becoming one.

Here we are, 3 months engaged, and 2 months living together, and things couldn't be better! This all started because I was lonely and just looking for fun while traveling for work. No feelings were supposed to come from this, yet here we are, in love and engaged! I wasn't looking for love, but love ended up finding me during my darkest time.

I'll end this with some learned advice, NEVER go looking for love, because one day, unexpectedly, it may come knocking on your door and sweeping you off your feet.