Her Fairytale

What version of a fairytale are you willing to keep feeling love? Who are you willing to sacrifice to keep it alive? I will tell you about a woman who risked everything for a prince far from a fairytale love. Once upon a time, there was a woman named Ella who had 3 beautiful daughters, she loved her daughters so much and held them close especially after their father had died in a terrible car accident. She leaned on her family to help her raise the girls and always did the best she could even through her grief she still, however, longed to love again. One day she met a man named Scott who swept her off her feet. It felt like the universe had put them together and her life was now complete. How could I be so lucky? She thought to herself often, everything seemed right. Ella finally had a man that could be a father figure to her daughters, she never wanted to let this go. Ella’s family lived in bliss for years despite issues with her now husband’s past, he had 8 other children by other women and currently wasn’t present in their lives. Ella felt like she was a queen bee to those women because she was the only one, he’d married so she believed the stories he’d told her that the woman was just jealous and out for his money. He’d tell her that all the women had him on child support so he could only do under-the-table jobs, which led him to stay home more with the girls and Ella working more outside the home. This seemed odd to Ella for a moment, she always believed the man was supposed to carry the household does not stay home, especially with her girls but she didn’t want to put up a fight, so she carried multiple jobs throughout the years leaving her barely home. Ella’s family was still thriving or so she thought but deep down something so dark and hellish was going on behind the doors she left every day. One night Ella was returning from her night shift, she had to walk home some nights because the car was having issues, she didn’t enjoy it, but she knew it was what she had to do. As she walked into the house everything was quiet, she could hear the faint sound of the tv on in the living room and turned the corner but didn’t see her husband. Casually walking into her bedroom, she noticed he wasn’t in there either, she frowned thinking well where could he be? She made her way down the hall and noticed that her eldest’s daughter’s door was open but not her younger two. The door was closed shut and suddenly an empty, eerie feeling hit Ella’s stomach. Why would he be in their room at this time of night? Out of all the rooms the girl’s one. The feeling was so overwhelming as she grabbed the doorknob. It was locked, OH NO she thought, please please this can’t be happening she thought. She knocked on the door and she could hear shuffling and then rather than the door opening Scott talked through the door and said yes? Ella said, “What are you doing? Scott replied just talking to the girls. At this time of night, it’s 3 am, Ella said calmly. Yes Ella, they couldn’t sleep Scott replied. Oh ok, well I’ll be in bed, Ella said. As Ella turned around her stomach turned, and her eyes began to fill with tears. Flashbacks of her time with Scott ran through her mind, all the time he’d spent with the girls alone all these years. The hallway was longer than before as she got into bed and laid down. This can’t be true; this can’t be happening to me. Not my husband, she decided that night, a decision that would determine everything. She chose to turn a blind eye to what she knew in her gut that she had witnessed. I don’t want to be alone; I don’t want to lose him; I want my fairytale to work. After that night everything was so much clearer, she noticed the way Scott looked at the girls and she noticed the way the girls treated Scott. The girls waited for him hand and foot and she caught moments when they were rubbing his back and feet, but Ella never said a word. There were several nights when Scott wouldn’t make it to bed before she fell asleep because he was spending time with the girls. If he’s happy then I won’t lose him, she selfishly thought. Years passed and at one point she felt like she had completely lost Scott, he stopped showing her attention and barely touched her. The gut feeling that she tried her best to ignore would come back because deep down she knew but she ignored it thinking, I don’t want to lose him, if he’s happy he’ll stay she thought. Fast forwarding into the future all her worst fears were revealed. After Ella’s daughter spoke with a family member Scott was arrested for molesting the 3 girls along with abuse and other horrific incidents. All the time Ella turned a blind eye to her daughter’s suffering. I just wanted my fairytale life, I just wanted my prince, she told her daughters. I turned a blind eye because I didn’t want to lose him was the last thing she spoke to her daughters not knowing that that would one of the last things she would say for a very long time.