When Daniel, my husband, woke me up in the middle of the night yelling “Fire! Fire!” I’ll never forget it. With my heart pounding, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my pillow and blanket to keep my baby safe. When I got to the living room, though, Daniel’s friends were laughing and high-fiving each other. Daniel was right in the middle of a mean joke.
At 34 weeks, my fear of fire was still very fresh in my mind. Daniel knew about the scary time our house burned down when I was 17, but he never seemed to take my fears seriously. I became more worried every time he told me that nothing bad would happen.
Daniel’s joke that night was the last blow. I was hurt, scared, and by myself. When I told him what I thought, he just laughed and said sorry, but the damage was already done. I knew I had to take charge of my life and keep Daniel’s bad behaviour away from me and my baby.
I had to make the hard choice to file for divorce the next morning. I knew I had to make that choice, even though it wasn’t easy. Daniel’s deeds couldn’t decide how our relationship or my pregnancy would go. My child and I both deserved better.
Now that I think about it, that terrible night was a wake-up call for me. I had been living in fear and letting Daniel’s actions control how I felt. But now I’m in charge again. I’m putting my safety and health first, and I’m keeping my child safe from the bad impact of someone who didn’t care about my health or safety.
Daniel has been trying to say sorry and make things right for two days now that I’ve started the divorce process. It’s too late now. The harm is done, and I will never get over how I felt.
I’m taking back control of my life and putting my health and safety first. My child and I both deserve better.
