I will always remember the day my life changed. Our house was badly burned, and I have bad burns on my face, arms, and chest. The pain was unbearable, but the mental toll was much worse. My husband Evan couldn’t stand to look at me, and it hurt more than any wound.
Evan’s fear and disgust were clear to me as I lay in the hospital, wrapped in bandages. Even though I told him everything would be okay, he was already gone and mentally checked out. As time went on, we got farther apart, and I knew our marriage was over.
One of the worst days of my life was when Evan left me. When he said goodbye, “I can’t be with someone like THIS,” I can still hear them. It felt like the scars on my face were making fun of me, reminding me of how my husband turned me down.
It took a while, but I slowly put my life back together again. I had a lot of surgeries, therapy meetings, and support groups. Jim was kind and gentle, and he could see past my scars. He loved me for who I was, not how I looked. We fell in love, and I felt like myself again.
After many years, fate brought Evan and I back together. We were out to eat to celebrate Jim’s raise. At first, Evan didn’t recognise me, but when I took the mic to speak, I told him who I really was. You could see shock, guilt, and sorrow all mixed together on his face.
The scars on my face seemed to go away as I talked about my trip. I was no longer a fire victim or a wife who was turned down. I had risen from the ashes and was a strong, sure of herself woman. Evan’s response reminded me that real beauty comes from the inside out, and that my scars showed how strong I was, not how weak I was.
Evan’s refusal turned out to be a good thing in the end. It led me to Jim, a man who loved me no matter what. I knew I had found my real love when I looked at Jim. I knew our love would last forever.
