I found a covert note that my boyfriend's ex had left before they broke up, and after I showed her, I contacted her ex and it changed my life.

And honestly, she was right.

Six months later, I was sitting in my sun-bathed apartment, watching my rats explore their new high-end cage, a gift from Teresa that had become an unexpected but darling friend. The walls were clean, the floors were impeccable, and everything smelled of lavender and fresh air.

My phone posted a message from Matt: "I miss you. I changed. Please come back. ”

I looked around my peaceful house, I thought of the strength I had found, the limits I had learned to fix and the friendship that had flourished from the ashes of its manipulation.

With a firm hand, I typed the answer: "No. But I hope you've really changed... for the good of the next person."

Then I blocked his number.

Teresa's words resonated in my head: "Healing is not just about leaving. It is about staying away and building something better. ”

She was right on that too. I had built something better: a life where I didn't have to shrink, where my voice was heard and my feelings mattered.

Sometimes the best endings come from the courage to start again.

Here's another story to tell: my husband refused to pay my mother to look after the children, saying it was "money thrown out the window." But when he fired her to “reduce costs,” I decided to make it understand how dangerous it was to underestimate the family ... in the hardest way.

This work is inspired by events and real people, but it has been romanticized for creative purposes. The names, characters, and details were changed to protect privacy and improve the narrative. Any resemblance to real, living or dead persons, or with real events is purely fortuitous and is not intended by the author.

The author and publisher do not claim the accuracy of the events or the representation of the characters and are not responsible for any misinterpretation. This story is provided "as is" and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.