The night Brandon told me to choose between my mother and my marriage, he thought I would be terrified.
He thought I would beg.
He thought seven years would be enough to keep me silent.
Instead, I counted to five.
And in those five seconds, I chose myself.
I chose my mother.
I chose the truth.
I chose the future he had been secretly stealing from me.
And as strange as it sounds, I will always be grateful for one thing.
That he forced me to see who he really was before I gave him another seven years.
Sometimes the door closing behind you is not the end of your life.
Sometimes it is the first sound freedom makes.
THE END
