By Linda C J Turner, Therapist & Advocate

I see it all so clearly now.

I should have walked away when the briefcase full of secrets sat by the door — always packed, always threatening, always reminding me I was disposable.

I should have walked when the head games and guessing games kept me second-guessing my own sanity.
When bank accounts were hidden.
When passwords disappeared.
When he played poor to spend my money.

I thought I was building a life.
But all I was doing… was surviving his control.

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This Was Never Love. It Was Always Control.

Love doesn’t lie.
Love doesn’t hide things.
Love doesn’t make you question your worth, your stability, or your freedom.

What I lived through wasn’t love — it was emotional imprisonment wrapped in manipulation.

But not anymore.

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Now, I Am Free. And I Am Happy.

✨ I do what I want.
✨ Go where I want.
✨ Buy what I want.
✨ See who I want.
✨ And people who genuinely care? They smile because I’m smiling.

I’m no longer apologising for existing.
I’m no longer shrinking myself to keep someone else comfortable.
I’m finally being treated with kindness and respect — the way I always deserved to be.

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Kindness and Respect Are Not Too Much to Ask. They Are the Bare Minimum.

If someone tells you they love you but they leave you confused, financially strained, isolated, and emotionally starved — that is not love.

That is control.

And once you step out of that darkness, once you taste life on your own terms…
You’ll never go back.

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Here’s to the Peace That Comes With Freedom.

No more secrets.
No more games.
No more pretending.

Only peace, self-respect, and real, soul-filling joy.

#ThisIsFreedom
#NoMoreControl
#KindnessIsEssential
#SurvivorTruth
#HappyAndFree

— Linda C J Turner

Trauma Therapist | Neuroscience & Emotional Intelligence Practitioner | Advocate for Women’s Empowerment