One week after we separated, his sibling said something that stayed with me: “In one year from now, you will both have new lives.”

At the time, I didn’t realise how much she already knew—the hidden suitcase, the secret finances, his long-standing abusive behaviour, and even “the other person” marked in his diary months before we parted ways. She knew enough to book herself into a hotel when she visited in September, before the abuse escalated in October. Looking back, I can see the pattern clearly: the entire sequence had been planned and staged to push me out of my own home.

Almost a year later, his abuse hasn’t stopped—it’s simply taken on a new form, reaching from a distance. But here’s the truth: I haven’t just survived. I’ve accelerated my healing. I’ve fast-tracked my recovery with the help of a skilled court psychologist, my own English NHS-linked psychologist, the wonderful team at the Central Mujer, my compassionate local doctor, the Guardia Civil, and a brilliant domestic abuse lawyer who specialises in these cases.

That first year was a fight—for peace, for dignity, for the right to live without fear. But it was also a time of profound rebuilding. Piece by piece, I have taken back my life, my choices, and my freedom.

And that’s where the real story begins…