The luridness of it made me feel like the female lead in a bad Lifetime movie. The person whom I trusted most was a monster: an affair with a middle-aged prostitute who verbally abused me, an Ashley Madison account, and countless payments to sex workers – those were the tip of the repulsive iceberg that was my relationship.

And sadly, these were the least of my problems. My once-kind then-partner’s face …

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Six seconds is the amount of time it would have taken for him to render me unconscious.

Shortly thereafter, I might have lost my life.

One month before I finally found the strength to leave an abusive ex-partner, he rushed at me with unexpected force during an argument and wrapped his hands around my throat. I kicked desperately at his chest, terrified, heart racing, during what I believed might be my final …

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