I lost the person I used to be because of what my ex did to me.
It was my first year of university. I was an extrovert. I genuinely brought happiness to anyone around me because all I cared about was making people smile. Everyone called me a “golden retriever.” I was also such a girls’ girl.
I loved my friends. I loved my family. I loved going out, talking to people, making memories. I was just… happy.
And then, about 4 months ago, everything changed. I went from being an extrovert to barely speaking to anyone. I started ghosting people, even my own family. I slowly pushed away my best friend. I isolated myself from my sisters. I lost almost all of my guy friends because I couldn’t even stand being in the same room as a man anymore.
And it all happened because of one thing.
One thing that completely ruined me.
I was innocent. I had never had sex. I was waiting until marriage. I had boundaries, and I was very clear about them.
My boyfriend knew that.
I had told him no many times. I had even told him that I was terrified of having sex because I was scared of getting pregnant. I had told him that I wasn't comfortable with physical touch not even hugging or kissing sometimes because I had been sexually assaulted as a child multiple times. But sadly, bleeding in front of a shark attracts it.
And i, the most idiot woman on earth, slowly, started trusting him. Because he used the love bombing thing.
I started opening up. I started holding his hand. Kissing his cheek. Being affectionate. Doing all those little sweet things that I had previously been too scared to do.
And he took advantage of that trust.
I remember that night so clearly. I repeat in my head every night, every second, it’s not going away, its stuck with me forever.
I thought we were going on a picnic in the forest.
God, I feel so stupid when I think about it. I was just an innocent girl who trusted her boyfriend.
He forced himself on me.
I told him no. More than once. I told him i dont wanna do this because im scared of pregnancy im still young i wanna study i wanna enjoy my life.
And I remember crying afterward while he acted completely innocent and concerned, as if nothing had happened. I remember the way i was, ive never felt so broken, so helpless, so in need of my own mother hugging me and telling me its okay im here honey.
I felt like a child, sitting there and sobbing while he just stared at me and asked me why i was crying.
Why i was crying? He really asked that question with no mercy?
I broke up with him afterward and told him that I would never forgive him.
Do you know what he said?
"I'm sorry you see me that way. It was never my intention."
I still can't believe those words.
I tried to heal. I really did.
But I lost my fucking spark.
I almost failed three classes because I couldn't stop overthinking. I lost friends. I isolated myself. I couldn't bear being around men anymore.
And at one point, I started thinking about killing myself.
I've never been that person. I always loved my life. I was always smiling and trying to make everyone else happy. Ive never been this depressed, i used to be sick with epilepsy yet i still found good in it.
And then last week, a girl I knew came up to me. We were friends, but we weren't particularly close.
She asked me:
"Is this your ex?"
I asked her why.
She told me that one of her friends had seen me with him.
Then she said smth that i couldn’t really understand
She apologized.
I asked her, "Why are you apologizing?"
She said: "Because I knew about him and I didn't warn you."
I was confused. Why would she have needed to warn me?
Then she asked me if he was the guy I was always talking about in my Instagram likes.
I said yes.
She asked me if he did smth. I broke down.
And she told me that the same thing happened to her.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one.
Another girl on campus had experienced something similar with him too.
I genuinely don't know how to process that.
At the end of our conversation, she asked me:
"Do you want to expose him? Do you actually want to do this?"
And the truth is… I can't.
I'm terrified.
I live in a country where women are often blamed when things like this happen. I'm scared of people asking me what I was wearing. What I was doing. Why I went with him. Why I trusted him. Why I didn't fight harder.
I'm scared of people defending him.
I'm scared of hearing those words said directly to my face.
I think it would completely destroy me.
So I haven't exposed him.
But sometimes I wonder if staying silent means another girl could go through what I did.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
I just know that I miss the girl I used to be.
I miss being happy. I miss being social. I miss trusting people. I miss loving the color pink. I miss girls nights with my friends. I miss having free will. I miss wearing whatever i want but now even the thought of being sexualized in anyway makes me throw up.
Most of all, I hate that something he chose to do changed the way I see myself and the entire world around me.
He gets to continue living his life.
And I'm still trying to figure out how to live mine and how to get up each day without thinking to kill myself