Some call it a real fairy tale. Others call it a tearful romance. I call it our story.

 

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Anita

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"You are nothing but a half-breed retard. Nobody would ever love something as ugly as you."
I saw nothing, felt nothing, and said nothing to anyone. I was taught my place and took any punishment because it’s what I deserved—what I believed.
I was five years old.
At sixteen, I witnessed my stepfather beating my mother.
That day, I took a stand against him.
Kicked out of the family home, I came face to face with the harsh reality of the world. There are no fairy-tale endings after a life of abuse. Unable to finish school, I watched all my dreams of freedom turn to dust. Working hard, I saved every dime and was so close to winning when disaster struck.
Cancer.
At twenty years old, the doctors gave me three, maybe five, years to live. Again, I saw my dreams vanish.

Michael

My father was a stern man and made no compromises. He demanded respect and obedience.
As the eldest, I bore the brunt, and I defended my siblings as much as I lovingly teased them. At sixteen, I took a job, moved out, and eventually grew into a man that I'm sure my father despised.
I had ordinary dreams of any young man growing up—football player as a young lad, Formula One driver as a teenager, and becoming famous with my band in my twenties. But as life sped by, nightmares of my past began to haunt me.
I felt scarred. Surely, nobody would want a man such as me.
On the verge of my thirties, I travelled to America. Leaving cold, wet England behind, I was hoping to change my life by living the dream in the good old US of A.
I found more than I expected.
I found the beginning.

This is our story.

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Warning: For adult readers only. Disclaimer: This contains adult themes and explicit sex scenes. First-person with both points of view.