Dear you, in Phoenix

I would have believed you. If you’d told me what he was like instead of being vague and refusing to talk about it, I would have believed you. By the time I contacted you, I was already unsure and a little afraid, but I didn’t trust myself because I wasn’t even done being abused by the man before him. I didn’t trust my own instincts or pay any attention to all the red flags. But I would have trusted you, another woman, an older woman, with more life experience than me. I would have trusted you as a mother.

Almost every time he mentioned you, I found myself coming to your defense in some way. The way he talked about you was a red flag that I refused to look too closely at, but it was also why I wanted to talk to you, get the story from your side. I tried to make an informed decision, I really did. You weren’t the only one I reached out to, but you were the one who mattered the most.

You could have saved me and my children so much heartache and pain. I still can’t quite bring myself to feeling an understanding for why you didn’t want to talk about it, why you said you’d put it behind you and just wanted to get on with your life. That’s what I’ve done, put it behind me and got on with my life. But I would never, ever refuse to talk about it if a young woman reached out to me. It would be my first instinct, as both a woman and a mother, to protect her from going through what I did. Because some people never change, you know?

Anyway, I just wanted to get that off my chest. You’re a shitty woman and a shitty human for not trying to protect one of your own. I’m sorry for the pain he caused you, but I’m not sorry for feeling anger towards you. You threw me to the wolf. Fuck you.

Signed,
His Latest Ex-Wife