"I was empty and heartbroken"

I woke up one morning in July, after a rare night out where I hadn’t had to care for my 2 years old daughter. I was hungover, it had been a big night. A troubled memory from the night before began to appear in my mind though. My daughter’s mother had rung to say goodbye. She had been emotional, but somehow re-energised and hopeful. I tried to call her, but her phone was switched off, I tried calling her mother and sister, hoping that someone would be able to explain why she rang to say goodbye, as I was in my drunken state and I hadn’t been able to properly understand the call at the time.

No one answered, no one called me back. I began to worry. It wasn’t until that afternoon that I finally got a call from her mother. She said, “I’ve gone, I’ve taken our girl, I’m in Singapore on my way to Australia, we are not coming back to England”.

I felt sick, sicker still when I learnt of the conspiracy around me to take my daughter. Her family planned it, my mother-in-law paid for the flights, and they got me out of the way so they could enact their plan.

All trust left me... the trust I had for anyone evaporated. Why had they done this? What had I done to deserve such treatment? Was my daughter ok? My only comfort she was too young to understand what was happening.

I was empty and heartbroken on every level, I had been betrayed, tricked, and deemed insignificant to my daughter’s life. Such a betrayal of trust had profound effect on me. Ever since, I’ve struggled with trust, I’ve struggled with relationships, and I’ve struggled with her entire family.

A lie had been told about me, a lie from her mother to her family that I was planning to steal away my little girl and prevent anyone from seeing her. Such a terrible thing to do that they decided to do it to me instead as a pre-emptive strike. An evil lie borne and perpetuated by my daughter's mother. She used everyone, and destroyed me in a single move.

Is it a wonder now that I struggle with trust?