Laughing he chok me

He attacked me, but I was the one forced to say sorry

eeling my belly grumble, I knew exactly what I fancied. ‘Takeaway?’ I asked my boyfriend Kenny.

‘No, it’s unhealthy. You need to exercise more,’ he grunted.

I felt my cheeks burn. It was February 2017 and me and Kenny, then 26, had been together for six months. At first, he was cheeky and charming. A semiprofessional rugby player, his muscles rippled. He’d won me over after we met in a bar. I loved his good looks, his witty banter.

But recently, he’d been different, more controlling. If we bumped into people I knew – men

F– he asked questions. ‘Who was that? Have you kissed him?’ he’d demand. ‘No. Stop being paranoid,’ I’d reply.

It bothered me.

But as a single mum, I was desperate to give my 3-year-old son a stable home.

So I tried to make things work with Kenny.

In June 2018, we bought a house together.

But as he started the renovations, he seemed to keep an eye on my every move.

‘Don’t spend a penny on anything before checking with me,’ he told me one day.

‘You don’t need to go out today,’ he said the next.

Despite what was happening at home, I tried to keep up appearances.

Family and friends loved Kenny, saw his charm.

They were blind to his other side.

But truth was, I was getting more and more anxious about Kenny’s unpredictable moods.

Then, one night in July 2019, Kenny went out to the pub with his mates.

My son at his dad’s for the night, I headed out with the girls.

After a few drinks in the pub, we headed to a nightclub.

I sent Kenny a few texts before putting my phone away to enjoy my evening.

It was around 4am when I dug my mobile out of my bag again.

The screen flashed. Dozens of missed calls from

Family and friends

were blind to his

other side