The past 5 years had taken their toll, there were ups and downs but it felt like the downs were starting diminish and I was levelling out into comfort. It had been arduous with a divorce, moving house, starting again and not having enough to get by with. But after receiving a nudge from a friend I decided that I could work my way out of a slump. So I set up a business buying and selling secondhand curtains. I saved and scrimped not only enough for a much needed holiday for the children and I but also enough for a deposit for our own place. Our days of renting crummy houses with peeling paper and rusty bathtubs was over.

The only thing that now needed to fall into place was love. I had stopped looking and accepted that it would happen when the time was right. At the most unexpected time with the most unexpected person and that is exactly what happened. I was a police officer and attended a call to a domestic incident. It wasn’t the worst call and I dealt with the matter professionally and moved on. The husband was arrested and I put in place safeguarding for the wife “Clare”. The case was sent to court and the husband moved away. My job was done and my life carried on working two jobs and building a life for my children.

Two weeks later I bumped into Clare at the local shops and we chatted. Actually we flirted, we flirted a lot and we found we had friends in common and there was a spark. Over the next few months we bumped into each other quite a few times and we both started to realise that the Universe had a plan. After clearing the relationship with the Police as this sort of relationship is frowned upon, we started seeing each other.

Clare was not my type at all, she was tiny and I always had a thing for tall girls. She was from an area of the North West whose accent alone used to make my skin crawl, and she had children, three of them. Now I know it is unfair and I have children too but dating a lady with kids was always something I had avoided. Despite being the opposite of what I thought I wanted, we fell head over heals in love. Life was going so very well until of course, her ex husband found out. He, for the next twelve months, made my life hell. He followed me, he stalked me on social media and even made complaints to the police about me. He told lies and tried to discredit me.

Believe it or not, despite telling the police about what had happened, they took his side, suspended me, moved my job and sent me away to work none operationally. My life and my world started to fall apart. I turned to drink, I put on weight and moved from being a loving, caring father and partner to being a 24 hour angry bear.

One day I was at a friends and saw “The Secret” on her shelf. I picked it up and asked if I could borrow it. “Of course, you need this more than anyone I know” she replied. I took the book and that night read it from cover to cover. Was life that simple, was the answer so simple? At this time the ex-husband’s complaint against me was with an independent commission and they were dragging their feet investigating the matter. I had spent months wondering if I was about to lose my job, my home and my reputation for simply falling in love with the wrong person.

So one Sunday night I sat in bed and the last thing I did was write on a piece of paper “Tomorrow it will all be over”. I placed the paper by my bed and closed my eyes, believing that tomorrow would be the start of the end. I arrived at work at 7;57 am the next day. As I sat at my desk and as the clock turned to 8 am my phone rang. It was the investigator who had been looking at my case and he called me to his office. As I walked in I had the biggest grin on my face. He quizzically asked what I was smiling at. “I know what you are about to say” I replied. He told me that the report was back early and unexpectedly and how could I know? I know because I had asked for it. He sat there and told me that the complaints against me were not being taken forward and I was free to resume my job. I walked from that room into a new world, a new world where I realised that I could change my destiny. I just had to believe and want it enough!