The abuse only got worse when the children came along. Emil's temper quickly rose from the sleepless nights, listening to the babies' cries and dealing with the children's temper tantrums. He began hitting Anna to cope with the headaches and anger from his children. Anna took the hits so that her children wouldn't be on the receiving end and never said anything because Emil had convinced her that if she went to the police, he'd kill her and the children.

And so Anna suffered in silence for years. She never told anyone what was happening at home, not even when Ingrid and Christoper questioned her about her cuts and bruises. She'd always lie and say she tripped or hurt herself doing housework. But Christopher, who saw her almost every day at work, was suspicious of the constant injuries and began keeping a record of them in case something happened to her.

When Anna was pregnant with her youngest child, she learned that Emil had been hitting their children after her oldest daughter came to her with a bruised cheek, saying that Daddy had hit her. That was when Anna snapped; she could tolerate the abuse if it meant protecting her children, but she refused to let the kids become Emil's punching bags.

After Emil went out to drink with friends and the kids were in bed, Anna called the person she trusted most, Ingrid. After listening to her distraught rambling, Ingrid told her to take the kids, leave the house immediately, and stay with a friend she trusted until she could get there. Once she and Ingrid hung up, Anna called Christopher as she had no one else she could call for help since Emil had isolated her from her other friends.

Christopher agreed to help her with no hesitation. He offered to make the emergency move the next day while Emil was at work, so he and Anna each took the day off. Christopher spent the night preparing his house for Anna and the children, setting up the guest rooms, and making lists of supplies he would need to pick up. Likewise, Anna figured out everything she would need to pack for her and the kids once they and Emil had left for school and work.

The next day, Christoper arrived and helped Anna pack her and the kids' clothes, favourite toys, books, extra school supplies, and other essential items. They loaded the suitcase and boxes into the truck Christoper had borrowed from his neighbour, bringing everything to his house by the afternoon. They picked the kids up from school and informed the administration that Emil was not allowed to take them under any circumstances or to be contacted.

Once Ingrid had arrived, Anna began the battle of charging Emil for abuse, divorcing him, and winning full custody of her children. Though, it wasn't as challenging as Emil had made her believe it would be. With Ingrid's help and Christopher's detailed record of the injuries Emil had given her, it only took a few months for Emil to be sent to prison, the divorce to be finalized, and for her to be granted full custody of the kids with Emil having no parental or visitation rights. Anna even got a restraining order against Emil for her and the kids, forbidding him from contacting them and being within a thousand feet of them once he was released from prison.

With Emil in prison, Anna and her children focused on recovering from his abuse. Anna and the kids attended therapy to learn how to cope with their trauma. She also gave birth to her last child two months after Emil's arrest, with Christoper and Ingrid beside her.

Since Christoper had told Anna that she and the children could stay with him as long as needed, she focused on her health before looking into new living options. But Chris's home quickly became their home, and the kids loved their new house. Anna was scared about becoming a burden, but Christoper assured her he would never see her as that.

But Anna still contributed in any way she could. She would buy groceries, offer to pay bills, and did work around the house while on maternity leave. As the two fell into a routine, love blossomed between them. Christopher didn't want Anna to rush into a new relationship so soon, so he respected her decision to wait.

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