Let's Start at the Ending...
How I managed to escape my covert narcissistic abusive relationship with the help of the man - Him - who tried to destroy my life.
Beginning at the ending only seems fitting. I’m not the type of writer who leaves readers in suspense. So let me just tell you - this man destroyed my life…my Shanghai life that is. I had been living and teaching in Shanghai, China for nearly seven years. I had built a stellar reputation, teaching at a very famous Chinese school. Aside from that, I had developed quite a side hustle tutoring the children of the Chinese 1%. How do I know my side hustle was successful? I had a waiting list of parents wanting to get in with me.
I began dating a friend…a man I had known for 12 years. He was my office mate in graduate school. We had an off again/on again friends with benefits situationship over the years. After his last relationship ended, I suggested he move out of the U.S. and teach English in Thailand. After some consideration, he did. When, after the 2022 spring lockdown in Shanghai I could see no end in sight to China’s ridiculous zero-Covid policy, I decided I would leave and move to Thailand after my current contract was finished in 2023. I made a call to Him. That’s what we’re going to call him - Him. We locked down our relationship. It was September 14, 2022.