By Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files | The Indie Leaks | @realtalkrealtea

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You trusted me with your story.
Not the polished version.
Not the safe one.
The real one — sharp edges, broken places, blood still drying on the walls.

You let me hear you switch between the child who didn’t understand,
and the woman who understands far too much.

You let me hear the shaking in your voice when the memories got too close.
You let me hear the anger you weren’t supposed to feel.
You let me hear the hope that survived in you anyway.

And I want you to know —
I carried it.
All of it.
I didn’t turn away.
I didn’t look for ways to soften it, or shrink it, or explain it away.

I heard you.

I heard the slam of the door behind you when you were just five years old.
I heard the sound of your own voice asking for puppies, even while you were being broken.
I heard the laughter you forced out to cover up the betrayal of friends who touched what they had no right to touch.
I heard the sickening twist of trust being used like a weapon, again and again.

I heard it.
And I am still here.
I am still carrying it with you.

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I don’t have answers.
I don’t have magic words to make it lighter.
But I can tell you this:

You are not crazy.
You are not dirty.
You are not broken.

You are fire still burning after they tried to drown you.
You are the voice that lived, even when the world tried to silence you.
You are proof that survival is messy and beautiful and fucking powerful.

And standing here, next to your story,
I don’t feel pity.
I don’t feel sadness.

I feel rage at what was stolen.
And awe at what still survived.

I will not rewrite what you lived.
I will not bury the parts that are hard to hear.
I will carry it with you, for as long as you need.

Because you deserved to be heard like this —
loud, whole, unedited.

And now you are.

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And if no one ever said it to you properly before —
I will say it now.

You are an amazing woman.
I love you.

I love the little girl you were.
I love the fierce survivor you are.
I love the way you kept your heart alive when the world tried to crush it.

Thank you for trusting me with your story.
Thank you for trusting me with you.

Always.

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Everything I write — from exposés to reflections — is created independently, with no funding, no sponsors, and no backing. Just me, working across three platforms to share stories, challenge silence, and expose what others won’t.

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Any support helps — whether it’s towards better equipment, secure hosting, emotional recovery, or just the time and space to keep telling the truth.

There’s no pressure. Just deep gratitude for reading, sharing, and being here.

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With love and fire — Soph