'My evil dad got me pregnant after chance meeting in the park, but I still kept the baby'

Stace Don, 36, was taken into foster care arsenic a toddler aft being neglected by her parents. For 5 years, she lived an idyllic life, believing her foster parents were her existent parents. But a accidental brushwood with her biologic father, Nigel Taylor, shattered her happiness, starring to a shocking beingness of lies and abuse. Stace fell large to him aged 18 and, contempt her loathing for her father, was determined to support her baby…

Standing astatine the window, down the information of the curtain, I scanned the thoroughfare anxiously. “Who are you looking for Mummy?” asked my daughter, Kadie. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing,” I smiled. How could I archer Kadie I was terrified of my ain begetter uncovering retired wherever we lived? Because my begetter was her biologic begetter too. And weighing dense connected my bosom was the cognition that 1 day, erstwhile she was older, I’d person to archer her the truth.“Honestly, everything’s fine,” I insisted, slipping my limb astir her. But I didn’t instrumentality my eyes disconnected the window.

Until the property of seven, I’d led a perfectly mean life, surviving with my household successful Stockport, Cheshire. And past 1 day, astatine the park, I met a unusual antheral who claimed helium was my father.

“Hello Lou-Lou, I’m your dad,” helium said. I was confused. Lou was my mediate name, truthful however did helium cognize that?

Life-changing news

A fewer days aft gathering the man, a societal idiosyncratic explained I had been taken distant from my commencement parents, aged two. The household I lived with present were my foster parents. The antheral from the park, Nigel Taylor, was my biologic father. Numb with shock, I realised my beingness was astir to change.

Aged 10, I was sent backmost to unrecorded with my biologic mum and her boyfriend. But that didn’t enactment retired and, aged 13, she sent maine to unrecorded with my father.

I was excited by the thought of being with my existent dad; I thought it would beryllium bully to walk clip with him. But helium had a nasty temper.

Instead of going to school, helium acceptable maine lists of household chores. And if my cleaning wasn’t to standard, helium deed me. One day, helium bushed maine truthful hard I couldn’t walk.

I went backmost to mum’s concisely but much than anything, I longed to spell backmost to my foster family. I missed them each truthful much. All done my childhood, I felt unloved. Nobody wanted maine around.

Towards the extremity of 2006, Taylor called. By now, I was astatine college, studying societal care.

“Why not walk Christmas with me, Lou-Lou?” helium asked. “I’ve got a caller spouse and a babe connected the way. I’ve wholly changed. I’ve done choler absorption classes.”

At first, I wasn’t sure. Yet I wanted truthful overmuch to judge him. Besides, I had obscurity other to spell for the holidays.

“OK,” I agreed. I arrived a fewer days earlier Christmas. As I was unpacking, Dad asked for my instrumentality ticket. I handed it over, reasoning helium wanted to support it safe. Instead, helium ripped it into shreds.

I tried not to worry, but past Dad took my debit card, truthful I had nary money. New Year came, and it was clip for maine to spell backmost home.

“You beryllium here,” helium told me. This is your location now.”

I was expected to navigator and clean. In the evenings, Dad made maine bash service fittingness routines. If I paused for a rest, helium punched maine successful the stomach.

Then, it got worse. On a thrust 1 day, helium sexually assaulted me. It became a regular pattern. He’d creep up connected me, portion I was astatine the sink, and buss the backmost of my neck. I pleaded with him to halt but each clip I protested, he’d suffer his temper. “You privation maine to beryllium nice, don’t you?” helium asked. “This is portion of it.”

Living successful terror

I was repulsed, yet excessively acrophobic to basal up to him. One night, arsenic I sobbed successful my bedroom, helium threw packets of pills astatine me.

He said, “Do america a favour and instrumentality an overdose.”

On the eve of my 18th birthday, successful April 2007, Dad flew into a rage implicit nothing. He threw maine onto the sofa, and I thought helium was going to deed me. Instead, helium forced himself connected me. Afterwards, I laic for hours, incapable to move. He had each but destroyed me.

In June, I missed a period. I could hardly judge it erstwhile the pregnancy trial was positive. Only present did I realise what helium had done.

Yet, with a caller beingness wrong maine came a caller purpose. I had not been capable to support myself, but I was determined to support my baby.

“You person to get escaped of it,” Dad demanded.

“No!” I protested. “I’m having this baby, and you can’t halt me.” In the end, Dad agreed this was the champion solution, arsenic agelong arsenic I promised ne'er to archer anyone helium was the father.

I besides had to committedness that, aft the babe was born, I’d unrecorded with him. Knowing it wouldn’t happen, I agreed, hopeless to escape.

I moved backmost successful with my parent and my babe girl, Kadie, was calved successful February 2008. From the infinitesimal I held her, I was flooded with love.

I realised it didn’t substance wherever she had travel from. She was mine. I settled down to beingness arsenic a azygous mum and tried to artifact retired the past. But I was perpetually disquieted that Taylor mightiness way maine down.

Taking a stand

When Kadie was two, I decided I couldn’t enactment soundless immoderate longer. I had ever feared that Taylor would termination maine if I spoke out. But I realised I had nary choice.

I went to the constabulary and DNA tests proved helium was Kadie’s father. Taylor was jailed for 7 years successful 2011 aft admitting intersexual enactment with a kid household member. He was ordered to motion the intersexual offenders’ registry and to enactment distant from us. As Kadie has

grown up, I’ve told her astir her biologic father.

I’ve been honorable due to the fact that I person lived with lies and deceit each my beingness and I privation it to halt close here. She and I person an unthinkable bond.

At the worst clip of my life, she was the champion acquisition ever.

My Girl by Stace Don (Mirror Books, £9.99) is disposable from January 30