Pick a Word, Paint a Story #02

Hey Steemians. Hope you all are doing okay. So I decided to participate in this contest organized by @senehasa. She gave three beautiful words for contestants to pick a Word and paint a story. So I chose the word PEACE because I felt it resonated with me and I could coin a beautiful story from it.
So here's my story.

Jane had just finished high school, she had planned to go to the university and her step parents supported her at first. She planned to study law and become a lawyer in a reputable firm.

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Jane lived with her step parents since she was born and she never knew she was adopted. She was 25 and she noticed that most times she always felt like she never belonged to that family. The house was always in shambles, commotion here and there. Her stepparents who supported her dreams of traveling abroad to study law suddenly changed their mind and turned against the very idea of going to school

Jane's stepsiblings on the other hand would constantly belittle her. They would play silly jokes with her, hide her favorite clothes, spill contents on them and make her miserable day after day.

It wasn't long when she discovered she was adopted and it all made sense. The constant attacks, silly jokes, and belittlement, everything now clicked. Her step siblings were always threatened by her presence, they always felt she would become more successful and they made it their aim to never make her feel belong, to make every second count, and to ensure that she was weighed down at all moments.

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With this knowledge, she experienced mixed feelings, she was sad , angry and liberated on the other side. Jane realized that she had to make a move, she didn't have to endure this anymore. As an adult, she has the right to leave and start afresh. The toxic behavior of her family's members was eating her up and she took action. It wasn't an easy decision but she left. Her mental health was important to her.

For the first time in twenty five good years, Jane felt like she was home. She had finally found her happy resting place, a safe haven, a hiding place from the wind, the raging wind of her stepparents and siblings. She knew this was where she belonged and she had a purpose she aimed to achieve and she was determined to make the most of it. She was excited to see what the future held. As she settled into her new country, she completed law school and she had a good job in a reputable law firm. Jane felt a sense of peace that she had been searching for her whole life. She was free to be herself without any negativity.

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For the very first time in her life, she felt complete peace, freedom from fear, fear of the unknown. She was so happy to be where she was, in this newly found home and was even more energized to forge ahead to achieve all her goals, not for her parents or anyone to see but for herself she knew that she would always cherish this peace and tranquility that she had finally found. Yes, she had found peace, peace that she never knew before!