Jacqueline met A.L. (not his real name) in a club six years ago. She was charmed by him as he was a year older than her, gentlemanly and shared her entrepreneurial spirit.

In a Her World article, Jacqueline recounted how six months after that fateful encounter, they moved in together and put in her life savings of $150,000 to start a restaurant in Katong with him.

Things changed when A.L. began gambling in the second year of their relationship. When she refused to lend him money, he would borrow from the loansharks and even disappear for days at a time to go on gambling cruises. When the loan sharks started knocking on her door, she tried to get them off her back by settling his $17,000 debt.

A.L. turned abusive after that. He demanded money from Jacqueline daily, and would slap and scream at her. He even shoved her down a staircase and slammed the door on her foot on another occasion, fracturing two toes.

The last straw came when he drove her to a secluded carpark one evening to demand for more money again. When she refused, he subjected her to even more abuse and only stopped when a passer-by intervened.

She told Her World: "After filing a report, I decided that I was going to walk away from the abuse."

But her tormentor did not stop harassing her. He sent her threats via SMS as cuttting ties with her meant that he would no longer have financial back-up. To make him give up, Jacqueline finally gave all her shares in the restaurant to him.

In order to survive her ordeal, Jacqueline blogged about her experience. She said: "When I received emails from strangers who told me they cared, I realised I was not as worthless as he had claimed."

She also took up beading as a form of therapy. After selling her first piece of jewllery online, she felt happy and gained back some confidence. Today, she sells her creations on Angelicious Creations with items ranging from $12 to $80.

For the full story, get the latest copy of Her World from all newsstands now.