We’ve all had moments when life feels heavy — like we’re walking into the wind, and everything seems impossible. But for most of us, those moments eventually pass.
For Kayla Holmes, however, one heartbreaking moment will follow her forever—every time she looks in the mirror.
Her story is so harrowing that it puts our everyday struggles into painful perspective.
Warning: Distressing images below.
Dating an older boy
Just a year before the attack, Kayla was trapped in a toxic and abusive relationship.
Raised by a single mother, Kayla never truly learned what a healthy relationship looked like. At just 17, she was dating an older boyfriend who abused her —physically and emotionally.
“I used to be my attacker’s property. He manipulated me to the point where I almost lost everything and everyone in my life,” she says.
But like many teens in love for the first time, she clung to hope when he promised to change.
It was a decision she will regret for the rest of her life.
Despite the trauma, Kayla still remembers every detail of the day her world changed— October 17, 2017 — as if it happened yesterday.
That day, her ex-boyfriend Seth Aaron Fleury, then 21, couldn’t accept that their relationship was over. And in a moment of monstrous cruelty, he decided that if he couldn’t have her, no one else could either.
In a raw and emotional post shared on Love What Matters, Kayla recalled the terrifying scene:
”I remember every detail of this very moment. The thoughts that ran through my mind when I opened my camera were very dark, which only seemed to worsen. Sitting in a puddle of my own blood with the majority of my lip laying on my leg, my whole mouth on fire, confused and terrified, I didn’t know how I could ever show my face again. At that point, honestly wishing that those very seconds would just be my last — I wanted to give up for good.”
Wanted to apologize
That October afternoon, Kayla had gone to see Seth because he claimed he wanted to apologize for his behavior. She had broken up with him a few weeks earlier, but he believed she was there to reconcile.
When Kayla made it clear she had no intention of getting back together, Seth snapped. He tried to force a kiss. When Kayla pulled away, he did something unthinkable — he bit down on her lower lip and ripped it off.
Her ex claimed he was going to leave his mark on her for her next boyfriend
