There's a girl who I've been very close friends with since we were kids. We dated for a little bit back in high school but nothing serious and then went our separate ways. The strange thing about it though is I've always liked her and still thought about her after high school but didn't think she felt the same way about me.

About a year ago, she got engaged to a guy who everyone knows isn't right for her and at the same time, these lingering feelings I've had for her were eating at me. So about a month ago, just to get it off my chest, I finally told her that I still had feelings for her (assuming she would just say thanks or something and let it go) but to my amazement, she still had strong feelings for me too.

It turns out she's not happy with the guy she's engaged to, but she doesn't know how to leave him. He's mentally abusive to her, and any time she tries to bring up that she wants to postpone the wedding, he tells her no and puts her down until she gives in. At the same time, we now speak to eachother several times a day and meet up whenever we can. At this point, I can honestly say, we've fallen in love.

So my question is, how can I help her get out of this relationship? Any time she tries to break it off with him, he just spins it around on her and blames her until she feels terrible and gives in. Has anyone been in this type of situation before? Is there anything I can do to help her get out of this or is it something she has to do on her own?

Thanks for any advice on this.