I can understand the emotions. Sadly my story is somewhat similar.
My 1998 GT vert. I bought the car my second year of college working my ass off working full time and school full time. Atlantic Blue, 5 spd. I spent many years working on her, it ended up being exactly how I wanted her to be. PI swapped, full suspension, Vortech S trim, sitting on 10th anniversary wheels.
Life happened and I was in need of cash. Money was tight and had to make a decision. She was sold to a friend through work and he took great care of her. A few years went by and he ended up needing to sell her. My wife realized that "Blu" was more than a car. In 2015 she walked in the kitchen with money in an envelope and told me to bring "Blu" home.
6 months later driving home in Blu and get rear ended by a drunk driver at 45 mph while at a stand still. I get out of the car, walk back to see the guy hunched over his wheel. I worked on trying to make sure he's still breathing by forcing his door open and was rewarded to the smell of shit and SoCo. The car was a total loss and I was lucky to have walked away.
I miss that car...