To the version of me that loved quietly, this is goodbye.

I wanted it to be something soft.

Something harmless.

Just a connection. A little warmth in a cold place.

But it turned into a slow unraveling of my peace.

I told myself I was being careful.

That I wasn’t crossing any lines.

That he was the one coming closer.

But even in all that, I felt the guilt.

Because some part of me knew.

Knew that a man who moves like that… doesn’t move innocently.

He never told me he was taken.

He let the silence shape the story.

He watched me struggle, watched me shrink my feelings,

and instead of stepping back,

he stepped closer.

Soft smiles.

Lingering words.

Concern disguised as care.

“I’m just checking if you’re okay,”

but never once asking,

“Am I being fair to you?”

And now I know.

it wasn’t just a relationship.

It was an engagement.

A commitment. A promise to someone else.

And he was standing on that promise

while trying to keep one foot in my world.

That’s not love.

That’s not friendship.

That’s a betrayal wearing perfume.

So here it is.

I’m stepping out of this.

Not because I hate him, but because I finally love myself more.

I will not be the “other girl.”

I will not be the reason someone doubts their worth.

I will not carry shame that does not belong to me.

He had a choice.

And so do I.

Let him flirt with guilt.

Let him play soft to avoid being the villain.

I don’t need to expose him.

His truth will catch up with him eventually.

As for me,

I will heal.

I will forgive myself.

I will grow into the kind of woman who no longer tolerates almosts and maybes.

The kind who doesn’t need to shrink just to be noticed.

This was not love.

This was a test.

And I’m walking out.

Whole.

Wiser.

And finally free.