09/15/2025
Before my girl ejected on the relationship, she told me: "I don't think you treated me bad because of how you felt about me; I think you treated me based on the battles you were fighting within yourself. But the truth is, even if it wasn't intentional, I can't keep getting hurt because you're at war with your own demons; that's not my battle to fight."
At first, I didn’t know how to respond. It stung, because I could feel the weight of truth in her words. She wasn’t saying them to hurt me, but because she had carried those feelings in silence for too long. She had stood by me through my storms, hoping I would let her in, hoping I would choose healing, hoping love could be enough. But love without growth turns heavy, and she was suffocating under the weight of my unhealed wounds.
She told me she had tried to be patient, to listen, and to offer me comfort when I couldn’t find peace within myself. She stayed when it would’ve been easier to walk away sooner. She gave pieces of herself trying to hold me together, but in the process, she realized she was falling apart. Her smile faded, her energy drained, and her light dimmed because she was pouring everything into someone who wasn’t ready to pour back.
What hit me the hardest was when she said, “I can’t keep losing myself trying to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. I’ve begged, I’ve prayed, and I’ve fought for this, but I’m done fighting battles that don’t belong to me.”
That moment forced me to see something I never wanted to admit: no matter how much someone loves you, they can’t heal you. They can’t fight your demons for you. They can love you, encourage you, stand beside you—but the real work has to be done within. And if you refuse to do that work, even the person who loves you the most will eventually reach their breaking point.
Her leaving wasn’t a punishment; it was her way of choosing herself after spending too long choosing me. And now, with her absence echoing louder than her presence ever did, I finally understand. Healing isn’t just about me—it’s about everyone who tries to love me, too. Because if I don’t face my battles, I’ll always end up hurting the people who only wanted to love me.
And the truth is, sometimes love isn’t enough to keep someone from walking away when your pain keeps spilling onto them.