I am writing this to let go, not to reopen wounds.

I chose to walk away because I could no longer see a future where I felt secure, respected, and at peace. I stayed for six years not because I was weak, but because I loved deeply and believed in patience. I tolerated things that hurt me, hoping understanding would be enough. It wasn’t.

I accept now that I gave more grace than I received. I accepted secrecy when I deserved openness. I calmed insecurities that were never mine to fix. I tried to be understanding even when my own feelings were dismissed. None of that makes me foolish — it makes me human.

Seeing you do for someone else what you could not do for me hurt. It made me question my worth, and for a moment, I let myself believe that I wasn’t enough. Today, I take that belief back. Your choices after me do not define my value, nor do they rewrite the truth of why I left.

I do not hate you because you moved on. I am hurt because I stayed when I shouldn’t have, and I am finally allowing myself to feel that pain instead of minimizing it. The anger I feel now is not cruelty — it is clarity.

I release the need to be understood by you. I release the urge to compare. I release the version of you I hoped you would become with me. I no longer need your validation to confirm that my decision was right.

I forgive myself for waiting so long.
I forgive myself for loving someone who couldn’t meet me where I stood.
I forgive myself for the silence I kept to maintain peace.

From today, I choose myself.
I choose relationships that feel safe, open, and steady.
I choose a future that does not require me to shrink or explain my boundaries.

This chapter is closed — not with bitterness, but with truth.

I am free to move forward now.