The moment I understood everything had changed and why his words meant to keep me close actually set me free.
Choose your words. They reveal everything.
The words he said were the words he sent me after my decision to end what had been a chaotic, unbalanced relationship. At the time, they seemed to carry weight, a kind of vulnerability. But the truth, the cold reality of them, only hit me later.
Pantha’s ex wife had moved out nine months prior. According to him, she was manipulative, toxic, the source of all his marital strife.
Have you ever helped someone rebuild themselves, only to realize they were using you as a crutch?
I had listened. I had offered empathy. I had given him warmth and understanding, hours upon hours, guiding him through the emotional wreckage of his failed marriage. I shared my own experiences, my own divorce, to help him navigate the aftermath. He leaned on me in ways he never admitted to anyone else.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he grew stronger, at least in my eyes. He praised me for it, saying that the transformation in him was a testament to my care and insight.
And then came the message….
