You start to see the pattern in the aftermath, not the moment. The way you laugh too loudly, drink too quickly, say “it’s fine” when something inside you is begging you to slow down. You remember how you forced yourself to believe it was just fun, that you were strong enough not to care. But your body kept the score, and your heart quietly collected every broken promise you made to yourself.
In the stillness that follows, you notice what it really cost you: the way you hesitate to trust your own judgment, the way your chest tightens when you look in the mirror and wonder if you traded pieces of yourself for a closeness that never stayed. Yet even here, you are not beyond repair. You can begin again by honoring the part of you that always wanted more, by admitting that your longing for lasting, steady love was never weakness. It was truth, waiting for you to finally believe it.