Chapter 2 The end of obsesstion

All of a sudden... everything changed.

No more late-night calls. No more constant texting. The spark that once felt like fire now felt like smoke-fading fast and choking me with silence.

I tried to act like I was okay. Tried to keep smiling, to laugh with my siblings, to show up online like I was living my best life. But I wasn't.

Inside, I was falling apart.

I confided in a few close friends. Just a few. The ones who really knew me-the ones I trusted enough to see my tears. They listened, tried to comfort me, but nothing they said could fix what I was feeling.

That Saturday morning, I couldn't take it anymore.

I picked up my phone and texted her. No more pretending, no sugarcoating. I told her the plain truth-that it was starting to feel like I was forcing the relationship. That her distance was killing me. That I didn't want to beg for attention from someone I loved.

And then... I logged off.

I needed space.

I needed to breathe.

But not before I cried again.

Cried until my chest ached. Until my pillow soaked in silence. Until sleep took me out of my misery.

The next morning, I opened my phone and saw her message.

She said she was sorry.

Just one word-but it was enough to make my heart flutter again. That strange joy of waking up to a text from the person you love. Like the sun finally peeking through after weeks of rain. I thought maybe... just maybe things would go back to normal.

But they didn't.

She said sorry... but she didn't change.

The next day, I texted her again. This time, my words were honest, calm but full of pain. I told her I didn't feel the same connection anymore. That something was missing. That we were drifting.

She replied with a voice note.

She said she was going through a lot. That she had so many problems. I understood that. I really did. But what hurt me the most was that she didn't want to let me in.

I wanted to scream.

"Isn't that the point of being in a relationship? To know everything about each other? To share the pain, the joy, the weight of life?"

I wanted to tell her that when she was sad, I wanted to be the one to hold her. That when life got hard, I wanted to stand by her side. That her problems didn't scare me-her distance did.

But I didn't scream.

I didn't say all that.

I just stood there, listening to the voice note. Quietly. Numbly. Until she ended it with the same words that had been haunting me for weeks:

"We can't be talking every time."

That was it.

Right there. In that moment, something inside me broke.

But it also shifted.

My obsession ended.

Not my love. No, I still loved her. Maybe I always would. But that intense, unhealthy hold she had on me-that ended.

But then something else happened.

As the obsession died, I saw myself slipping... back into that dark place.

I saw myself going back to my old freaking depressed self.

And that scared me even more.

The tears returned like an old friend. The nights became heavier. My thoughts grew darker. I started doubting everything-my worth, my heart, my future. I hated that I let someone have that much power over me. That I lost myself so easily in someone who couldn't see me clearly.

I still love her.

But I won't be obsessed with her again.

Or with any girl again.

I deserve better. I deserve someone who sees me, chooses me, and loves me without conditions. Someone who understands that love is a connection, not a convenience. That it takes effort, not just words.

Maybe one day I'll find that person.

But for now, I'm choosing me.