They called you the narcissist…
In the end they betrayed you in the cruelest, most heartbreaking way.
Even after everything they did, after everything they destroyed, after everything their presence took away, and after leaving you to pick up the pieces; somehow you became the villain in their story.
They twisted the narrative, painted you with the brush they used to hide their own reflection, and left you questioning your own heart, your intuition, your worth, your sanity.
The gaslighting, the manipulation, the projections, the cheating, the subtle erosion of your confidence and worth, yet they’ve the audacity to call you the very thing that they are.
And it hurts, oh it hurts!
It hurts because you tried so hard to make it work, your intentions were honest, the love you gave them was genuine, and everything you did you did it with them being the centre of your world.
You loved deeply, you forgave over and over again even when you shouldn’t have, you stayed when there were red flags, you bent over backwards to please them, maybe you even gave up so much of yourself for them, and eventually you broke.
You gave them chances when you should have walked away, and even in silence, you still hoped they would finally see things from your point of view, but instead, they just took your love for granted and all they saw was a mirror.
All they saw was the reflection of the pain they created staring right back at them.
That’s why they left, because they couldn’t stand to look at the damage they caused.
They couldn’t stand looking at the pain, and what was staring back at them, so they turned it all on you.
How could someone be so hurtful to use your love, your suffering, and your vulnerabilities, and your pain to paint you in such a false and heinous light.
How could someone who once claimed to love you, to be your soulmate, just turn around and betray you in the worst possible way.
You are not what they said you were!
You are not a narcissist for speaking up and explaining how you felt.
You are not selfish for needing peace.
You are not cold for taking a stand against their disrespect and manipulation and finally saying enough is enough.
What happened to you was real.
The confusion, the guilt, the shame, the lonely nights that you spent overthinking; it was all real, but none of it was your fault.
Now it’s time to come home to yourself.
To untangle and release yourself from the pain of their lies that you’re still holding onto.
To find comfort in your boundaries, and to learn to trust your inner voice again.
Healing isn’t a straight line.
Some days you’ll grieve who you thought they were, and some days you’ll even grieve who you had to become just to survive what they put you through, and that’s okay
But remember this; no matter what lies they want to tell about you, they no longer get to define who you are.
Not with their words. not with their silence or avoidance, and not with their projections.
You are not who they said you were.
You never were!
One day their labels won’t sting, and their absence will no longer ache.
And in the space of healing, you’ll meet a version of yourself that you almost forgot existed.
You’ll begin to laugh without guilt, speak without fear, and trust without shaking.
You’ll look in the mirror and finally see yourself again, the person you really are; and not through the distorted lens of someone else’s pain and projections.
You were never too much.
You were never the problem.
You were just too bright for someone who couldn’t bear their own darkness, and to couldn’t sit with themselves for a moment and be responsible for their own healing.
And now, you get to begin again.
Not as who they needed you to be, but as who you were always meant to become.
It’s time to reclaim who you are again!
~ Mark Smith