That One Night

Special Chapter A Message from Elena

They think staying means I don’t know how to leave.

They think forgiveness is weakness, and endurance is submission.

But they don’t live in my body.

They don’t wake up with my memories.

They don’t carry a child while deciding whether to walk away or stay and rebuild something already broken.

I didn’t stay because I was afraid to leave.

I stayed because I chose to, fully aware of the cost.

A doormat doesn’t question.

A doormat doesn’t draw boundaries.

A doormat doesn’t feel rage, grief, and love at the same time and still decide what kind of woman she wants to be.

I am not weak for surviving this.