stable condition, I made a split-second decision and I told her. The talk was the most honest
one that we had had in years.
It was short. “Delilah, you don’t make me happy. Being with you brings turmoil to my world
and chaos to my identity.” Though direct, I was being completely honest. I loved her, for sure, and
she loved me more, but her love for me was too much for me to bear. Her dependence on me was
burdening and suffocating, as if I had the weight of the world on my back. And why did I have to
love, if it would not advantage me in any way? Surely, I foolishly thought, putting distance between
us would make me cease t