People expect toxic love to look like screaming matches and slammed doors, but most of the time, it’s quieter. More subtle. A slow burn.
It’s you apologizing over and over just to keep the peace.
It’s him giving you the silent treatment and calling it “needing space.”
It’s feeling like you’re too much and never enough all at once.
It’s those little toxic love signs we brush off because “he’s just going through something” or “he had a rough childhood.”
But let’s be honest: You’re not his therapist, and you're not his emotional punching bag either.
He Took and Took Until There Was Nothing Left
Love shouldn't feel like a transaction where you keep paying with your peace just to get scraps of affection.
But that’s what it became.
I’d give him comfort. He gave me chaos.
I’d give him reassurance. He gave me silence.
I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. He gave me reasons to doubt myself.
He didn’t love me. He needed me — to boost his ego, to fill the void, to have someone to control.
That’s not love. That’s dependency disguised as devotion.
Emotional Manipulation Wears Many Faces
Sometimes it’s compliments followed by critiques.
Sometimes it’s gaslighting, making you question your own memory.
Sometimes it’s him saying, “You’re too sensitive,” when you call him out.
That’s how they do it.
They make you believe you’re the problem so they never have to take accountability.
You think, If I just do more, love harder, stay quieter… maybe then he'll be happy.
But here’s the truth:
He won’t be.
Not because you aren’t enough — but because he needs you to feel like you aren’t.
Walking Away Wasn’t Weak — It Was Power
Leaving him didn’t feel like freedom at first.
It felt like failure.
Because I had convinced myself that staying meant loyalty and leaving meant quitting.
But now? I see it for what it was.
Walking away was me finally choosing me.
It was me refusing to bleed for someone who wouldn’t even hand me a band-aid.
And yeah, it hurt.
But staying would’ve hurt worse — just slower.
To the One Reading This, Still Trying to Make It Work…
Let me tell you:
You can’t fix someone who benefits from breaking you.
If you feel more alone with him than without him, that’s not love.
If you feel anxious more than adored, that’s not love.
If you’re questioning whether it’s love, that’s probably your answer.
Stop waiting for closure from someone who weaponized your emotions.
Sometimes walking away is the only closure you’ll get.
And sometimes, it’s the only one you need.
Final Word
They’ll call it love.
They’ll swear they meant well.
But you know how it made you feel.
And if it left you empty, exhausted, and erased — that wasn’t love.
That was control. That was manipulation. That was toxic.
So walk away. Cry if you need to. But don’t look back.
Because the version of you that’s coming next?
She’s going to scare the hell out of the ones who thought they could drain her and still leave her standing.
