What No One Tells You About Betrayal
By Lauren Yip
No one says how numb you’ll feel when you read their parting words, over and over.
No one tells you about how you’ll smile when you look back at the pictures, but feel the weight of a hundred bricks on your chest when you realize it’s all gone.
No one warns you about how much it’ll hurt to let go of all the pretty memories when the ending wasn’t pretty at all.
No one tells you how long it will take to rebuild yourself after trusting no one, finally learning to trust someone, and then going back to trusting no one.
No one will tell you how it feels like a knife has been twisted into your chest, because the feeling of betrayal is anger, sadness, frustration, and disappointment, all in one destructive hurricane of emotion that leaves you with a dull ache.
They will tell you to trust people only when they’ve proven themselves time and time again. Sometimes you jump in too quickly, finding yourself once again back at square one when it ends.
They will tell you to move on. Moving on is holding on to yourself while letting go of whoever hurt you, along with the toxic parts of yourself you learned from them.
They will tell you the words were lies. How can you bring yourself to the realization that what made you happy was a facade, how someone once so undoubtedly trustworthy in your eyes became tainted with dishonest actions?
They will tell you they weren’t meant to stay. You let yourself get carried away by the promising notion of loyalty, certainty, bonds that couldn’t be broken. But some people aren’t meant to stay. Some people let themselves out of your life and slam the door behind them.
They will tell you this feeling of betrayal will pass. It is normal, a rite of passage, one part of countless human experiences. When you heal and begin to feel whole again, only will you realize the power you have to overcome whoever and whatever made you feel this way.