Hear the story behind the story—the parts that never made it to the page, but matter most.
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Chapter 8: Vantage Point
I stood there alone, devastated, just staring out the window—unable to comprehend what had just happened.
First came the explosion.
Then the endless denial and cutting words—until all I could do was slam down the phone and try to catch my breath again.
In my own silence, I saw my life pass before me.
Time was no longer on my side. The path ahead had narrowed.
And suddenly, I began to regret the risks I’d taken to get here—risks that now left me aching for home.
My mind raced, grasping for anything to hold onto—until one thought kept me from falling any further.
This was no longer about him.
Not the prenup.
Not the homes.
Not the money.
Not even the ring.
What mattered now was why I let myself get here—and more importantly, how to untangle myself from his web of deceit.
There would be no white flag. I refused to let my life become collateral for his insecurities.
And that’s when I saw them:
a pile of red flags in the corner of my mind—warnings I had ignored, too busy to slow down, too afraid to trust my own knowing.
My need to scale a mountain had brought me to new heights—but now I saw the cost.
Looking out over the landscape, I suddenly realized my vantage point. I could see further than I’d ever seen before, and in that moment, I knew what I needed to do.
Next week Chapter 9: Divine Intervention
THE MOMENT YOU WAKE UP
At the time, I thought I was seeing clearly.
But what I didn’t know then was that trauma often warps our view—until we get still enough to recalibrate.
When you’ve been gaslit or emotionally manipulated, your internal compass spins.
You question what’s true. You replay conversations.
You doubt yourself more than the person who harmed you.
This is called cognitive dissonance—one of the most disorienting effects of emotional abuse.
It’s what happens when the version of reality someone gives you contradicts the truth your body already knows.
So you start overriding your intuition, just to survive the confusion.
Eventually, the body keeps the score—and the mind catches up.
That moment at the window? It was my nervous system finally catching up.
The collapse wasn’t weakness.
It was clarity.
Some experts might call it a trauma awakening—the turning point where your pain becomes proof.
Proof that your body knew something your mind hadn’t yet named.
Proof that you weren’t crazy—just committed to something that was never safe.
If you’ve ever found yourself in that place—staring out at your life, feeling like it’s crumbling—know this:
It’s not the end.
It’s the edge.
And from the right vantage point, it becomes the beginning of everything new.
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