I’m Engaged, but I Can’t Stop Thinking About Someone Else

I don’t talk about this often, but I stayed in a relationship long after I stopped feeling like myself.
Not because I didn’t care… but because I cared too much.

They were kind, stable, loving — everything people say you should want. And yet, somewhere along the way, my heart stopped matching theirs. I started feeling guilty for things I couldn’t control, like drifting away emotionally or imagining a future without them.

Every time I tried to leave, I’d picture how heartbroken they’d be and convince myself to stay a little longer. That “little longer” turned into months of pretending.

I thought I was protecting them, but I realize now I only made the ending worse by delaying it.

Sometimes doing the right thing still breaks someone — and that’s a weight I still carry.