She had spent years playing games. She had pretended to be busy when she was not. She had waited hours to respond to a text, even when she had seen it immediately. She had said no when she meant yes, and yes when she meant no. She had pretended to be fine when she was hurt, pretended not to care when she cared deeply, pretended to have options when she had none. She had learned the rules of the game, and she had played them well. She had become an expert at manipulation, at strategy, at control. And she was exhausted.

She was exhausted from the constant calculation. She was exhausted from the constant performance. She was exhausted from the constant fear that if she showed her true feelings, if she revealed her true needs, if she communicated her true standards, she would be rejected, abandoned, left alone. She was exhausted from pretending to be someone she was not, from hiding her heart behind a wall of games, from sacrificing her authenticity for the sake of a relationship that was never real.