“I lost myself because of you. And now I wear the chain I forged in life,” I replied. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard.” I held up the imaginary chain, tears pricking my eyes, begging him to see the links for what they were—the sacrifices I’d made for him, which paved my way to never creating a life of my own. “I girded this of my own free will and of my own free will, I wore it . . . I still wear it. I am forever tethered to the mistakes of my past—both the ones I made and those I didn’t because I was afraid . . . of losing you. Of failing on my own. Of not being good enough. So
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