Chapter After the Fire

You broke the promise.

You broke the home.

But you didn't break me.

I found the truth where the lies had grown,

In the shattered pieces of the life I'd known.

You wore a smile while you crossed that line,

While I was giving you the best of mine.

I gave you my trust,

I gave you my years,

Now I'm standing in the wreckage

With nothing left but the tears.

But somewhere underneath the pain,

A voice inside me called my name.

You took what we were—

You don't get what I become.

THIS IS THE END OF YOUR CHAPTER!

THIS IS THE START OF MINE!

I'M DONE CHASING YOUR SHADOW

THROUGH THE WRECKAGE OF MY LIFE!

YOU CAN KEEP YOUR LIES!

YOU CAN KEEP YOUR BLAME!

I WALK OUT OF THE FIRE

AND I WON'T BE THE SAME!

I used to wonder what I did wrong,

How I wasn't enough, how I should've held on.

But betrayal was your choice, not my failure,

And I won't carry your guilt any further.

I packed up the memories,

I buried the ring,

I left behind the person

Who kept sacrificing everything.

Now the road is cold,

But the sky is wide—

And for the first time in years

I'm choosing my own side.

NO MORE BEGGING!

NO MORE PAIN!

NO MORE DYING

TO MAKE YOU STAY!

YOU CHOSE THE LIE!

I CHOOSE THE TRUTH!

YOU LOST ME—

I FOUND ME!

THIS IS THE END OF YOUR CHAPTER!

THIS IS THE START OF MINE!

I'M DONE CHASING YOUR SHADOW

THROUGH THE WRECKAGE OF MY LIFE!

YOU CAN KEEP YOUR LIES!

YOU CAN KEEP YOUR BLAME!

I WALK OUT OF THE FIRE

AND I WON'T BE THE SAME!

Maybe I thought forever

meant I'd never have to leave.

Maybe I confused forgiveness

with forgetting how to breathe.

But I'm learning to love the person

I abandoned trying to save you.

And every step away from yesterday

is one step closer to the truth.

BURN THE PHOTOS!

BREAK THE CHAINS!

LET THE OLD LIFE

DIE IN THE FLAMES!

I LOST A MARRIAGE!

I LOST A DREAM!

BUT I FOUND THE PERSON

I FORGOT I COULD BE!

THIS IS THE END OF YOUR CHAPTER!

THIS IS THE START OF MINE!

I'LL WRITE EVERY NEXT PAGE

WITH THESE HANDS THAT YOU LEFT BEHIND!

NO MORE YOUR LIES!

NO MORE YOUR SHAME!

I WALK OUT OF THE FIRE

AND I'M RECLAIMING MY NAME!

You were a chapter.

You were not the ending.

THIS IS MY LIFE NOW.

AND I'M WRITING THE REST.