I was betrayed by the person I once loved, because she succumbed to lust.

It was my greatest fear, and it happened, even though I believed it couldn’t happen to me. I thought I was indestructible, but no one is. I was devastated. I was alone. I was empty. I was humiliated.

Cheating is wrong. Cheating is childish. Cheating is evil.

My fear became my reality. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t smile. I became a shadow of who I once was. It was inescapable. Everywhere I looked, it was there. I would try to close my eyes, but the image of my embarrassment appeared as if it were plastered on the inside of my eyelids. I sound as if I endured a stay in hell, but this place was far less exclusive than hell. Too many of us have lived in this same wicked abyss.

Cheating is wrong. Cheating is childish. Cheating is evil.

Soon, it was time to move on. It was time for me to stop dwelling on the past. I tried to detach myself from the experience. I thought that once I detached, the emotion would pass. It didn’t. The detachment made it hurt more. The emotion wouldn’t leave. It laid stagnant, cemented into my mind. It changed me.

It made my sleep lighter, so I quit sleeping.

It made my smile heavier, so I quit smiling.

It made my choices feel insignificant, so I quit caring.

It made my heart feel betrayed, so I quit trusting.

It’s been awhile since the fear struck. I’ve learned to cope with it. I’ve become a listener for those who have experienced it. I’ve regained most of what I once was, but a piece of me will always be lost.