#indieauthor

Character: gets injured

Me: Oh no 😭

Character: gets emotionally devastated

Me: Oh no 😭

Character: makes a terrible decision

Me: Interesting.

Character: makes another terrible decision

But when you look a little closer, the truth is something more like:

“I became the monster I needed to survive, and somewhere along the way, I forgot there was supposed to be a way back.”

The lies. The cruelty. The control. The emotional distance. The violence. The instinct to hurt first before anyone gets the chance to hurt them.

Not because they were born wanting to be terrible.

But because, somewhere along the way, being terrible felt safer than being vulnerable.

And now they have to figure out whether they can survive without becoming the person they needed to be.