We Were Still Polite When It Was Already Over

Dear Delyara, The saddest thing about my marriage is that it didn’t end with one obvious break. It faded through politeness. We still asked practical questions. Still shared spaces. Still did what looked like partnership from the outside. But the warmth had gone, and then the honesty had gone, and after that, we were mostly living beside each other. I think emotional distance is hardest to grieve when it arrives gradually. You keep hoping there will be one clear moment to point at, but there isn’t. There’s just the slow realization that you haven’t felt reached in a very long time.