Harsh But True ✨🥲

A Mistress’s Quiet Storm

Holidays were never supposed to be like this—a mix of joy and ache, the laughter of family mingling with the silence of absence. She had spent the day surrounded by warmth: her family gathered, children running about, and the hum of traditions carried on. She smiled, laughed, and played her part. But beneath it all was the ache she carried, the part of her life that no one saw.

The messages had been few. A quick note earlier in the week, a brief acknowledgment of the season. One man, the one who once set her heart on fire with his words, had gone silent since Monday. Another had sent a short text, careful in tone, his usual warmth replaced with the distance that had grown between them. She told herself she didn’t need their words to make her holiday complete, but she knew better.

Her current partner, the man she had once promised forever, sat across the room, sipping his coffee and watching the festivities unfold. Their relationship was its own storm—a rocky, unpredictable sea that she navigated out of habit more than passion. They were together, yet the distance between them felt insurmountable.

The holidays, for all their joy, had a way of amplifying what was missing. She missed the way things once felt, when love was fresh and uncomplicated. She missed the moments stolen in secret, the thrill of being seen, truly seen. And yet, she carried on, because she had to.

That evening, after the family had gone to bed and the house had grown quiet, she sat by the fire, scrolling through her messages. There was no new text, no sign of him. She thought of the men who had shaped her world this past year—the one who made her feel alive, the one who brought her stability, and the one she had tried so hard to make it work with again. Each relationship was a reflection of something she sought but had not yet found.

She poured herself a glass of wine, staring into the flames. The secrets she kept, the choices she made—they were hers alone, and she bore their weight quietly. She knew people would judge her if they knew, but they didn’t live her life. They didn’t understand the loneliness that even a full house couldn’t erase.

For now, she would stay the course, balancing the roles she played. Partner, mother, secret keeper. She couldn’t untangle herself from the web she had woven, but she could keep moving forward. And as the firelight flickered, she made herself a promise.

“This isn’t forever. One day, I’ll find the love I deserve. One day, I’ll choose myself.”

But tonight, she let herself feel the weight of it all. And then, like always, she tucked her feelings away, ready to face another day.