Who Do You Blame?

 When you love someone with your whole heart, when you give them 100% of yourself and betrayal is all you get in return… who do you blame?

By law, the blame lies with the one who cheats. But women are wired differently. We turn inward. We question our worth. We wonder what we could have done differently.

I don’t know how or when, but I fell into the trap of something that looked like love, smelled like love — but wasn’t. Landon’s mistakes, his betrayals, they should have been dealbreakers. But they never stood tall enough in front of me. I kept giving, and giving, until there was nothing left of me but fragments.

God has always been tough on me. Nothing ever came straight or easy. So I convinced myself that maybe this was the price of unconditional love — to endure, to struggle, to sacrifice. With that conviction, I walked into marriage.

It wasn’t a fairy tale wedding, but to me, it felt like magic. I was madly in love with my so-called Prince Charming. Even though we had known each other for a while, I felt butterflies in my stomach as the day grew closer. The idea of becoming Mrs. Landon filled me with a hope I had never known.

A friend told me, “The first three months of marriage are the honeymoon phase — you won’t want to do anything but enjoy each other.” That promise thrilled me. All I had ever wanted was a family to call mine and a partner who wanted me simply for being me.

But reality knocked too soon. And it didn’t come gently. It came like a cyclone, tearing through the fragile walls of my new life, leaving behind damage that could never be undone.

So who do you blame? The woman who gave her everything? The man who took everything and left her with pain? Or do you turn your eyes upward and blame the supreme power for writing such a cruel destiny?