Broken Engagement

I’ll always remember the day I got engaged. We were so young, so excited, so hopeful. We had long talks about building a family together, debated where to live. We had so many big plans; went to appointments together, picked out a ring, found an apartment.

Then suddenly, things started veering off course. There were arguments. Secrets. Stress, headaches, loneliness. Could this be normal? Those weren’t supposed to be part of our fairy tale.

And then came that final conversation, the last time I went out with my chassan, the boy I was supposed to build a future with. And we realized that our relationship couldn’t survive through marriage. I can’t describe how I felt during that conversation — there are too many emotions to put into words.

I was still processing the conversation when it hit me: Now I have to tell everyone I’m no longer engaged.