Chapter 6: All In… Too Fast?

From a dating app to the front porch to a proposal — this chapter is about the relationship that swept me in, moved fast, felt destined, and gradually revealed cracks even before the marriage.

By the time he came into my life, I was bone-deep exhausted from Kohl’s. Years of clopening shifts had carved shadows under my eyes, the kind of fatigue that doesn’t shake off even with a weekend off. I was restless, worn down, running on fumes — primed to mistake intensity for destiny.

At the time, I was living on Myrtle with Chris. He had the master bedroom, rarely paid his share of the rent on time, and left me carrying the bills more often than not. Resentment simmered under the surface, but the house itself was alive. We hosted parties that spilled into the night, brunches that started with mimosas and ended with laughter and hangovers. It was chaotic, but it felt like a center of gravity.

That’s the house where I met him.