NOT HIS ANYMORE

She thought marriage would give her a place to belong.
Instead, it taught her how to disappear.

Meher didn't break all at once. It happened slowly..
in the way her voice softened until it was barely there,
in the way her hands learned to stop shaking before anyone noticed,
in the way she started measuring her words, her actions, even her breathing.

Behind closed doors, everything had rules.
Silence was expected. Mistakes were remembered.
Pain wasn't questioned...it was corrected.

She learned how to hide marks beneath silk,
how to stand straight even when her body ached,
how to smile at the right time, speak at the right moment, and stay quiet when it mattered most.

And when something inside her finally started to break-
she was told it was normal.
That this was what life looked like now.

So she endured.
Because leaving wasn't simple. Speaking wasn't safe.
And sometimes, survival looks a lot like silence.

But even silence has a limit.