Your Heart Breaks So It Can Expand

I stood at her driveway one last time. Two years dissolved into silence as she avoided my eyes. What I didn't know then was that she'd already found someone else to look at instead.

"I can't do this anymore," she whispered.

The door closed. By the time I reached the street corner, the tears came. Ugly, heavy sobs. This was my 8th heartbreak. Each one had felt like the end of the world.

Gaby. Carolina. Isabel. Daniela. Michelle. Sara. Brooke. Each time, I was convinced this was it. My soulmate. Each time, I believed they would finally see me for who I really was and love me for it.

I was always the nice guy. The one who listened, who cared, who showed up. I poured my heart into every relationship, certain this time would be different. What I didn't see was how my desperate need to be loved made me suffocating.