How to Avoid Tenderness

Start by believing everyone sets out to be a monster.

Use softness as bait.

Tell yourself pain is the best teacher.

Let it sharpen your teeth.

Let it shape you into a villain.

Turn suspicion into a superpower.

Read silences like crimes.

Search for clues even when nothing is missing.

Convince yourself it’s better to catch someone slipping

than to be saddened by their leaving.

Guard your heart like a treasure.

Assume love is a weapon — it will be used against you.

Make sure every kiss has an escape route.

Practice damage in small gestures —

withheld answers, calculated silences,

looks that say I know how to cut you.

Trade secrets for leverage.

Trade comfort for control.

Enjoy the power — the push and pull.

Savor winning an argument

because it is safer than baring your soul.

Play cold if you must.

Play cruel if it keeps you intact.

Call it strategy.

Call it survival.

Play the blame game.

Set the bridge aflame.

Don’t let anything cross before it burns —

not the quiet habits that make you you,

not the moments you choose not to strike,

not the intimate times you touch without breaking.

When the fire dies,

stand in the ashes.

Call the loneliness peace.