When the Spell Breaks: The Moment You Realize the Love Wasn’t Safe
Makeiba James • February 5, 2026
Discover the moment I realized my love wasn’t safe and how breaking the spell became the first step toward true healing and freedom.
I believed love was supposed to feel like safety, like warmth, like home.
But the truth hit me one quiet evening: the love I thought was my salvation was slowly undoing me.
For years, I blamed myself, thinking I wasn’t enough, that I could fix the broken pieces of someone else. But the spell was real — and it was toxic.
Breaking it didn’t happen overnight. The first crack came when my body started whispering truths my mind refused to accept.
Sleepless nights, stomach knots, a deep, persistent sense that something wasn’t right. My heart, though wounded, knew before my mind could catch up.
Healing began the moment I acknowledged the spell. Naming it gave me power. Seeing the patterns, the manipulation, the gaslighting — that’s when freedom became possible.
If you’re reading this and something inside you resonates, know this: leaving isn’t the hardest part. Staying awake, noticing the truth, and choosing yourself every single day — that’s the real work.
This post is adapted from my memoir, When the Spell Breaks, available February 12. If you’ve ever felt trapped in love that hurt you, this book is written for you.
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