You first uttered the words on the night I was betrayed, a best friend comforting me about my cheating significant other. “You deserve better.”

The next time you said them was on a night filled with laughter and the taste of wine, muttered into my ear after I pressed eager lips against your soft mouth. “You deserve better.”

They were quieted for a while as we spent delightful months walking hand in hand, but I could hear the very syllables in your hesitation to accept my affection. “You deserve better.”

Our honeymoon brought wonderful memories of a starting life together, but after a particularly splendid night you looked to me with fearful eyes before speaking. “You deserve better.”

The memory of the first time you hit me often strikes as hard as your fist, the very image of tears welling in your eyes as you pulled away and spoke overwhelming. “You deserve better.”

But now, as I pack my bags over your sleeping body, I feel myself trying my tongue at your familiar refrain. In hushed tone I whisper words known all too well. “You deserve better.”