When respect ends,
there is no war.
No slammed doors.
No final speeches.
No need to prove anything.
Because there is nothing left
worth defending.
When respect ends,
you don’t fight.
You withdraw.
You stop explaining.
You stop expecting.
You stop correcting misunderstandings.
You simply… step back.
When respect ends,
belonging disappears quietly.
The chair is still there,
but it no longer feels like your place.
You are present,
but not included.
Speaking,
but not heard.
And then one day —
you stop speaking too.
When respect ends,
care reduces to courtesy.
Connection reduces to formality.
Love reduces to memory.
No anger.
No accusations.
Just a gradual folding inward.
Like a book
that no one is reading anymore.
When respect ends,
effort ends.
Investment ends.
Emotional risk ends.
You stop reaching.
You stop stretching.
You stop staying.
Because respect is the soil.
Without it,
nothing grows.
Not even conflict.
And that is the real ending —
not loud,
not dramatic,
but complete.
When respect ends,
everything else quietly follows.
