Everyone has skeletons in their cupboard. Everyone has regrets and situations that life has thrown at them, leading them down paths they never imagined walking. These are the chapters we don’t read out loud, the ones hidden behind dark sunglasses, carefully curated smiles and social niceties. So, when we stumble upon someone else’s unspoken story, perhaps we should choose grace — because our own story might be laid bare one day.

Take Onyx, for instance.

 

She never thought she would find herself in the back of a police car, hands trembling, heart pounding against her ribs as raindrops slid down the window. The bills had piled up faster than she could pay them — her mother’s medical expenses, the mortgage on a house she had worked so hard to purchase, and the never-ending weight of survival. The long hours at the diner were not enough, and desperation whispered things to her she never thought she would entertain. It started with a small amount, just enough to cover the mortgage, taken from the register with the quiet promise to return it. But desperation is a slippery slope, and soon, Onyx found herself drowning in stolen bills and guilt.

Then came the inevitable—the quiet suspicion in her manager’s eyes, the missing GBP’s adding up, the phone call to the police. Onyx’s heart shattered as reality crashed down around her. She never meant to become this person, yet here she was. A criminal, a thief.

 

Could you ever see yourself in Onyx’s shoes? Most would say never.

 

But desperation changes people. It whispers soft reassurances in the dead of night, convincing them that one misstep won’t change everything — until it does.

 

And then there’s Phoenix.

 

It all started with a missed flight.

 

Phoenix was never the type to be late, but that day, fate conspired against her — a flat tyre, a traffic jam, and a torrential downpour that soaked her to the bone. Stranded in a coastal town overnight, she wandered into a small bar near the harbour, seeking warmth and distraction. That’s where she met Tex.

He wasn’t just a fleeting stranger; he was a conversation that felt like an escape. They talked about books, art, and dreams unfulfilled. It was harmless, she told herself — until it wasn’t.

 

Weeks later, Tex reappeared, not as a forgotten memory but as the new consultant on her firm’s biggest project. Every interaction, every lingering glance carried the weight of something unspoken. Phoenix loved her husband, but after years of routine and silent discontent, Tex made her feel seen. What started as friendly exchanges turned into stolen moments, the kind that tiptoes too close to the edge.

 

Then came the unravelling.

 

An oversight in the project’s finances put Phoenix in an impossible situation. Fixing it meant bending the rules, just a little altering a document to buy some time. She told herself it was harmless, temporary, but Tex saw the desperation in her eyes. ‘Tell them before they find out,’ he warned. But she couldn’t. Her career, her reputation, her marriage — everything was at stake.

 

And so, she asked him to stay silent.

 

Her husband found the altered document before anyone else did. The confrontation was quiet but devastating. And in that moment, Phoenix realised it wasn’t the almost-affair with Tex that shattered her life; it was the accumulation of small choices, each one leading her further from the person she believed herself to be.

Would you ever see yourself in Phoenix’s position? Most would say never.

 

But the truth is, you don’t know who you are in certain moments until those moments find you. Love, loneliness, and the weight of responsibility can twist even the strongest convictions into something unrecognisable.

 

So, when we encounter someone else’s Chapter X — the one they don’t read out loud—perhaps we should withhold judgment. Because life has a way of humbling us all, and the choices we claim we would never make might one day be the only choices we have left.

While setting boundaries with doors and windows is on my to-do list, empathy remains, and now, grace. For I know the truth is that I have chapter X’s in my book that I will, at best, whisper occasionally but never read out loud. When someone mistakenly stumbles upon this chapter, I hope they do so with the same grace I hope to practise.

 

Because everyone has a chapter they don’t read out loud. EVERYONE.

 

‘See’ you next week.

 

Sally Chiwuzie
+ posts

IG Handle: @unshakable.is.a.state.of.mind