Sae Abiola Creative Writing

Happy new month

💌 A Letter to Every Survivor

This is for the ones who were silenced, shamed, or doubted.

The final episode of my Substack series What They Did Behind Closed Doors is here:
“Marital R**e Is Still R**e.”

A hard truth. A necessary truth.
Your healing is not weakness — it is power.

👉 Read the final letter on Substack (no account needed)

https://open.substack.com/pub/saeabiola/p/part-11marital-rape-is-still-rape?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5gzrfh:

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Honored to be part of this WriterSync Collective Reflection, shared from our Substack Writers WhatsApp Group, where we reflect on:

🖋 What writing has taught us about life
🖋 The truths we wish every writer knew
🖋 What keeps us going when the words feel far away

A gentle reminder that no writer is ever truly alone on this journey. ✨

📖 Tap the link to read on substack no account needed:

https://open.substack.com/pub/saeabiola/p/the-writers-journey-shared-reflections?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5gzrfh

How Saying No Creates Space for Your Financial Independence

Money isn’t just made — it’s managed.
And one of the most powerful ways to manage it is by saying no to what drains it.

Every unnecessary purchase, every “just this once” loan for things that don’t grow in value, every offer that costs more than it’s worth — these are silent leaks. They don’t just take your money; they slow your progress.

Saying no isn’t about deprivation. It’s about direction.
It’s choosing to keep your resources where they can grow, not vanish.
It’s protecting your future before it even arrives.

When you master your “no,” you make room for a better “yes” — the one that builds security, opportunity, and peace.

Action Step:
This week, choose one expense, request, or habit to turn down. Redirect that exact amount toward something that strengthens your future savings, debt repayment, or an investment.

🌿 Gentle Reminder:
Part 11 of What They Did Behind Closed Doors drops this Sunday.

Money Is Power — Reclaiming Control Starts With Your Own Income

Money doesn’t just pay bills — it buys freedom.
It’s the power to say “no” without fear and “yes” without permission.

When your income is yours, you choose where you live, how you spend, and who gets access to your life. You set your own pace. You protect your own peace.

Financial independence isn’t about greed — it’s about dignity. It’s knowing you can stand on your own, no matter what.

Action Step:
Write down one thing you’d do differently if money wasn’t a barrier. Then take one step this week toward earning enough to make it happen.

🌿 Gentle Reminder:
Part 11 of What They Did Behind Closed Doors drops this Sunday.

Toxic Ties — Why Financial Dependence Keeps Women Stuck in Abusive Relationships

Some women don’t stay because they want to they stay because they have to.

Financial dependence isn’t just money — it’s control. When a woman can’t support herself, she’s trapped in a cycle where abuse, manipulation, and disrespect become normal.

I’ve witnessed women hold on to painful relationships because leaving means losing shelter, food, or safety. Their abusers know this and use it like a leash.

Without financial power, respect is impossible to demand. No boundary will hold. No voice will be heard. Freedom stays out of reach when survival depends on someone else’s approval.

Breaking free starts with money in your hands. Not someday — now. When you control your income, you control your choices. You can say no without fear. You can walk away without desperation.

Action Step:
Write down one skill, job, or trade you can start learning this week to build financial independence. Take one real step toward it in the next 7 days.

🌿 Gentle reminder: Part 11 of What They Did Behind Closed Doors drops this Sunday on Substack Stay tuned.

The Cost of Financial Dependence — How Relying on Others Steals Your Voice

Ladies, a new week means a new chance to claim your power.

Financial freedom isn’t a luxury — it’s survival. When you rely on someone else’s money, you hand over your voice and your dignity without realizing it.

Many women get trapped in unhealthy relationships or silence because “he provides.”

But what peace is there in that? When your needs depend on his generosity, saying no or walking away feels impossible.

I’ve seen how money can be used like a weapon — threatening, demanding payback, trapping women in fights for their dignity.

The truth is: financial independence is rebellion. It’s fire in your hands. It’s your income, your savings, your choices.

Today’s challenge: Write down all the ways you rely financially on others. Then write what it costs you — your voice, your freedom, your pride.

This is your battlefield. And it’s time to win.

🚨 New Post Alert 🚨

Some scars don’t show — but they shape a lifetime.
In this chapter, we uncover how growing up around marital sexual abuse silently shapes children, and why the adults around them must be steady pillars, not sources of silence or blame.

📖 Read now on Substack — no account needed
🔗 https://open.substack.com/pub/saeabiola/p/part-10-from-trauma-to-tradition

Next week: A letter to survivors.

Day 7: I Refuse to Stay for Potential

What I’ll Never Tolerate in a Man

They said, “see the good in him.”
They said, “believe in his growth.”
They said, “he has potential.”

But potential is not a promise.
And I have learned the hard way — you can drown while waiting for someone to “become” the man you hope he’ll be.

I’ve done the “maybe one day” relationship.
The “he has a good heart, just needs time” story.
And I almost lost myself in the process.

Because while I was loving the man he could become,
he was comfortable staying exactly who he’d always been.

I refuse to wait for a man to meet me where I already am.
I want love rooted in action, not in apologies and excuses.
And no man is worth the cost of my peace, my joy, or my years.

So this is my stand:
I choose real. I choose present. I choose peace.

Mic dropped. Door closed. Series complete.

Day 6: I’m Not Here to Raise a Grown Man

From the series: “What I’ll Never Tolerate in a Man — 7 Days of Uncompromising Truth”

I’m done applauding emotional laziness.
I’m done being therapist, mother, motivator, and cheerleader — while he does the bare minimum and calls it effort.

Being a strong woman doesn’t mean I should carry a weak relationship.

Let’s be clear:
I am not your emotional rehabilitation center.
I am not here to heal wounds I didn’t cause or drag a man into maturity.

If you don’t come whole, I won’t split myself in pieces trying to complete you.

Some men don’t need a partner — they need a parent.
Someone to manage their moods, explain basic empathy, and convince them that emotional presence is part of love.

Not me.
Not anymore.

I want softness without exhaustion.
Love without labor.
A relationship where I feel supported — not depleted.

If all you bring is your presence, a little charm, and some vague promise of who you could be… we’re not building a life together.
I’m building you, while I disappear.

Flaws don’t scare me — refusal to grow does.

So no, I won’t be the one always fixing things, chasing conversations, or being “understanding” while getting nothing in return.

That’s not love — that’s the slow erosion of a woman’s soul.

Let’s talk:
Have you ever felt like the strong one in a relationship — and it drained you instead of uplifting you?
What do you now require before you give your heart again?

P.S. This is Day 6 of What I’ll Never Tolerate in a Man.

Tomorrow is the final day — and we’re talking about the myth of potential, and why I’ll never stay for who he could become.

Day 5: Jealousy Is Not Love. Control Is Not Care.

From the series: “What I’ll Never Tolerate in a Man — 7 Days of Uncompromising Truth”

I once thought jealousy meant love.
That if he questioned me, monitored me, or got possessive, it meant he really cared.

I was wrong.

A flicker of jealousy can be human but when it becomes a habit, a rule, or a leash, it’s no longer love. It’s insecurity wearing perfume. It’s control disguised as concern.

A man who loves me will trust me. A man who respects me will never try to shrink my world just to make himself feel secure in it.

If he says:

“I don’t want you talking to other men.”
“Why do you dress like that?”
“You post too much. You laugh too loud. You’re too visible…”

What he’s really saying is:

“I don’t feel safe unless I can own you.”

And I refuse to be owned.

I deserve love that expands me, not one that cages me. Love should never feel like surveillance.

💬 Question for you: Have you ever mistaken control for care? How did you break that cycle?