A boundary can be the right decision and still feel terrible. Saying no may protect your time, your body, or your peace while also closing a door you wanted to remain open.
Grief does not prove the boundary was wrong. It may simply mean the relationship mattered, the hope was real, and the limit has a cost.
You do not have to turn someone into a monster to take your own limit seriously.
A clean boundary says what you will do without demanding that another person agree with your reasons. It also leaves room for the sadness that comes after the sentence is spoken.
Clarity and tenderness are not opposites. Sometimes clarity is the first tender thing left to offer.