Sorry to hear about the stressful situation. I rarely cut an engagement short, but there's nothing wrong with doing it. Just decide how many more hours you're

Sorry to hear about the stressful situation. I rarely cut an engagement short, but there's nothing wrong with doing it. Just decide how many more hours you're willing to put in to do a decent job wrapping things up, and then tell the client you're not available past X date and what you're doing to leave them in a good place. In my experience, professional people have no trouble understanding that. How you communicate is more important than the actual details. No matter how stressed you are, you can be courteous but firm. One last thing: consulting is NOT "just like [with] employment." The "walk away at any time" bit is there for a reason.