Roses And Thorns

21

- A story about conditional love

She never loved him.

People often discuss dominant men but overlook dominant women.

From the start, she had one rule: she would change him in the name of love.

She couldn't love anyone else because she didn't love herself.

He believed she was his one true love from day one.

He loved how she challenged him and pushed him away, willing to do anything to win her over—even if it meant losing himself in the process.

Everything about him irritated her.

She longed for a perfect partner, failing to realize that perfection is impossible and that true love comes with flaws.

He changed everything about himself.

Over time, he became a quiet thinker, stifling his jokes before they could escape his lips.

She dismissed men who joked around, looking down on them.

He did everything to please her, suppressing his true self along the way.

He convinced himself she was good for him, but she only criticized what made him who he was.

He didn't understand what healthy love looked like and chose a partner who mirrored the toxic love he was accustomed to.

Day after day, he fell deeper into the pit of her criticism, becoming a slave to her affection, believing that was how lovers behaved.

But love shouldn't break you; it should build you into a stronger, better version of yourself.

He would never realize that what they had was a trauma bond and that he had wasted his years on a love he could never truly attain.