One thing about true love is that it is equally the stewardship of another's heart, especially when you can see where, and how, it was broken. The true cause of their wounds is usually rooted in the dynamics they witnessed and were impacted by during their childhood. If you truly love someone, you cannot allow them to become that which they hate - it is cruel. No matter how magnetically consuming the attraction, where you are viscerally aching for them - sometimes, the choice is to love them in the most selfless way possible, and not let them become that which haunts them during the hushed hours of the evening.
It is not easy. It may well be one of the most difficult "what ifs" you will ever create - but there is a quiet sincerity in stepping back, or holding steady, when it would have been easier to let things play out - at their cost.
This kind of love is rare. It requires awareness, restraint, and a certain reverence for another's inner world - to choose to support them in their healing, rather than tearing them apart. Not because you do not love them, but because the depth of your love cannot be put into words. So much so, that you love them enough to let them go - to let them be whole - even if it means being misunderstood, even hated, for your choice.
For life has a certain poetry to it - often, those we are drawn to echo familiar patterns, even when those patterns are laced with shadowed realities and timelines that, in time, would lead us to loathe ourselves even more. If you truly love someone, you don't exploit that familiarity - for their wounds are often also their wilful blind spots. You stand guard at the gates of their healing, making sure they don't become the very monster they are trying to keep at bay.