Because he didn't go back after you fought? [ She's taking a guess. ]

That could be a lot of things, including stubbornness if he's prone to that. Or that he didn't know how to broach the subject. Or that he didn't want to get hurt again.

But, another thing to trust me on, just because there's distance, or even active arguing, doesn't mean there's less love. My ex and I fought like cats and dogs sometimes. Part of it was me being unreasonable because I thought I was a replacement for someone else, actually, sort of the reverse of how he might think he's been replaced by someone who doesn't want you to change.

I'm not saying you need to roll over and take shoddy treatment, goodness knows I would never want you hurt. I am saying that when you love someone, the simplest things can be like pulling teeth.

[ She draws a shaky breath. ] One of my partners, we couldn't see our feelings for each other until we got in a mindshare. And we got along stunningly well, never had a single argument that wasn't caused by mind control. People have blind spots. Especially about things they fear might be true.

--I just want you to be happy. And it seems like making things work there would maybe do that.