Terrifying but insightful
Words are hard to describe this story… it’s the toxic boyfriend who is convinced that his obsession of you is devotion, his jealousy is care, his imprisonment of you is protection, his enslavement of you is love because he “knows what’s best for you”… and it’s the girlfriend that fell for it all because she’s never been truly loved before, so she can’t see the difference. And she has shaky self-respect, identity, standards, and principles that having someone take over her life completely felt relieving and needed... possibly appreciated. When we’re so consumed with ourselves — our wants, our needs, our desires, our survival — then we mix our ego with sex (the most intimate of acts since you’re literally inside of someone), that union can blur the lines of morality and ethics. It’s no wonder they couldn’t understand if this was love or not. When you base romance off of selfishness, greed, lust, control, and fear, then being claimed & consumed seems endearing because erotica and ego are the glue holding you together. Sure, it started out sweet and innocent, but the moment connection turned into a need for control is when all those thoughtful or playful gestures turned into grooming. Ahhh this story definitely took some dark turns I was not expecting! :) And the way it makes me ponder what truly makes a healthy, loving partnership is riveting. Because there are moments that feel like genuine connection, that seem like they could be drops of actual love… but then those moments get consumed by a tsunami of control, manipulation, enslavement, and an erasure of identity, to the point where you don’t know where the next chapter will lead to. If you’re ok with adult themes mixed with suspense, I’d recommend giving this a read!