Dear Someone: You deserve more than half-love and half-truths

Read this if you’ve spent too long waiting for someone to love you the way they should have from the start.

She sat on my couch, hugging a throw pillow like it could keep her from breaking. "He says he loves me," she whispered, "but it never feels like love."

I knew that feeling. The ache of waiting, the exhaustion of excusing, the silent battle between what they say and what they do. She had spent years in a relationship that felt more like a guessing game than a safe place.

"But he's trying," she continued. "He says he just needs time."

I sighed. "How much time?"

She hesitated, then shook her head. She didn’t know. And that was the problem.

Love should not leave you uncertain. It should not be something you have to earn, prove, or patiently wait to receive. If someone truly values you, they won’t keep you at arm’s length while they decide if they’re ready. They will not love you in pieces when you deserve the whole thing.

"You don’t have to keep waiting," I told her. "Love that is meant for you won’t require a countdown. It will simply be there."

She wiped her eyes. "But what if I walk away and …