I was dating on and off with a girl during the pandemic, it's now over for good and I'm kinda pissed in a way. Not because I miss it (well, I do, irrationally) but because I got sucked into something abusive and never got an apology.
We ended things maybe 5 or 6 times over the course of a year. I was always comforting her over personal shit which made dating mentally exhausting. Life was always a mess, health issues, people were terrible to her, she'd have crying episodes regularly (like every other date) etc. Vice versa she was very quick to latch on to me. It usually ended for a few weeks/month at a time because she made it a point to discuss 'us' constantly and after 3-4 weeks she'd press it hard, I would say I wasn't ready or wasn't in love yet, she would fault me for it & get angry. Now I played some part in her fits, but she'd end up saying real hurtful shit and always leaving me with the sense that it's my fault things weren't working out, that I had issues and I needed to change. A month or so later she'd call me to hang out, be all sweet again and we'd restart the cycle.
If I ever got angry with her, she'd cry her eyes out, fault me for that too and hold it over my head. I then became one of the terrible people who mistreated her. Whatever issue I raised I dropped again to calm her down. Over the course of a year she gradually broke down my confidence and I started second guessing myself all the time & apologising for everything. I usually never cry but she got me to that point more than a handful of times as well.
The last month was particularly bad. I got mad over some of the above, she left again. She started dating someone else very quickly, but still wanted to see me. For a couple weeks she dropped by a few times for cuddles, kisses, tells me she loves me all the time etc. Really fucked with my head at that point. I caved and asked if she wanted a relationship - but of course due to the constant push/pull and the 5 previous breakups the argument was now that she didn't believe me anymore, that it wasn't enough, etc. I made peace with that after a day or two and asked if she could stop contacting me. Pissed her off again of course, which pissed me off and we again ended with her leaving & crying and me a mess as well.
1 month later and surprise the other guy is now her boyfriend. I don't even think it's because she loves the guy but because it's a person/relationship she can easily control. The whole thing just leaves me feeling bitter in a way. I'm really kicking myself for letting her get to me, and for giving her the satisfaction of my apologies & even love while she was dating someone else too.
I've also been way, way too nice to her while not getting the same kindness in return at all. I'm just left pissed off.