Is this love? when your most loved one become your worst enemy.

Mary wasn't sure about marrying Paul, but it was too late. She was already walking down the aisle, unable to stop the marriage ceremony. Six years later she decided to divorce but the process wouldn't be easy since they already had a four-year old daughter. Paul did not agree with this decision and one day he took the little girl and disappeared. Mary looked for her daughter for years. She travelled to different countries and searched for her everywhere unsuccessfully. But one day, she found her in the social networks. Thirty years had passed and her child had become and adult. Mary lived almost half of her life without her child, fighting anguish and praying each day to find her, or at least to get some information about whether she was dead or alive.

When I first heard this story, it struck me how a person is capable of doing something that could bring so much harm to her/his partner, and, as in their case, to her/his children. Off course, it is important to analyze the situation case by case, but more important is to be aware that love is not infallible and that your most loved one can provoke you harm in some point of your life. There is no need to have a divorce or separation to trigger a behavior that could result in an harmful experience to the partner.  To love and being loved is not a guarantee that you will be in a safe relationships.

You cannot predict if your most loved one will become your worst enemy in the future, but as a couple you can reduce the chances that this happens to you by starting to build three important things: empathy, a friendship and the respect to each other boundaries. As an individual, you must trust yourself and trust your partner, but not blindly. Finally, make your wellbeing a priority but not at the expense of abusing your partner.