It's exhausting trying to fix something by yourself when it was built for two. You read the books. You initiate the conversations. You shift, soften, accommodate-hoping something will change. And for a while, you convince yourself that love means working harder. But love shouldn't feel like a solo effort. You can't keep pouring into someone who won't even pick up the cup. Trying alone doesn't make you stronger it makes you tired. And eventually, you realize: staying in something where your emotional needs are always yours alone to carry is its own kind of heartbreak.