Abandonment fear is not always begging someone to stay. Sometimes it is doing the opposite. You become distant before they can. You act like you do not care, because caring feels like handing someone a knife and trusting them not to use it. You test people without saying it is a test. You push every button, watch their face, measure their patience, and still don’t believe them when they stay. Because the wound does not ask, “Do they love me?” It asks, “How long before they change their mind?” You are not afraid of being alone. You have survived alone before. You are afraid of the moment someone sees the real you and decides you are not worth the trouble.
