I’m glad that you loved the story even though we don’t seem to agree when it comes to the love/relationship dynamic! 😊

I’m saying the exact opposite actually! I’m seperating between love as a free emotion that we can give to anyone even a complete stranger and which will stay with us after deciding to end up a relationship which is not good for us and the relationship itself. And, yes, I believe expectations are required, but I am classifiying them into two categories:

1. An insecure person navigating life with numerous limiting beliefs and emotional scars, who has never had an opportunity to become aware of their conditioning outcomes, or who were not able to get out of their denial circle, would have such unhealthy expectations: Expecting the person to fix them, to make of them the center of their world, to understand them even when they don’t understand themselves, to forgive all their endless reactivity and drama, to make them happy even when they’re doing everything to stay in their victim position their unhealthy ego loves so much.
2. An emotionally self-reliant person — or at least who is on the path of becoming one — on the other hand, would expect the following from a relationship:
   First and foremost, they need to be actively listened to. An emotionally healthy person also needs to be seen, recognized, encouraged, challenged, celebrated. They also need free acts of kindness and generosity. They need the roles in the relationship to be clarified. They need people to keep their promises. They need them to apologize quickly and sincerely whenever screwing things up — as we all do anyway! Simply put, they need to be in a relationship where the other party is also living wholeheartedly!