“I love you” often conceals “don’t leave me.” We confuse love with attachment.

True love liberates. But our “I love you” carries subtext of possession, security, emotional insurance. We love to escape our loneliness.

Our “love” stays conditional: “I love you if you stay with me.” Authentic love remains unconditional—wanting your happiness, even without me.

Fear-based love demands constant reassurance. “Do you love me?” we ask daily. Confident love gives space, trusts.

Cruelest truth: we often create codependency, not love. We make partners into crutches. Their absence triggers identity crisis.

Perhaps mature love can say: “I love you, even if you leave.”