To become empowered partners in abusive relationships have to see through their manipulator’s tactics, knowing in their heart how to distinguish a victim from a victimizer.
Amorous narcissists can bowl you over with what appears much love and affection. And you typically come to realize what’s really going only after your heart is breaking or has already been broken.
Mistaking interest for regard is all too common these days. It’s how folks with high hopes at the beginning of a relationship sadly later find themselves exploited and abused.