These patterns surface long before you notice.

A sweet man can still be dangerous, not because he is obviously cruel, but because his kindness functions like a cover story. The shift usually starts in ordinary places, a text thread that turns tense, a dinner where you edit yourself, a weekend plan that becomes a negotiation. You feel the stakes rising before you have evidence to name it. The hardest part is how normal it can look from the outside, right up until your confidence starts changing shape.



