“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said, standing on your porch with an enormous bouquet of flowers that seemed almost too grand to be real. The vibrant colors and fragrant blooms were breathtaking, yet they felt like a bittersweet reminder of the cycle you both found yourselves trapped in. It was a familiar scene, one that played out time and again after every argument. He would return to your home, armed with flowers, chocolates, or small tokens of affection, hoping to mend the rifts caused by his actions.

The root of your frequent disputes lay in his long-standing struggle with addiction. For nearly nine years, he had battled a relentless dependency on drugs, a fight that often left you feeling helpless and exhausted. Despite numerous attempts at detoxification, he would inevitably slip back into old habits, leaving you grappling with the emotional fallout. The toll it took on your relationship was immense, and the nights spent searching for him in the darkened streets were etched into your memory. You would call every hospital in the vicinity, praying for any sign of life when he vanished for days on end. This was the reality of your life together—a constant cycle of hope and despair, love and heartache.