The Thread of Fantastic Failures

[robvalue]

I used to play an online role playing game called Asheron's Call. I was single at the time, and my only previous relationship was a very unhappy one with someone totally unsuitable for me. A woman who played the game started to show an increasing amount of interest in me. Being naive, the attention went to my head and I ignored several very important warning signs.

Firstly, I found out she was married. She told me it was a loveless marriage. I later found out she had cheated on her husband recently. She said she "planned to" split up with her husband. She invited me over to her place for sex, behind her husband's back. I refused. I said that we couldn't have any sort of relationship until she properly split up from her husband.

Eventually, she did split up with him. I believed her, since she told her children about me and I talked to them on the phone. She told me she was ready to be with me now. We continued what was mainly a long distance relationship, over the course of a few years. She came to visit me now and again during that time. Eventually, she got bored of me and treated me worse and worse until I split up with her.

The lesson I learned is to pay more attention to warning signs. I committed myself to what I thought was going to be a lifelong relationship, which turned out to be a cheap fling for her. I now feel pretty sure that was her intention all along. I started off as another affair, and that should have been warning enough; even though she did later make it official before we started dating.