I had a wonderful marriage up until my wife’s death in 2017, but now I find myself involved with a woman who has made it clear there is no future, but keeps me dangling, which gives me false hope. My mother abandoned me for three months when I was four years old, and I always felt overlooked and unloved by her. She spurned my attempts to gain her approval and seemed to always favour my siblings. Am I repeating this experience with a woman with whom who I cannot realistically have a relationship? This is not the first time I have found myself in such a sad situation.
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