I spent the next two hours playing relationship mediator for Nick and Roni, helping them work through the complex emotions of a fake engagement that had become genuine love complicated by family pressure and social expectations.
“The problem,” I said finally, “is that you’re both scared of the same thing—losing each other—but you’re handling that fear in completely different ways.”
“How so?” Nick asked.
“Roni wants you to fight for the relationship publicly, to prove that your feelings are real by risking everything for them. You want to protect the relationship by managing external threats strategically, proving your feelings are real by ensuring they survive family pressure.”
“So we’re both right?” Roni said.
“You’re both love, just with different love languages. Roni’s love languag
