Have you ever liked someone not for who they were but for who you imagined them to be?

Maybe this is where the term “love is blind comes from” I don’t really know. 🤷🏽‍♀️

But I know that I can get lost in liking someone for their potential and not seeing who they really are. Oops, sorry…

Thus, this poem was born.

See, loving someone for who they could be, rather than who they are, is not really love—it’s longing. 💔✨

This unsent love letter reflects expectations, illusions, and the fear of losing something that was never real.

“I’m Sorry “A Heartfelt Love Letter on Letting Go”

I’m Sorry My Love Was Not Free

Love should be unconditional, but sometimes, we wrap it so tightly around expectations that it suffocates.

I wanted to believe in you, but more than that, I wanted to believe in your version that existed in my mind.

“I didn’t just want you—
I wanted the you I imagined.
The one I shaped in my mind,
the one I could hold onto
without fear of losing.”

How often do we fall in love with the idea of someone rather than who they truly are?

I feared that I might not like what I found if I saw the real you. That fear wasn’t about you—it was about me. About my doubts, my need for certainty, my longing for something safe.

The Pain of Romanticizing a Future That Never Existed

Unrequited love isn’t just about loving someone who doesn’t love you back. Sometimes, it’s about mourning the illusion you created—the future you fantasized about but never lived.

“My mind wandered too far ahead,
romanticizing a future
where you were the one.
And I liked it.”

In love, we don’t just see people—we project onto them. We fill in the blanks with our deepest desires, our hopes, our dreams.

And when reality doesn’t align with the fantasy, we feel betrayed, even though the only one who made the promise was us.

Was It Love, or Was It Fear?

I wanted to be perfect for you. I wanted to fit into your world so seamlessly that you’d never want to leave. But in doing so, did I lose myself?

“I wanted to be perfect for you.
To look my best beside you.
To never embarrass you,
never bring you down,
never judge you.”

Maybe that’s where I went wrong. Love should never come at the cost of self-worth.

In trying to be the perfect partner, I ignored the red flags, the doubts, the quiet voice inside me whispering that something wasn’t right.

And maybe I did judge you—not for who you were, but for who you had been. In questioning your past, in trying to protect my heart from the unknown, I exposed my own insecurities.

“Maybe that was my darkness
revealing itself,
that this was not love.”

Letting Go of the Fantasy, Embracing the Truth

This is what I wish I had said to you.
This is the love letter I never sent.
This is my way of saying goodbye—not just to you, but to the version of you I created.

If you’re reading this and you’ve loved someone who wasn’t really there, know that you’re not alone. Heartbreak isn’t just about losing someone—it’s about losing the version of them that only existed in your heart.

But there’s freedom in that.
Because when we let go of the illusion, we make space for real love.