Someone once asked...

“Why do I miss people who were never good for me?”

Someone answered with kindness...

A young woman once asked me why she still longed for someone who had hurt her badly. She expected me to tell her that longing was a mistake. I told her it wasn't. You don't miss the harm. You miss the version of them you first believed in, and the version of yourself that still had hope intact. Missing someone isn't proof that they deserved to stay. It's proof that you're capable of attachment, of hope, of love — which are not flaws, even when they were spent on the wrong person. Grieve the hope. Just don't mistake it for a reason to go back.