Love can give you the feeling of security, power, and belongingness, but what would happen if your partner is deceiving you in the relationship?

Donald Marcus Welch’s The Love I Thought I Knew is a play script that explores love, trust, and life in general. It follows Karen and Calvin Tisdale as they embark on the journey of life and love while deception comes into play. It reflects scenarios in the real world where people also tend to encounter foul play on trust and love for an individual.

Love is a powerful feeling as it seals two people in a relationship. It provides the drive on both sides of the relationship on how they see the world in a set of a more responsible pair of eyes. However, there can be times when the relationship will be tainted with temptations and deceit. Here are signs that your partner is deceiving you in the relationship.

Sudden and Unexplained Changes in Behavior

In a relationship, you and your partner get to know each other better as you spend time together. However, when you realize that your partner exhibits a sudden change in behavior, you might take a fresh breath of air. Unexplained behaviors, such as coming home late at night, might be a sign that your partner is deceiving you

Sketchy Body Language

As you spend a longer time with your partner in the relationship, you get to learn the different gestures and body language your partner will give off. If you notice sketchy body language that your partner doesn’t normally do, such as not meeting your eyes, turning their body away from you, fidgeting, and touching their face constantly, there is a possibility that your partner is deceiving you.

Avoiding Certain Topics

Being open is one way to keep the flow and flame of a relationship. When you notice your partner is already avoiding specific topics, such as hanging out with a particular person, your partner is showing signs of deception. Try to check if they are dismissive, distant, or becoming vague. These are signs of escaping the moment of being caught.

Gut Feelings

Your partner may tell you you’re delusional for accusing them of cheating. As one-half of the relationship, you should trust your gut. If you have encountered big red flags about your lover, you should brace yourself for the big reveal that your partner is deceiving you. Most of the time, you will feel something is off when the partner tries to cheat on you.

Hesitations When Responding

You will know if your partner is deceiving you when they are getting more and more hesitant when it comes to responding to your concerns. If the response has a longer pause when you ask them a critical question. However, this requires you to know your partner better before you judge.

Stories that Don’t Match Up

Another sign that your partner is deceiving you is the way the stories suddenly don’t match up. Your partner could tell you information that becomes different or forgotten the next time you talk about it. When you notice that some details your partner used to tell you to become different, you should know that they are a deal breaker.

Disproportionately Defensive Responses

When your partner suddenly bursts out their reaction to an innocent question, you should have the idea that they are cheating. A defensive behavior to innocent questions is one of the signs that your partner is deceiving you. You must be ready to dig for information and breathe as you traverse this difficult part of the relationship.

Guarded Privacy

A relationship does not require any of you to surrender passwords on personal accounts. However, if your partner suddenly shows a gratuitous overprotection of their privacy, you should talk to know the reason behind it. Your partner might be deceiving you.

Radio Silent Treatment

If you notice that your partner suddenly becomes unresponsive in your texts or calls, you can become worried about your partner’s status at the time. It is okay to give them time to respond. Nevertheless, your partner is deceiving you if the radio silence means they’ve been seeing a “friend” or a “workmate.”

Fluctuating Intimacy

Once you’re in a relationship with someone, you get to spend intimate time with this certain person. As the days go by, you can get to know your partner more through the moments you share together. If there is a sudden change in your partner’s behavior in bed or if they suddenly withdraw from intimacy, you may be on the brink of knowing your partner is deceiving you in your relationship.

Love and deception can be subjective, but you must be open enough to the possibility that people will use you. Love is powerful, but so is the mind of a deceitful person. Love is a road you take with a lover that should hold you in your journey to the future.