Codependent Relationship Novels & Stories

"It's not a debt. As I said, I can give you everything except my feelings as long as you become Missus Holden for three months." Corinne raised her head, and she looked at him with clear eyes as she said, "A relationship between two people essentially starts with owing something to each other. Whether it's favors or money, what's given must be returned, and what's owed must be repaid. It's a two-way street, and that's how relationships start to become complicated and muddy. Once that happens, it'll be difficult to sever ties amiably, so I just try to avoid it." Jeremy frowned slightly. "You seem to be eagerly looking forward to the day that you can finally leave."

The internet defines a toxic relationship as "any relationship [between people who] don't support each other, where there's conflict and one seeks to undermine the other, where there's competition, where there's disrespect and a lack of cohesiveness." The problem is... sometimes there's excitement in competition. Sometimes the disrespect and lack of support just makes you want someone more. Sometimes, the passion and intense feelings outweigh the negatives.

Adrian said quietly. "I'm verifying whether partnership maintains autonomy," Reeves corrected. "Because from where I sit, it looks like you're becoming dependent. Making the Council a de facto partner in every decision." "We're being collaborative," I said. "That's different from dependent." "Is it?" Reeves asked. "Because collaborative becomes habitual. Habitual becomes necessary. Necessary becomes dependent. And dependent becomes subjugation you don't even recognize as you're sliding into it." He pushed the tablet toward us. "I'm not your enemy," he said. "I'm the mirror showing you what you might not want to see."

But the look on May’s face told me that she did not buy a fucking word. “I don’t think we love each other. I just think we are stuck with each other for the time being. I think we are… codependent. As much as I do not want her to be right, she is. Once those thirty days expire, you will leave. But it is alright. She will be there. She will take me back. Because it is her responsibility.” “What happening to us tumbling down this hole Snuggle has dug for us?”

"How could he not know? Even if he hadn't known before, they were just all over each other in front of him." "And he's just letting it happen?" "Who knows? But Mr. Ford has plenty of women on the side, too. Maybe their marriage was arranged by the families, so there are no real feelings between them." "That's possible. Maybe that's why they each have their separate love lives." No real feelings? Ethan practically fled back to his room. "Our relationship… It had a foundation of 15 years," Ethan thought.

She hasn’t stopped begging me to forgive her and explaining herself to me, even though we both know that me finding her with another man isn’t the real reason I am leaving. It’s not that I can’t forgive her, but it’s more that I can’t forgive myself for letting our relationship get to this point. I feel ashamed that we’ve taken things this far. But I guess there’s a certain degree of permanence to purchasing a home together, having a mortgage together, a joint bank account, a joint credit card. There is nothing physically tying us down, but somehow it felt inescapable. Even though it feels like my heart was long gone. I haven’t been present for a long time now.

The true test, she understood, would be in how they navigated the complexities that would inevitably arise, how they learned to support each other’s individual growth while strengthening their bond. Her own experiences, particularly the intense and ultimately painful entanglement with Earnest, had served as an invaluable, albeit difficult, teacher. She had learned to identify the subtle signs of codependency, the way one person's happiness could become entirely dependent on the other's approval. She had recognized the danger of sacrificing one's own needs and desires for the sake of maintaining a relationship, a practice that inevitably led to resentment and a loss of self. This was not to s

Cami glanced at her. “I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.” Ariana considered that. “Or like anything was missing from you?” Cami shook her head slightly. “No.” A pause. “But I still thought about you both.” That landed softly. Not heavily. Just… honestly. — Mateo spoke then. “That’s what connection looks like when it’s steady.” Cami looked at him. “Even when you’re not together.” “Especially then,” he said. A pause. “Otherwise it’s dependence.”

"As it did with you, aside from the problem you already presented because of the absence of a family figure, getting involved in this destructive relationship led to the depression you are going through right now." "I understand," I say with a question gnawing at my head. "Ah, doctor, can I ask you something?" "Of course." "What if my ex-partner also presented that dependence on me?" "Well, this type of behavior can occur due to several factors. Yours already recognized, but in order to determine what led him to generate this type of behavior, I would have to know if it was due to low self-esteem, lack of attachment in his childhood or some traumatic experience in his past that marked him."

"Even if Noah was going to be a better leader, it wouldn't be worth making your mate feel like he wasn't good enough. Your job is to protect your other half, not hurt them. I mean, we all make mistakes, but that's a blow that could permanently damage a relationship. How would you feel if he told you that you weren't a good enough leader to take over as Alpha over the bears?" I bristled at the thought… then realized what that meant. "Shit." I’d been even more of a bitch than I’d realized. "Yup." We stared out at the trees together. "Do you ever miss the independence you had, before you met dad?" I wondered. "No. Independence is good, but companionship is better as long as you’ve got the right