why are people so selfish? why must they lie and cheat and hurt the ones they claim to love?

Because although we should live for ourselves, we should also be courteous and cautious of the feelings of the those who we love. Those who are so self-deluded and who not only live for themselves but only care for their own feelings and not minding who they hurt along the way to get what they want and to be satisfied are so far gone within their own mind that they don’t even know or thoroughly care about anyone else. Those are the type of people that I try to stay away from or when I am aware of their motives and lack of compassion, I remove myself from their life, because their selfishness makes them so blind that they wouldn’t even mind or care if and when I did leave. And when they do care and want me back or to be apart of their life, it’s because of, you got it right, their selfishness for their own feelings. But let me tell you, that isn’t love. They may think it’s love but love isn’t made up of lies, deceit and hurt. Love is the exact opposite of that. Don’t let this person or any person confuse you into thinking that love has anything to do with this. If someone of this nature and this sort say they love you but constantly hurt you, know that they don’t truly love you, because if they did, they wouldn’t intentionally hurt you or when they do, make you feel as if it’s your own fault. You deserve better. You don’t want someone “love” you like this because you deserve someone who actually knows the true meaning of love and shows you it too.