“In some ways she represented the version of myself I envisaged when I imagined myself free from all my flaws; a person who was loved unconditionally. That was, of course, an image I’d built based on a foundation of assumptions. It was not the whole truth. I’d held Emily up as this idea of perfection, and yet, she’d also been rejected and hurt. That was evidence enough for me to conclude that none of this was personal. There was nothing, no carving of the self, no removal of perceived flaws, that would truly protect me from rejection.”