Abusers have not morphed into a new person with their latest victim. Time and time again, the narcissist acts as a magician and presents the greatest illusion of all: the disappearing act, followed by a honeymoon romance with his or her latest victim. Don’t fall for these cheap magic tricks. These are mere provocations staged to upset you and if you look closely at the idealization and devaluation phases in your own relationship with your ex-partner, you’ll realize it’s not a sudden transformation of character – it’s just a sleight of hand.

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