Trust is both fundamental to any relationship and also very hard to rebuild once it’s been torn down. For example, showing a creative passion project to a loved one for some feedback is an act of trust, and sometimes it doesn’t go well for either party.
A woman asked the internet for advice on what to do with her rather dramatic boyfriend, who called the cops on her over the contents of her novel. While she didn’t go into detail, apparently the story was dark enough that he thought, for some reason, the police needed to be involved. We reached out to her via private message and will update the article when she gets back to us.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that sometimes fiction can get rather dark
Image credits: EkaterinaPereslavtseva (not the actual photo)
But one woman didn’t know how to move on when her BF called the cops over her novel
Image credits: YuriArcursPeopleimages (not the actual photo)
Image credits: throwRAmentalgymnist
It can be pretty hard to come back from a break of trust in a relationship
When this story hit the internet, commenters didn’t just side with the writer, they practically formed a chorus urging her to run. The boyfriend’s behavior was labeled controlling, manipulative and at minimum a massive red flag. But what makes this scenario particularly fascinating isn’t just whether the boyfriend made an honest mistake, it’s what his actions reveal about the invisible calculations of trust that relationships require, and why his explanation fails so spectacularly under even gentle scrutiny.
Research on trust in romantic relationships identifies several key components: reliability, emotional safety, and the belief that your partner acts in your best interest. The boyfriend violated all three simultaneously. He proved unreliable by failing to communicate his concerns directly. He destroyed emotional safety by involving authorities in her creative work without warning. And most damningly, his explanation for why he did it doesn’t hold up under basic logical examination.
What makes this particularly insidious is how the boyfriend framed his betrayal. He positioned himself as the concerned party who made an understandable mistake, suggesting she should be grateful he cared enough to worry. This is a classic manipulation tactic where someone does something harmful and then reframes your reasonable anger as unreasonableness. Research on gaslighting indicates that one common pattern involves making someone doubt their legitimate feelings by suggesting their reaction is disproportionate to an “honest mistake.”
Image credits: drobotdean (not the actual photo)
The boyfriend’s explanation didn’t really make sense
But commenters saw through this immediately because the story doesn’t pass the smell test. The writer has been publishing dark fiction for years. The boyfriend has a degree in creative writing, meaning he’s presumably been exposed to disturbing fictional content in academic settings. He’s read her material before. This particular chapter wasn’t even her darkest work, allegedly. Yet suddenly, this one chapter was so realistic and disturbing that he needed to involve law enforcement, but not so disturbing that he couldn’t continue sleeping over and acting normally?
The more interesting question commenters grappled with was: what was he actually trying to accomplish? Some suggested he was testing how much control he could exert. Others wondered if he was trying to embarrass or intimidate her. Some speculated he wanted to see how she’d react to a betrayal of this magnitude, testing whether she’d accept his flimsy excuse. Research on power dynamics in relationships shows that sometimes partners engage in behaviors designed to destabilize the other person’s sense of reality or autonomy, and the boyfriend’s actions fit this pattern disturbingly well.
Image credits: cookie_studio (not the actual photo)
While there might be things missing from the story, it’s hard to just ignore the boyfriend’s actions
What’s particularly revealing is his response when confronted. He didn’t express genuine remorse or horror at what he’d put her through. He defended his actions, insisted she should understand, and wanted her to drop it. Studies on authentic apologies versus manipulative ones show that real remorse involves taking full responsibility without qualifications. His response was textbook deflection, he acknowledged the inconvenience while maintaining he was justified in creating it.
The writer’s question about whether this could be an “honest-to-god mistake” reveals something poignant about how people in relationships talk themselves into accepting unacceptable behavior. She’s searching for an explanation that allows her to stay, that preserves the relationship she thought she had. But commenters overwhelmingly pushed back because they recognized what she was struggling to see: even if we grant that calling the police was somehow a panic response rather than calculated manipulation, his refusal to fully own the severity of what he did is the real problem.
Image credits: dmytro_sidelnikov (not the actual photo)
She shared some more info in the comments
Readers were shocked at his decision to call the police
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I am, and know a lot of other, fiction writers and we all dread the day our laptops have to go in for a repair and we forget to wipe our search history first! We've laughed about what an outsider would think. Between us we've researched everything from how to commit the perfect murd*r, how to make Molotov cocktails from household ingredients, usage of every type of gun/knife/etc... But this guy's reaction is just stupid - just because you've got a good imagination and Googled eg t*rture methods for the character you're writing doesn't mean you've actually practiced on someone. If, on the other hand, he knew that then he's just doing it to cause trouble for her.
Right. I am a writer as well, never want anyone to see my Google search history, because yikes.
Load More Replies...Her boyfriend has serious issues. Did he think the police were going to do a fiction writing intervention? W*F. So she’s a horror writer. Big deal. He’s a loser. She shouldn’t waste time working through anything with him. Spend that time and energy on writing instead!
I am, and know a lot of other, fiction writers and we all dread the day our laptops have to go in for a repair and we forget to wipe our search history first! We've laughed about what an outsider would think. Between us we've researched everything from how to commit the perfect murd*r, how to make Molotov cocktails from household ingredients, usage of every type of gun/knife/etc... But this guy's reaction is just stupid - just because you've got a good imagination and Googled eg t*rture methods for the character you're writing doesn't mean you've actually practiced on someone. If, on the other hand, he knew that then he's just doing it to cause trouble for her.
Right. I am a writer as well, never want anyone to see my Google search history, because yikes.
Load More Replies...Her boyfriend has serious issues. Did he think the police were going to do a fiction writing intervention? W*F. So she’s a horror writer. Big deal. He’s a loser. She shouldn’t waste time working through anything with him. Spend that time and energy on writing instead!












































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