Adain Michael's "I thought he loved me" tells the story of a relationship falling apart through messages. The poem alternates between what the man says, set in quotation marks, and how the speaker responds. At the start his words are big and loving: "the love of my life," "I want only you." She believes and trusts him. But the quotes get shorter and colder, ending in things like "Can't talk" and "Don't be mad," while her reactions move from trust to worry, upset, and tears.
The speaker feels hurt, confused, and desperate to hold on. "I wanted to believe him" is the most honest line, since it shows she may have sensed the truth already. The shock comes near the end, when she learns he was messaging other women and that there were 19 of them. The mood is sad and uneasy, and the plain, flat lines make the betrayal feel even more painful. The final number lands like a blunt, cold fact.