1. She is not going to trust you at first. It doesn’t matter what you do, because it is not about you. It is about her and what she has been through in the past. Her last relationship made her skeptical. It turned her into a pessimist. It made her wonder if love always ends in heartache.

2. It is going to take her a while to open up to you. At first, she will only give you surface info — where she went to college, what she likes to do for fun. She won’t want to go into detail about her childhood or her parents or her darkest fears. She won’t want to whisper secrets into the air until she is sure that you are there to stay.

3. She is used to toxic relationships, so when you enter her life, she might be suspicious. She might think that you are too good to be true. Being treated well is new to her. It’s something that she is going to have to get used to over time.

4. She is going to become uncomfortable if you try to move too fast. She won’t want you to buy her a ring or introduce her to your parents after only a few dates. She will want to take her time to make sure that she isn’t making another huge mistake in love.

5. She probably won’t flattered by ‘typical’ romance. Receiving a bouquet of flowers or a sparkly ring might just make her laugh. It will mean more to her if you keep your promises. If you stick by her side when it matters. If you show her you love her with your sweet actions instead of just buying her stuff.

6. She might not want to get married or have children. Ever. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t serious about you. She believes that two people can love each other forever without a piece of paper or a seed in their stomach.

7. No matter how much she loves you, she probably has a backup plan. Extra money stored away and a place she can crash if you break up. It’s not that she is expecting your relationship to fail. She is just prepared for the possibility.

8. She will have moments of insecurity, when she wonders if she is cut out for a real relationship. If she deserves all of the love that you are giving her.

9. There are times when she might slip up and treat you like a criminal — she might accuse you of cheating or snoop through your phone — because she is letting her baggage eclipse her common sense. Of course, she realizes that punishing you for what her ex did is uncalled for. So if she really loves and trusts you, she’ll try hard to stop it from happening again. She’ll make sure she doesn’t confuse your behavior with her ex’s behavior.

10. She is afraid of commitment after what she went through, which is why she isn’t going to enter an official relationship with you unless she is serious about you. Unless she honestly believes that you two have what it takes to last forever. So don’t let her down. Don’t screw her over again.