I would like to hear from those of you who have successfully pulled the romantic long con. What is the point? Do you intentionally set out to destroy the person, or are you just really into the chase?
I believe it's all karma. Some people are aware they are acting out karma when they choose and abuse victims. Some people aren't.
If you take responsibility for assessing and addressing your own karma, then you won't get caught up in someone else's. You will be able to see it coming, and take steps to direct it in other ways.
If you really want to stop this, you can ask to talk it all out. Open and honestly, even accepting to work with this person "no matter what it takes." If this person cannot help the karma they have with you, they will have no choice but to work it out anyway. So you can choose how openly you want to address what's going on.
If you are just another random hit, this person will go look for an easier target.
So this is why you need to know what your half of this puzzle is, take care of your side of the equation, and don't let other people get in and try to control your side.
Does this make sense?
Take care of your issues with the support and company of people who WON'T take advantage of your issues and try to manipulate/use them against you. Let this person handle their own issues, focus on your own. If they are only interested in playing games, they won't hang around someone like you who is committed to resolving problems. When you make this commitment to change yourself and life for the better, you attract good people who are better for you.
When it's about romance, it's desire for the chase, the intensity of the thrill, the new exciting depth of connection, it sets of parts of the reward center of the brain... it is intoxicating for both parties... I doubt it would be done for the sheer want of causing harm, I'm sure the person very much doesn't even realize what they're doing.
Someone would need to be especially devious and sadistic to allow themselves to grow attached to someone just to hurt them... is there a reason this person would have a vendetta against you?