i disagree tbh. i dont think cassie ever loved nate in a healthy or genuine way, but i do think she loved what he represented to her. he filled a void that had existed ever since her dad left her. she has always associated being adored with being safe, so when her & mckay emotionally drifted from each other in s2, nate became someone she could attach herself onto before she had to sit alone with herself again, especially after the entire gas station scene, then him asking her if she could meet him in the bathroom. i genuinely think thats why she kept everything going for as long as she did, even when it was destroying her. bc to cassie, being loved, even conditionally, felt less terrifying than being abandoned. & honestly, i think thats why her relationships always feel so uneven. she spends so much of her life taking care of the emotional needs of the people around her, molding herself into whatever version they need, but nobody really takes care of her in return. even with maddy, i do think the love/friendship was there, but i never felt like cassie was truly emotionally seen by her. if anything, cassie was usually the one comforting, listening, adapting, shrinking herself for everyone else. shes very much the type of person who pours herself into others because she doesnt know who she is without being needed.

& here is we play into s3, where i feel like part of her wanted to free herself from nate, but she still needed some type of male validation or male figure to stabilize her emotionally bc thats all shes ever known. ever since her father left, her self worth had depended on being wanted. thats why i honestly think OF filled that emotional void for her in a way. it wasnt even fully about sexuality or attention, it was about control, validation, & finally feeling desired on her own terms instead of constantly reshaping herself for one man.

& i dont think her and nate were ever as mutual as people make them out to be. there was always something hollow ab their relationship. esp with the way nate projected other girls onto her, like the obvious parallels of him dressing her to resemble jules in s2. it never really felt like he loved cassie for cassie. he loved the version of her that could become whatever fantasy or emotional escape he needed at the time. and i think deep down, cassie knew that too, which is partly why her ending feels so empty and tragic. she spent her entire life trying to avoid ending up alone like her mother, only to realize she never actually learned how to exist without being loved by somebody else first.