I too love someone who hurt me badly. It took a long time apart where I completely broke away, gained a whole lot more self esteem and made a new great life for myself. When he made contact again, I was in a good place and made sure things were on my terms. We forged a friendship again and took about 6 months of talking and meet ups before anything happened as he had to regain my trust. I made it crystal clear that I would not accept any crap ever again. That was 17 years ago and we remain together with 2 children.
So it can be done, but it’s not easy or guaranteed. If both are willing to make it work and the one who was hurt is assertive about what has to be done to make it work, then there is indeed a chance.
