Breadcrumbing is the architecture of maintained ambiguity. The occasional text. The like at 2am. The just-enough contact that preserves optionality for one person at the cost of everything for the other. It's not always malicious — sometimes it's conflict avoidance, sometimes genuine ambivalence. It rarely matters which.

Anonymous thoughts about breadcrumbing posted here are from both sides — the people managing options and the people being managed. The honest account of being kept, and what it's like to keep someone.