There's only one solution: move on, find someone else, and get strong again. The sociopath doesn't feel a thing, so you can only get even if you don't feel a thing for him/she either. I didn't knew, I didn't have a clue, but it's strange if you knew - how did you let yourself fall so deep into his web knowing? Hard to trust again at least in the same way.

I totally relate. I am highly educated. I passed the Bar Exam in three states and practice law. But, I thought a sociopath loved me and I loved him. He was wearing a mask and saw glimpses underneath of the reality, but continued in the mascerade. I suppose it is human nature to do so. But, after 16 months of being "duped" and "conned", I blocked him. Two months went by and he reached out to me and I "relapsed". I am so grateful now to know what sociopath is. I had no idea. I am in shock, but at least I am educated and aware now. I will use my horrifying experience with a disturbed, sick man to help others. I promise I will. That will make it all better. I will continue to trust G-d and know that everything serves a purpose for good if we allow it to....

the future is bright.

I’ve had 2 back to back relationships with sociopaths. I figured out that my attraction is pathological because of things that happened to me in the past. My parents, especially my mother, treated me horribly, but would always say that she loved me and her love felt intense, but if I looked at her actions analytically, I would realize that she was manipulative, selfish and neglectful.
This is when everything started.
Trusting again.. is hard. I m more worried about trusting myself making the right choice.
I am kind of dating a new guy, taking it very slow. I chose him based on the fact that I ve known him for almost 20 years, he has a history of stable, long relationships, he is educated and has 2 jobs.
The other reason why I chose him was another logical choice - through all the time that I ve known him he never said anything inappropriate, never flirted or flattered me in any way. He was respectful of the fact that I was in a relationship.
The only way I knew he was interested is that he asked me to go out with him.
I m looking for the familiar patterns from my last relationships and make sure that they are not there.

I am a survivor of a sociopath- 27 years ago. There was no internet nor did many counselors understand this disorder and how it affected others in the general population. Their work was primarily done in prisons. The Hare checklist ( which puts this disorder in a spectrum) didn’t come out until the 80’s.
Here is what worked best for me. 1. Trust your gut. I always had a feeling their was something wrong. When he lied to me, even about cheating, he would apologize and do the live bombing again.. That sucked me back in. After the third time, the gut said “ Step out of the relation fir a bit.” This was hard to do because of the trauma bonding and I needed support - financial and emotional. It took a while but I did. Intellectual really I noticed others treating me better then he did. I told my family, and they were very happy. The truck is, you got to do this without your sociopathic friends knowing about it. I wasn’t having an affair but I was having a better time out of the relationship. I got a divorce attorney lined up and my family who offered me a place to stay. So it bothered him that I was having a better time with friends then him. He confronted me, but I didn’t say anything just left. For good. ! Went to counseling, that’s when I found out he was a sociopath I was shocked. You will not find the answers from the sociopath . You will get closure from learning about the disorder and from professionals and other survivors, My advice to you is Leave your sociopath, get you life back because you are worth it! Learn what drew you in so you don’t repeat the mistake.

I am a survivor of a sociopath- 27 years ago. There was no internet nor did many counselors understand this disorder and how it affected others in the general population. Their work was primarily done in prisons. The Hare checklist ( which puts this disorder in a spectrum) didn’t come out until the 80’s.
Here is what worked best for me. 1. Trust your gut. I always had a feeling their was something wrong. When he lied to me, even about cheating, he would apologize and do the live bombing again.. That sucked me back in. After the third time, the gut said “ Step out of the relation fir a bit.” This was hard to do because of the trauma bonding and I needed support - financial and emotional. It took a while but I did. Intellectual really I noticed others treating me better then he did. I told my family, and they were very happy. The truck is, you got to do this without your sociopathic friends knowing about it. I wasn’t having an affair but I was having a better time out of the relationship. I got a divorce attorney lined up and my family who offered me a place to stay. So it bothered him that I was having a better time with friends then him. He confronted me, but I didn’t say anything just left. For good. ! Went to counseling, that’s when I found out he was a sociopath I was shocked. You will not find the answers from the sociopath . You will get closure from learning about the disorder and from professionals and other survivors, My advice to you is Leave your sociopath, get you life back because you are worth it! Learn what drew you in so you don’t repeat the mistake.