Dude,
It happened to all of us. Believe me, the younger is the girl you get with, the more likely she discovers sometime she loved you, not for who you were, but because at that precise moment she may have been needing you and confused that with love. You look like the nice guy that helped her out of hard times, and for that you naturally deserved her affection and she may not have been able to figure the difference at the time. It is right, being too nice with her was not giving her too much challenge, and when those little weak times end and you put them back on their feet, at that time you were Mr unique man because you were the only one there for her, but the moment after she sees the world in a very different way.
I don't know how long you have been with her and if this was serious or not. But when it comes to hurting, it doesn't change much as long as you have been putting a lot of yourself into it. So maybe she discovered herself out of her misery and realized she didn't want to be with you. Maybe, still, she was honest with you when you were together because at that time you brought her the love she needed, and, for sure, love is much more being happy to receive than being happy to give, even though real balance of love is both.
So - yes, she may come back if you cut the love you gave to her. It may take some time though. You may have given her a lot and now she is better with herself, she feels it is way too much and for that natural reaction is rejection because of suffocation. And cutting the affection with her will make her feel of a vacuum, and because of that loss she will like to come back. Too bad, uh ? Because, too, she may not, and the better you prepare yourself for that, the better you will understand that what you give must be given freely and without promises to get it back. It always hurts, and we all see our worlds crumble down as our everlasting love move away from sight, sometimes and more often than expected, for ever.
We are all the same. We all want being loved, and we all suffer because other fails in our expectation of providing us with that. But don't fall on the other side, usually easy and which would only give you back bitterness : playing is good when it serves the balance, and it is useful when the others are not mature enough to know why they really are with you and love you. So they go short in concluding "it is infatuation". Easy to say.
You hurt because your heart is pure in its expectations. But human nature is sadly complex, and she was likely sincere with you and just don't feel it anymore now. You know what ? It is all a matter of what you represent for her. The more deep out of the shit you brought her, the more likely she will like to forget about those times for the safety of her soul. We are all the same.
The man you are will stand and see your role has been fulfilled in the fact you have been giving and receiving affection by helping someone and sharing a true mutual affection for some time. Now, it may continue if you let her breathe outside of your protective arms. Let her take a smell of the garden outside, and remember who she is. The more you will run after her in that freedom garden, the more you will forbid her to take that time to take some distance about all this, and the more likely she will forget about that Man who was there for her to replace it by the vision of a boring dog begging for love, that - however respectable are your feelings - doesn't give you a chance in respectability. Let her remember the Man - be wise, dude - love is giving, not asking. You have only the right to wait and cut any overwhelming affection you may have. Then you open a path for her to miss you. Don't forget love is also something that belongs to you, and that you can only appreciate what you have, not what other don't give you.
Most of the people in life, going through what you live, end up overprotecting themselves and living only for themselves, believing at the end every sentimental relationship is crappy or tied to a fatal end because sooner or later one of the two will get bored. Love is based on happiness to give to the other, being together and having fun. As soon as it is a constraint, it is asked as a due, and as soon as hurt feelings turn lovers into beggers, man love stop being fun, you forget to be the "yourself" that makes all the difference in mutual fun and mutual seduction, and it goes to basics - sex, friendship, social lovers - not real romantic love as we all dreamt about sometime in our life.
If that loves exists, it relies in the capacity to give yourself away. And the more you refuse to suffer, the more you protect yourself, the more you make your life individualistic oriented, the more you will cut yourself from possibilities to love and being loved.
Stand dude. Noble hearts are altruists and share their strength to the extent of the help they bring to others. She will love you for that, not for being crumbled by your misery. She needs like all girls, a stable, however sensitive guy. You are sensitive - now learn to be stable and strong. So let her go if you want to see her back.
Good luck. Life is wonderful. And when maturity comes along, you will find out no happiness is there without learning the price before, and only people knowing why are able to share stable love in the future.
Good luck.
