cloak of honesty

The Cloak of Honesty is an attempt to use truth to protect yourself from the underlying reality of a situation.

You may be seeing someone who feels much more for you than you do for them. By telling them upfront and being very direct that you are not interested in a relationship, and that physical contact will not lead to commitment, technically you are being truthful and honest. However, if you continue physical contact, knowing full well that you are building expectations in their mind despite your words to the contrary, you are "hiding under the cloak of honesty" when you try to convince yourself and others that you are not, in fact, doing anything wrong.

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