My girlfriend 19f suddenly wants a break because I wasn’t emotionally available during exams I'm 19m
Me and my girlfriend really love each other, and lately we’ve both been going through a very stressful study period. We already talked about how busy we’d be, and agreed to just survive this phase together until things calm down and we can spend more time together again.
The problem is that I genuinely barely have time. Some days I only open my phone for 10 minutes every few hours. But even with that, I thought we were okay and still connected.
Then out of nowhere, she disappeared for an entire day. When she finally replied, she told me she’s been mentally exhausting herself for me and that when she was struggling, I “was never there.” That honestly shocked me because I didn’t even know something was wrong.
Now she says we should stop talking until this stressful period is over, and if we’re still “right for each other” after that, she’ll be there for me again.
I don’t know how to feel about this. Part of me understands that she’s overwhelmed, but another part of me feels hurt that she suddenly pulled away instead of communicating earlier. And honestly, I’m scared that “maybe later” just means goodbye in a softer way.
Why did she do this and shoul be done?