Being chosen and being convenient can look the same for a while. Time tells you which one it was.

Being somebody’s option and being their choice can look identical for months, since both involve seeing each other. The difference appears when you are inconvenient: when the plan takes effort, when something better comes up, when you are the one who needs something. Convenient is not an insult and it is not a betrayal. It is a category people drift into without ever deciding.

Rather than asking how somebody feels, watch what they arrange. Notice who reaches out when nothing is required of you. Then put your best hours where the answer is obvious.