I remember early in their relationship Chantal asked Nader why he keeps engaging with trolls and women he doesn't know online and he said he does it because he likes messing with people's heads.
What's that saying about "when a man tells you who he really is...?"
Nader is enjoying this. He can get rid of her anytime he wants to. But he doesn't want to...yet. He is yanking on her puppet strings, openly and gleefully. I have no doubt he's gaslighting the hell out of her behind closed doors. I bet he's never had a woman make this big a fool of herself over him.
He'll keep the game going, taking and taking from her until the well has run dry, or until it's no longer amusing. As broke as he is, this guy survived an entire life before her, and he knows he'll be fine after her. He will walk away from her before he ever allows her to take over his entire life the way she wants to. Then he'll move on and never think about her again, except as a funny anecdote to tell at parties. Meanwhile, she'll spend the rest of her life thinking about him often, and getting triggered every time.
As bad as this is, I keep thinking how much worse it would be if they lived together.