How do I know if my partner's infidelity was a one-time mistake or a pattern?

Mirabai teaches us that the heart reveals itself through repetition—not through a single gesture, but through the texture of devotion over time. One infidelity doesn't automatically mean serial betrayal, but it does crack open a question: what was the architecture of the lie? A one-time moment often has a specific gravity—stress, disconnection, a particular vulnerability. A pattern, though, has its own rhythm: the same justifications, the same secrecy, the same way of compartmentalizing you from that other part of their life. Listen for consistency, not in the act itself but in how they respond after. Do they examine what happened, or do they minimize it? Are they willing to be uncomfortable enough to change the conditions that made betrayal possible? One affair can be survived if both people are willing to grieve what broke and rebuild differently. A pattern suggests someone hasn't yet chosen you—not once, but repeatedly. Trust your own pattern-recognition too. Your body often knows before your mind does. What does the weight of their behavior, taken together, actually tell you about who they are and what they're capable of?