This scenario reminds me of that little "if you don't love me I love you, if you love me I don't love you" game, often played by persons who don't really love themselves. Somewhere in their mind they don't feel worthy enough to be loved, so every person truly loving them eventually loses his/her value in their eyes - and they lose interest, to look for someone "better", that means, who does not love them of course.
So, if this is the case here, if the woman would run away again, maybe she would regain some value in his eyes and he would run after her again. But hey, that's not healthy!
But I don't know if this is the case here, as it is purely hypothetical. Maybe he's only interested in a difficult challenge. Then he does not love her as a person but as a symbol. And hey, that's not healthy!
