The way I personally read it is that the cards are answering the person asking the question, so the spread is usually centered around your perspective and your connection to the situation.
For a past/present/future spread, I see the first card as the background or foundation of what led to the current situation. In your example, it could point to the history between you and that person, old patterns, past arguments, good memories, or even something from your own past that’s still influencing the relationship now. Basically, it’s the “how did we get here?” card.
The second card is the present situation and usually the most important one to me. That’s where I look for guidance about what’s happening right now and what energy you should focus on. I often treat it like the advice card — what needs attention, what action should be taken, or what mindset you should have moving forward.
The third card is the future or likely outcome. I don’t personally think tarot predicts the future in a fixed way, but I do think it shows where things are heading if nothing changes, or what could happen if you follow the advice from the present card. Depending on the cards, that could mean reconciliation, distance, healing, conflict, friendship, closure, etc.
Tarot can definitely feel confusing at first, especially with spreads like this, but it gets easier with practice. A lot of it comes down to intuition and learning how the cards connect to each other in context. Keep practicing and pay attention to your first impressions when you look at the cards — that helped me a lot when I was starting out.
