Love is definitely real. I understand that your alter ego feels cynical about it, and sees life as transactional and a power struggle. That comes from a place of fear.

You can never truly know whether someone "really" loves you. Of course there are people who are very good actors. It's the same kind of question as "how can you know for sure that anyone else apart from you is conscious". They could be projections, or robots. But of course, that is no way to live life, with no trust. You have to have faith at a certain point. And the more people confirm your faith in them, the more faith you have. That's essential to love.

Think about this from your own perspective - whether or not you can be sure of others' love, can you feel love yourself? For other people? For animals? For life itself? That's the main love that matters. :)

As for sex- it is a language and an art form, and a source of pleasure. It can be used to communicate love, it can be used to communicate greed, selfishness, even hatred and contempt. It's up to you what you'll say in that language.