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She Said: "Open Relationships Are Normal Now — Don’t Be Insecure." After I Found Her Messages...

She Said: "Open Relationships Are Normal Now — Don’t Be Insecure." After I Found Her Messages...

Chapter 6

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I stared at it for a full minute. Then I ripped it in half and tossed it in the trash with the same energy I used to delete her Instagram from my memory.But she wasn't done. Two days later, I got a call from my boss."Hey, Eric. Weird question: did you give someone permission to visit you here?""What? No.""Okay. There was a woman in the lobby asking for you. Said she was your girlfriend."I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "She's not. Sorry about that, won't happen again."It was pathetic now: the persistence, the pressure, the desperate attempts to stage a reunion like this was some rom-com instead of a self-inflicted car crash. But the part that really hit me: she wasn't sorry for what she did. She was sorry she lost access to me.The last straw came on a Sunday afternoon when I stopped by a cafe with some coworkers. We were grabbing coffee before a movie, and as we walked in, I saw her: Sarah, sitting alone by the window with her laptop and headphones, like a woman trying to manifest stability.Our eyes met. I gave a polite nod and turned back to my group. But of course, she got up, walked straight over—fake smile, glossed lips—like she hadn't spent months trying to dismantle my peace."Hi," she said, breathy, like she just ran a mile."Hey," I said, flat and emotionless.She looked past me at my friends. One of them was a woman, a new hire from our dev team. Sarah's eyes narrowed just for a split second. "Can we talk, please?"I stepped aside with her, just enough to keep it civil, but far enough that I could walk away at any second. She folded her arms and looked up at me like she still thought she had leverage."I know you hate me right now.""I don't," I said. "You're just not part of my life anymore."She blinked. That got her. "You really think I'm some monster, don't you?""No, I think you're selfish and impulsive and incredibly good at dressing up betrayal in intellectual language to avoid accountability.""Wow." Her jaw clenched. "You really don't believe in forgiveness?""I believe in it. I just don't believe in recycling red flags."She scoffed. "You think you're better than me now?""No," I said. "I know I am."There it was: the shift. Her whole body tensed like the mask cracked a little too fast."You've changed," she snapped."I have. You helped with that."
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She Said: "Open Relationships Are Normal Now — Don’t Be Insecure." After I Found Her Messages...

8 Part