Chapter 7

"Is that girl you're with your new girlfriend?""Not that it's any of your business, but no, she's just a friend."She tried to play it cool, but the jealousy was bleeding out of her. "I was lost, Eric. I didn't know what I wanted.""You did," I said. "You wanted freedom, attention, options. And you got them. But none of them chose you back, did they?"She stared at me like I'd slapped her. But I wasn't being cruel; I was being honest. Something she never gave me."You act like I ruined everything.""You did," I said simply. "But the good news is you did me a favor: you showed me exactly what to avoid for the rest of my life."She was breathing heavier now, voice tight. "You're being so cold.""No, I'm being clear. I'm not angry, Sarah. I just don't care anymore."She shook her head. "So that's it? You're done with me forever?""I was done the night you looked me in the eye and told me open relationships were normal. You wanted the door open; I walked out of it."Then I turned back to my group and left her standing there. No drama, no scene—just a woman holding the consequences of her choices with no one left to blame.That was the last time I ever saw her. No more emails, no more surprise visits, no more friends reaching out to vouch for her. Just silence.Maybe she finally got the message. Maybe she realized that whatever spell she used to cast over me—the charm, the gaslighting, the performative self-importance—didn't work anymore. Maybe she understood that the version of me who would have taken her back out of guilt was long gone. Or maybe, like every option she chased, she just got bored once she realized there was no attention left to harvest. I never really cared to find out.In the months that followed, life got better. Not overnight, but steadily, quietly. I got promoted at work, started leading a new product team, picked up a new hobby: boxing. There was something therapeutic about hitting a heavy bag in complete silence: no words, no debates, no manipulation—just release. I moved into a new place: bigger kitchen, better light, no ghosts.And yeah, I started dating again: carefully, slowly. No rushing, no desperation, just seeing people for who they really are, not who I wanted them to be.One of them, a woman named Leah, is still around. We're not in a hurry to label anything, but she's the most emotionally grounded person I've met in years. She listens more than she talks. She asks questions, not accusations.

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