Fan Fiction
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Eternal Flames-Chapter 10
“And then,” Melissa continued, a faint smile ghosting her lips, “We met again. Years later. He was single. I was… skeptical. I still loved him, but I didn’t know if I could trust him not to leave again. He just cut me out no word. I didn’t think he even felt the same way until he confessed. But I gave him a chance to prove it and he convinced me. Said I was the one he should have chose.” She gave a short, bitter laugh. “And for a while, it was good. We married. We built a life. And then, out of nowhere, he left. Just like before—no warning, no reason I could understand. Said he just didn’t feel the same”
Bette’s stomach tightened.
Melissa went on, “So now, here I am, needing to end a marriage I thought I could trust. And I can’t stop wondering if maybe I was a fool for believing the second time would be different.”
Her words echoed in Bette’s head long after she fell silent. Except in her mind, they weren’t Melissa’s words—they were hers.
‘What if I let Tina back in completely, and she decides I’m not what she wants? What if she changes her mind again, and I’m left standing exactly where I was before?’
The thought was a punch to the chest. Tina hadn’t done anything to suggest she’d walk away now—if anything, she’d been patient, steady—but the old wound still ached like it was fresh.
The server came by to refill their drinks, but Bette barely noticed. She guided the conversation back to practical matters—property division, spousal support, timelines—but her focus was fraying. Each time Melissa described letting her guard down only to be left again, Bette could feel the same fear pressing at her ribs.
When lunch ended and Melissa left, Bette sat in the booth a moment longer, her phone already in her hand. The lunch with Tina was on her calendar for tomorrow. She stared at it, her thumb hovering over the screen.
‘Not ready. Not ready. Not ready.’
Before she could talk herself out of it, she typed the message.
Hey, I’m sorry. I’m going to have to cancel lunch. Things are hectic at work right now. Maybe another time.
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Happy to see an update.
I’m a little disappointed Bette cancelled the lunch but i understand her fear, especially after her lunch with her client who experienced almost the same and trusted her once friend and now husband only to be left again.
Tina, stay patient, Bette will get there but it takes time.