Pancakes for a Stranger's Love

Marsh

y a man who would never let go of your hand, no matter what." My

betrayal, it was the erasure. The way he had so easily replaced me, replaced our life, repl

ed, the tears finally coming in a silent torrent that left me gasping for air.

charging on the bedside table, suddenly rang

with concern. "I've been trying to reach yo

ess washed over me. "No

d, her voice bubbling with an almost m

clenched.

e fancy one downtown? And who do I see? Bennett! And he was

hone, my breath caught in my throat. I al

ck! And you know what else? It was that design. The one you showed him last year, the one you

ut, a whimsical wish, never truly expecting him to buy it. And his dismissive r

t seem to notice my silence. She just kept going, painting a vivi

erything she said. He looked at her... he looked at her the way he used to look

k, only for him to nod vaguely, his eyes already drifting back to his laptop. The times I'd yearned for a

his attention, his money, his genuine affection. Everything he had denied me, he was showering on he

uiet. Are you okay?" Cassidy' s v

ossibly heavy in my hand. He hadn't just chosen another woman. He had actively chosen t

have to go, Cass," and

ted chatter. It pressed in on me, amplifying the emptiness

e sacrifice I' d made for Bennett, for "us," felt like a cruel joke. I had given up my graphic design career, my artistic ambitions

no husband. Just the crushing realization that I had