better if this ended before we were both in too deep. Robert had his life full of money and fancy things, and I had a simple life that I loved. It was hard, but I liked it that way. I liked the simplicity of it all. We were fundamentally too different, and no matter how much I loved this man, I knew we wouldn’t be able to make things work if we were both trying to bend to what the other wanted.
“Robert, I’m sorry. I love you so much, but this won’t work.”
He nodded, dropping his eyes so he didn’t have to look at me. He laughed humorlessly, swiping at his eyes. “I thought I had you back this time. I thought I could repair what I broke.”
“This isn’t about repairing anything. Maybe this never would have worked. Maybe we were always on different paths. That doesn’t mean that what we had wasn’t amazing. It just wasn’t meant to last.”
He sniffled slightly and took a step back. I could tell he was trying his hardest not to show how upset he was. And when he was gone, I knew it would hit me just as hard. I just had to hold it together, otherwise he would try and convince me we should keep trying. I pulled off the fake wedding ring and held it out for him.
“It was a nice dream, Robert, but we both know it would have never worked.”
He tentatively reached out and took the ring, all the while his hand was shaking. “Just…” He cleared his throat and finally looked up at me. “Let me know if you ever need anything. I’ll always be here for you.”
Before I could respond, he turned and walked out my door. His shoulders sagged as he walked away from, and when I shut the door, the tears finally fell. I slid down the door and dropped my head into my hands, crying over the loss of my best friend, the man I had always loved, and the partner I would no longer have.
Robert
I sat in my office, just days after Christmas, staring at my desk. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I had gone to my brother’s for Christmas, but I hadn’t really been there. All I kept thinking about was Anna, just down the road and all alone. The mood was decidedly depressing. Everyone could feel it, and when I said I was heading home, no one seemed all that upset about it. No one asked me what was wrong. It was like they already knew. And if me handing Kat the wedding rings wasn’t a big enough clue, the fact that I practically started crying when they started looking at all the photos of the wedding on the town Facebook page surely tipped them off.
I was supposed to be spending my vacation with Anna. But since that wasn’t going to happen, I couldn’t just sit around my place. It felt cold and empty. For the first time in years, I didn’t want to be there. I would give anything to be in that old house with her, just fixing up the place and laughing with her. She was right, I had worked hard for my apartment and my car, but that was all I had to show for my success. Sure, I was a successful attorney, but what did that mean if there wasn’t someone to share it with? And the truth was, I had known that all along. Every woman I brought home only cared about my money. They saw my fancy car and immediately saw me as a target.
And all those fucking parties and awards galas that I had to attend, I had always hated them. And the women saw that as an opportunity to find the most powerful man in the room. Anna was right, she didn’t fit in with this crowd, but now I was wondering if I had ever really fit in either. What the hell was I doing here? My life wasn’t fulfilled by helping others get a divorce. My job didn’t make me feel like all those years of sacrifice were worth it. If anything, now all I saw were the years I could have been by Anna’s side.
I thought of my brothers, about how simple their lives seemed. Eric worked hard and owned his own company, and he enjoyed what he did. Joe was apparently now a biker and ready to open his own tattoo parlor. Again, something he wanted to be