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Peter stared at Sarah’s message for several seconds.
“I need to talk to you.”
A few weeks earlier, those words were exactly what he had been praying to hear.
Now they made him uncomfortable.
Emma noticed.
“What did she say?”
Peter turned the phone toward her.
Emma read the message.
She smiled, but it wasn’t the same smile as before.
“You should go.”
Peter looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you sound disappointed?”
Emma looked away.
“I’m not.”
But they both knew she was lying.
The entire plan had started with one goal:
Get their exes back.
And now, somehow, neither Peter nor Emma was thinking about the plan anymore.
The next afternoon, Peter met Sarah.
She was sitting at a restaurant they used to visit together.
When Peter walked in, Sarah stood up.
For a moment, neither spoke.
She looked at him carefully.
“You seem different.”
Peter smiled politely.
“I’ve been doing okay.”
Sarah looked down.
“I’ve been thinking about us.”
Peter’s heart should have jumped.
Instead, he felt strangely calm.
“I miss what we had,” Sarah continued.
Peter took a breath.
“You left.”
“I know.”
“You chose someone else.”
“I know.”
“And now that I’m seeing someone new, you suddenly miss me?”
Sarah’s eyes filled with tears.
“It’s not that simple.”
Peter almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
Then she reached across the table.
“Do you still love me?”
Peter didn’t answer.
Because for the first time, he genuinely didn’t know.
Meanwhile, Emma was facing her own problem.
Daniel had asked her to meet him.
He told her that seeing her with Peter had made him realize something.
“I made a mistake,” he said.
Emma stared at him.
“You had four years to realize that.”
“I know.”
“You didn’t want me when I was waiting for you.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“And now?”
“Now I’m not waiting.”
Those words surprised even Emma.
Because they were true.
She had spent months imagining Daniel coming back.
She had imagined forgiving him.
She had imagined starting over.
But now that he was standing in front of her…
she didn’t feel the same.
She felt free.
Later that evening, Peter and Emma met at the same coffee shop where everything had started.
They sat across from each other.
Neither mentioned their ex.
Finally, Emma asked:
“Did you get what you wanted?”
Peter looked at her.
“I think so.”
She nodded.
“Me too.”
Another silence.
Then Peter laughed softly.
“This is weird.”
“What?”
“We started this because we wanted Sarah and Daniel back.”
Emma smiled.
“And now?”
Peter looked directly into her eyes.
“Now I don’t think I want Sarah back.”
Emma’s smile disappeared.
Peter continued.
“I think I want something else.”
Emma’s heart began beating faster.
“What?”
Peter reached across the table.
“You.”
Emma didn’t move.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to disappear.
Then she whispered:
“But what if this is just because we’re both lonely?”
Peter shook his head.
“I thought about that.”
“And?”
“I realized something.”
“What?”
“If this were just loneliness, I wouldn’t be terrified of losing you.”
Emma’s eyes filled with tears.
She had never expected to hear those words.
But before she could answer, someone walked into the coffee shop.
Sarah.
And behind her…
Daniel.
They had apparently discovered that Peter and Emma were together.
Sarah looked at Peter.
Daniel looked at Emma.
Then Sarah said something that made everyone freeze.
“I know what you two have been doing.”
Peter’s face went pale.
Emma slowly turned toward him.
Sarah continued:
“You didn’t really fall in love with each other.”
She smiled.
“You were only using each other to make us jealous.”
Peter and Emma exchanged a nervous glance.
Their secret was out.
But Sarah wasn’t finished.
She stepped closer and said:
“And I know exactly how to stop it.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
