I Understand His Regret, So I Replaced Him Too Chapter 14

I Understand His Regret, So I Replaced Him Too Chapter 14

I thought about all those years.

Sullivan never left me. Not really.

But we could never go back to how things were. Even under the same roof, we were nothing but strangers.

New Year’s. I’d be in the bedroom. He’d be in the study.

He’d be on a video call with her, laughing as they counted down to midnight in unison and wished each other happy new year.

Birthdays. He’d bring a cake. He’d say he’d ordered t from a bakery, but she’d actually baked it

herself.

Anniversaries. He’d give me gifts. Things she liked. He’d forgotten what I liked years ago.

I’d rather he just stayed away. At least I’d have some peace.

I let out a long breath. “Sullivan. Why is it so hard for you to admit you’ve fallen out of love with me, that your heart has moved on?”

“Is it shameful to admit you betrayed the person you used to be, and fell for someone else?”

He looked at me, pain bleeding out of his eyes.

“You say you love me. Say it a lot. Sometimes I start to doubt it. Love can be messy sometimes.”

“When I met Tristan, I did understand you.”

“But I also finally accepted that you don’t love me.”

“He looks like you, so I wanted to help him. I didn’t want him to suffer like you did.”

“But it was never about him. It was about the younger version of you.”

“If time machines existed, I’d go back at any cost, just to give that young Sullivan a brighter, fuller

life.”

“I’ve thought about it-how unlucky that boy was, to never have someone like me to lift him up.”

“So you see, Elara? You do still love me. You care about me, you can’t bear to let me go!” He grabbed my wrist. “So why can’t we try again?”

“The man I loved is dead.”

“I don’t love Tristan. But if you put him next to you, he wins.”

“He reminds me of everything good.”

“You remind me of everything ugly. Selfishness, ugliness, revulsion, betrayal… all the things that

have poisoned what we had..”

“Sullivan. Just admit it.”

“You don’t love me anymore.”

“You don’t want a divorce. You want to ‘start over.’ There are a hundred reasons why.”

“But love isn’t one of them.”