I ended my engagement after my fiancée asked for a break to see if her ex still meant something to her. She thought I would sit and wait inside the life we had spent four years building — until three days later, her mother called me, and Tessa finally realized I was never her backup plan.

She paused, as if searching for the right words. Then she stopped searching and simply came out with it.

“I’ve been thinking about us,” she said, “and about Dylan.”

I almost laughed. Not because it was funny, but because the alternative was letting the floor drop out from under me. “Dylan?” I said.

“Are you serious? What about him?”

She bit her lip and looked away. “I think I need some time to consider things.

I’d like to take a break and see whether there’s still something there with him.”

For a few seconds, I could not make sense of the words. “You want to take a break,” I said slowly, “so you can date your ex?”

“It’s not like that.”