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.

Someone brought up a dumb TikTok game, the kind where everyone answers personal questions while trying not to judge each other. It was silly, harmless, a little embarrassing. At least it was supposed to be.

Everything was going fine until someone asked, “If you could relive one relationship, which one would it be?”

Without thinking, Tessa said, “Oh, probably Dylan.”

Just like that. Dylan. Her college ex.

The man who had cheated on her. The man she once described as selfish, unreliable, and emotionally exhausting. The person she had sworn taught her exactly what she did not want in a partner.

The table went quiet in that awkward way where everyone suddenly becomes too interested in their drinks. Tessa seemed to realize what she had said a second too late. She laughed, quick and nervous, and lifted her hands as if she could push the words back into the air.