Gemotions

He saw her, and his stomach plummeted. Chloe, the woman who had replaced him, was here. Alex had thought he was prepared, that time had healed the wound. He was wrong.

He busied himself at the bar, ordering a drink. He needed something, anything, to dull the sharp edges of the moment. He watched her from afar, pretending not to notice.

He watched her and saw her smile and knew that he had been an absolute fool. He took a long, hard sip of his drink and the feeling in his gut was stronger than anything he'd felt in years. He thought of all the things he would never have, of everything he had lost.