The Other Woman – by DEE LEAN

The other woman.

I sat across from her looking her in the eyes and holding her gaze. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

I’m not what she expected; I’m not the monster she awaited.

Words fell out of her mouth trying to tell me things that I knew weren’t true. Excuses and reasons on why she tore my life apart.

I stopped her somewhere between the justification and the accusations. I told her she was welcome to him. He held nothing in my heart or my head. A coward from start to end and a problem I was happy to give.

She explained to me that they were in love and love conquers all. My lips curved up in a slight smile.

I tell her, “I’m happy that you’re in love and I owe you many thanks; if it wasn’t for your immoral and dirty behavior I’d still be stuck in a place of routine and unhappiness.”

She opens her mouth to argue but I place a hand up to indicate I have not finished.
“Have you ever been so in love, you would watch the world burn all around you to be with that one person who stops your heart? Have you ever been so in love that you would burn the world down, just to have his touch?”

She looks confused.

“I have and it’s all thanks to you.”

A look of annoyance flashes across her face. She knows she will never have what I have. She thought when she stole what was mine that she had it all. She knows she was wrong.

I think of the man that tore me apart and, for the first time, feel relief. Then I think of the man that put me back together and I feel as close to Nirvana as I’m ever likely to be.

I stand up and beam at her.

“Thank you for all that you’ve done and I’m sorry for your troubles.”

I leave her in utter confusion and I leave a new woman.

I walk out into a whole new world with nothing but peace in my heart.

***

***Dee Lean believes that a writer that doesn’t write is like a soul without a mate; aimlessly wondering without a purpose. Born in Belfast, Ireland, Lean currently lives in Melbourne, Australia and is a single mother to two gorgeous kids that get her up and inspire her to see and seek the good in all. When people ask her what she does, she simply says, “I write.” Lean is now a regular contributor at Sick Lit Magazine. She tweets at: https://twitter.com/Dede18 ***

*Featured image courtesy of Brian Michael Barbeito*