Stacey had been the person I trusted most outside my family. During my marriage, I confided in her about Alan’s distance, my fears, the small signs of disconnection. She offered sympathy, advice, and what I believed was genuine concern.

So when she called to say she was engaged to him, I felt the air leave my lungs.

“You’re marrying the man who broke our family,” I said. “And you expect us to stay friends?”

The silence on the other end felt like the final snap of a thread. I ended the call, and with it, our friendship. I wanted nothing more to do with either of them. I poured all my energy into my daughters and the new start I was fighting to create.

For a while, I believed that was the end of our story.