Page 32 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

“Yes,” she said, calm and certain. “You fell in love with how he made you feel. The attention. The moments. The version of him you thought was real.”

She paused, letting the words sit.

A tired exhale escaped from me. “All I know now is that I feel this regret not fighting for us.”

“So,” she said, “you fell in love with the what ifs after the what happened.”

I shook my head. “That’s not true.”

“James,” she said, reaching across the table and taking my hand. “Trust me when I say, people actually do fall in love with potential.”

I let out a small, disbelieving laugh. “That sounds like something people say to make themselves feel better after a breakup—well technically, we didn’t have a breakup ‘cause there was no us.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s what people say when they finally see it clearly.”

I frowned, not fully committing to what she was saying.

“He was real,” I said stubbornly.

“I’m not saying he wasn’t,” she replied calmly. “What I’m saying is that you are filling the gaps after your relationship—or situationship—ended.”

I stilled. “What gaps?”

She sighed, took her hand back, and sat straight.

“The ones he never gave you answers to,” she said.

I swallowed.

“You are not attached to him with who he showed you,” she continued. “You got attached with who you think he could be.”

“That’s not fair,” I said quietly.

“It’s not supposed to be fair,” she replied. “It’s supposed to be honest.”

I looked down at the table.

“You remembered the highs,” she said more gently now. “The moments he made you feel chosen and special. And when he was gone, you clung to possibilities of you together like promises. That’s not falling in love with the person, that’s falling in love with potential.”

I didn’t say anything, because I knew exactly what she was talking about.

“After it ended,” she said, “you didn’t let go of him. You held on to the story you were still trying to finish. And the reality is—he decided not to continue. But in your head, you kept going.”

Silence settled between us.

I just sat there, holding my tears back.

“This is the trap, James,” she added. “Potential always feels better than reality. Because in your head, it never disappoints you.”

She reached out for my hand again and squeezed it.

“Real love doesn’t need you to imagine a better version of someone just for them to stay,” she said.

I stared at her, tears welling in my eyes, because that line hit.

Honey gave a small, knowing smile, before picking up the menu again, casually flipping it open like we had just been talking about drinks and not the collapse of my emotional reality.

“I’m getting pasta,” she said.