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My Ex Slept With My Friend and Then Blocked Me
Jake* (not his real name, of course) came on strong from day one. We’d been together a while, and he valued words of affirmation. I was more reserved than him, but he was heavy on the compliments and told me he loved me about a million times a day.
His excessive praise was a bit much for me, but I let it slide because it was nice to feel like someone genuinely cared. I often fought for my exes’ attention in previous relationships, and I wasn’t sure where I stood with many of them. I hated it.
It felt good to know that Jake was planning to stick around for the long haul. After all, he reminded me daily that I was marriage material. I was a single mom, yet I’d never been married. Jake made me feel like I was worthy of the commitment I’d always wanted from someone.
I ignored the red flags at first, but don’t we all? I felt loved and appreciated, and that was enough to silence the persistent voice claiming something was wrong. Nothing was wrong. Absolutely nothing. I was just being cynical — at least that’s what I told myself.
I didn’t question Jake when a mutual friend tagged him in a photo with his arms around another mutual friend, Shayla*. Jake was ready with an explanation anyway, and he detailed how he ran into…
