Dear Prudence,
Twenty years ago I was in a relationship with Mark, but it ended when he moved away. Mark married someone else but we kept in touch (emails, Christmas cards, etc). Every year when Mark visited his family back home we got together to have lunch and chat. About eight years ago, he visited for the funeral of his mother and one thing led to another and we kissed, and he admitted he’d never gotten over me and I was the love of his life. I told him I felt the same. We didn’t take it any further and he flew back home, apologized later over email, and said he couldn’t abandon his wife.
This year, I heard that Mark came to visit his family for the holidays for the first time in four years but he didn’t ask to meet with me. Even though we have not talked much lately, I felt hurt. I sent him an email asking him why he didn’t want to see me. He replied by saying that he is married and we can’t act like we did when we were younger and that he loves his wife. I feel I’ve been discarded for no good reason. What’s worse, Mark and his wife are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary in a couple of months and their Facebook pages are full of updates on their plans for their second honeymoon. Deep down I always dreamt he’d leave his wife and get together with me, and now I feel like a fool. I don’t know how to get over this heartbreak. How do I move past this?
—Broken Hearted