Maria had been looking forward to tonight. After a promising first date last week, David had suggested dinner for Valentine’s Day. She felt a flicker of excitement—maybe this time would be different. Then, this afternoon, his text arrived: “Something came up. Need to cancel. Can we reschedule?” Her stomach dropped. She stared at the screen, …
Three years after her divorce, Diana was tired. She’d tried everything—at least that’s what she told her friends. She kept her dating profile active. She went to her community’s singles events. She said yes when friends offered to set her up. But somehow, each year felt like a replay of the last. She’d start January …
The wedding album fell open to them dancing and looking so happy. Lisa hadn’t meant to find it. She’d been organizing the linen closet when it slipped off the shelf. Now she sat on the floor, feeling the familiar sadness wash over her. “You’ll feel better once you start dating again,” her sister had said …
Sarah laughed as she recounted her latest online dating experience to her friends over coffee. “So there I was, all dressed up for our first meeting, and guess what? He never showed up. Not even a message to cancel!” Her friend Lisa chimed in with the inevitable success story: “My cousin met her husband online …
Margaret smoothed her dress before walking into her friend’s dinner party. At fifty-four, she felt self-conscious at these gatherings. “Maggie! Come in!” Susan embraced her. “You look wonderful. Are you seeing anyone special these days?” Her stomach tightened. “No, not right now,” she answered, hearing a slight apologetic tone in her voice that surprised her. …
The morning Sarah turned fifty-nine, she woke up alone in the house she’d shared with Mark for twenty-eight years. Three months after their marriage ended with a quiet Sunday evening conversation, she still struggled with the silence. Empty rooms that once held the comfortable rhythm of their shared life now echoed with questions she never …
She wrapped up her call, a major deal successfully negotiated. In the corporate world, she was known for being sharp, strategic, and unwavering. But as she glanced at her phone and saw his message changing their plans again, that familiar knot formed in her stomach. “Meeting ran late. Rain check for tonight? Drinks tomorrow instead?” …
Sarah sat in her living room, staring at her phone long after her daughter Karen’s FaceTime call had ended. The knot in her stomach had formed halfway through their conversation, when Karen mentioned canceling her art studio membership because Brad, her new boyfriend, thought they should spend Saturday mornings together at his golf club. “It …
Elena’s built her life around achievement. Her calendar is a testament to efficiency – client meetings flow into conference calls, board presentations into strategy sessions. Work dominates her world. Last night’s date started promisingly enough. Mark seemed intelligent, attractive, engaged. But when he asked, “What do you do for fun?” Elena launched into talking about …
In April 2021, Jennifer Lopez ended her engagement with Alex Rodriguez, closing a chapter on one of Hollywood’s power couples. A month later she was seen with Ben Affleck, reigniting a flame that had been extinguished for 17 years. Sources say they quickly “picked up where they left off.” Their first engagement had ended in …