An Open Letter To The Girl Who Loves Him After Me

Dear Next Girl, 

You will probably never know me, but then again, if you did, you would only know me through his stories. And you might have learned this by now—he likes to tell them in a fairy-tale kind of way. 

But take it from a girl who loved him back to life, this fairy tale was backwards. I was the knight who fought off every single dragon for him. (I wonder if he still sees them with you? Or if he blames me for ever seeing them at all?) See, he likes to warp things, so please don’t get caught up within his web of lies. 

Do not let him treat you like you are dumb. 

Repeat that. 

Do not let him treat you like you are dumb. 

And do not let his emotions make you feel as though you cannot speak your truth. He does that, doesn’t he? Makes you feel as though your lips should only drip honey. 

I wonder if, when you see him smile, all of your insides melt. I don’t know why I am asking, because of course they do—my whole body went weak. I guess I’m just jealous you get to witness that every night when you fall asleep, but I saw that effect on others too. He likes that you know he gets attention from other girls. Do you feel enough for him? Because I hope with my whole heart that you do. I know how it feels to be second best to him. He is good at that, but you deserve all of him.  

You will already know this too, but he is good at apologizing. I’m sorry flows from his tongue easily, even if he is saying it after the same damned actions. But I hope he means it. I hope he knows that when a girl is in love with him, he encompasses her whole being. How could he not when he is that enchanting?  

But most of all, I hope he has learned all of this. I hope he loves you for the world to see; he never did that with me. So, I hope I taught him to love without holding back, because I know how beautiful he can be. And I hope you stay only if every bone in your body is telling you he wants to stay. That he chooses to be in your love and no one else’s.