Regretting You

by Colleen Hoover

I wonder if humans are the only living creatures that ever feel hollow inside.

Sometimes when we’re alone, he looks at me in a way that makes me feel empty when he looks away.

It’s like my chest has been on a constant search for its missing piece, and Jonah is holding it in his fist.

I talk to no one and pick at my food. It’s my birthday, and I’m surrounded by everyone important to me, but for some reason, I feel more alone than I’ve ever felt. I should be happy right now, but something is off. I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe I’m getting bored. Or worse.

Everyone around me seems to have a purpose, yet I feel like I’ve reached the age of thirty-four and have absolutely no life outside of Clara and Chris.

It’s like the day I found out I was pregnant, I became someone else. I guess that happens when you become a mother, though. Your focus is no longer on yourself. Your life becomes all about this beautiful tiny little human you created.

“Whatever that means.” “It means people who make mistakes usually learn from them. That doesn’t make them hypocrites. It makes them experienced.”

I’m learning that sometimes you have to walk away from the fight in order to win it.”

“I’ve believed in you since the moment I met you. I believe in myself now that I’ve finally left you.”

I thought she was so great because I was a great mom, but this whole time, Chris is the one who brought out the best side of her? Because now that he’s gone, she and I just bring out the worst in each other.”

You were never in my shoes. You didn’t have to stand on the sidelines and watch the girl you were in love with build a life with your best friend.”

“Sometimes you have to walk away from the fight in order to win it.”

Attraction isn’t something that only happens once, with one person. It’s part of what drives humans. Our attraction to each other, to art, to food, to entertainment. Attraction is fun. So when you decide to commit to someone, you aren’t saying, ‘I promise I’ll never be attracted to anyone else.’ You’re saying, ‘I promise to commit to you, despite my potential future attraction to other people.’”

“Relationships are hard for that very reason. Your body and your heart don’t stop finding the beauty and the attraction in other people simply because you’ve made a commitment to one person. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re drawn to someone else, it’s up to you to remove yourself from that situation before it becomes too hard to fight.”

I’m confident that I’ll never spend a single second of my life regretting you.”

The idea that I have the rest of my life to figure myself out is exciting. There are so many things I want to try, whether they work out or not. I think finding my passion is my passion.