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On Valentine\u2019s Day, the last thing I expected was being trapped in an elevator with my ex-husband and his significantly younger girlfriend. As the minutes dragged on, the atmosphere grew thick with tension, uncomfortable truths surfaced, and one unexpected confession turned everything upside down. By the time the elevator finally opened, I realized something undeniable\u2014this had become the most satisfying Valentine\u2019s present I could have ever received.\n I’m 35, single. This was my first Valentine’s Day alone in years\u2014my husband cheated on me. I was completely, totally shattered. I threw myself into work\u2014I’m a hotel receptionist. So, I’m at work, step into the elevator, and\u2026 I freeze. Right there in front of me is my EX WITH HIS NEW GF, Sandy! I wanted to walk out, but the doors closed too fast. Mike immediately started mocking me, showing off, kissing his new girlfriend \u2014just to hurt me. I tried to ignore him. “Just one more minute,” I kept telling myself, “and this nightmare will be over.”\n But suddenly, the lights went out. The elevator SHOOK. I called our dispatcher. “The elevator’s stuck,” they said. “Power’s out. It’ll be at least two hours.” THE WORST VALENTINE’S DAY EVER! I hoped we’d just sit there, act like adults, and wait for help.\n Sandy shrugged. “Well, at least your evening was wide open anyway.”\n Mike smirked. “Hey, not everyone is as fortunate as us. Some people just aren’t lucky in love.”\n A sharp pang twisted in my gut. “Maybe I would\u2019ve been if my ex-husband hadn\u2019t decided to sleep around.”\n Mike groaned. “Karen, give it a rest. You’re just bitter because I moved forward while you’re still stuck on me.”\n He had moved on. I hadn’t. The words spilled from my mouth before I could stop them, each one laced with venom.\n Then, Sandy\u2019s voice cut through the tension like a blade.\n “Enough! Both of you, just stop! I\u2019m not even his girlfriend!” she yelled.\n Mike snapped his head toward her. “If you don\u2019t shut your mouth right now, you\u2019re not getting anything I promised you.”\n Sandy rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. It\u2019s obvious she still has feelings for you, and you\u2019re just toying with her like it\u2019s some kind of joke. You\u2019re disgusting.”\n I stared at her, my mind struggling to piece everything together. “I have no idea what\u2019s going on,” I said, my voice slow and uncertain.\n She let out a scoff and tossed her bouquet onto the floor like it suddenly repulsed her. “I\u2019m a dancer at a strip club. Mike\u2019s been a regular for years\u2014since before you two split. I could still see the tan line from his wedding ring. What an idiot.”\n A sharp inhale caught in my throat. My stomach lurched.\n Mike\u2019s expression turned icy. “What the hell are you doing? We had a deal!”\n Sandy folded her arms. “I can\u2019t sit here and let you screw with her head. I\u2019m not gonna let another woman doubt herself over a guy who isn\u2019t worth it.”\n A laugh bubbled up from my chest, dry and humorless. “You actually paid her to pretend to be your girlfriend?”\n “He wanted you to be jealous,” Sandy said, turning to me. “Thought if you saw him with someone younger, happier, and head over heels for him, you\u2019d come running back.”\n “Karen, let me explain,” Mike said, stepping closer.\n I held up a hand. “Don\u2019t bother. For a second, I actually considered forgiving you, giving you another chance.”\n Mike ran a hand through his hair, looking exasperated. “I was thinking maybe we could try an open relationship.”\n That was it. I burst out laughing. “Wow. You are truly pathetic.”\n Just as suddenly as it had stopped, the elevator shuddered and resumed its descent.\n The moment the doors slid open, I stepped out without a second thought.\n As I made my way forward, I pulled out my phone and dialed Rick\u2014the chef who had been flirting with me for a while and had asked me out for dinner tonight. “Hey, Rick. I’ve decided to take you up on that dinner offer.”\n Rick hesitated for a moment before speaking, his voice filled with surprise. \u201cAre you serious?\u201d\n A small smile played on my lips. \u201cIt\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day, after all. Love always deserves a chance.\u201d\n Let us know your thoughts on this story and share it with your friends\u2014it might just uplift their spirits and bring a little joy to their day.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Valentine\u2019s Day, the last thing I expected was being trapped in an elevator with my ex-husband and his significantly younger girlfriend. As the minutes dragged on, the atmosphere grew thick with tension, uncomfortable truths surfaced, and one unexpected confession turned everything upside down. By the time the elevator finally opened, I realized something undeniable\u2014this …\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":100533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1439],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100537,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100532\/revisions\/100537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/76438e81be59cd8c25ed3cbd82d312e3bf05b98b4e49fbf88ae5170b7779ec31-1024x512-1.webp%5C%22 "\\"\\"")
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