But the real question is, can you still choose the good when you are in despair? Can you still pursue the good? When your head is full of ghosts and demons that want you to just give in, can you fight back? Can you see the good? Can you breathe it in? Can you live it?

Being cheated on by someone is like standing in the middle of the road and getting hit by a big moving truck. The impact jolts you from within; it collapses the basic structure of your life and sets fire to the very fabric of your life. It brings with it panic attacks, anxiety, fear and self-doubt. Am I not good enough? Was I not good enough? These questions circle in your head for days and weeks. There is nothing as terrible as being cheated on by the person you love. Nothing!

A week later, I packed up my belongings, signed the paperwork to cancel the lease on the apartment and left for San Francisco, my only home away from home. Within two days of my getting there, Aunt Mannie sensed that something was not quite right with me. She walked up to my room on the third night and without asking me anything, said, ‘There are a lot of fucked up people in this world. Don’t let their flaws destroy your life. You deserve better, even though it is something you will realize only when the time’s right.’

‘Why does a person get cheated on? What could they have done to deserve something like that?’ I asked. I knew she was my safe space. I knew that no questions would be asked and no judgements would be passed. I could just be myself and share all my fears and doubts with her. And all it had taken was her coming up to me to have this conversation.

‘Cheating on someone is a cowardly and pathetic act. It’s a character flaw that some people have, and it has nothing to do with their partner’s worth. It’s more about their own internal mess and ugliness. Just give it time, you’ll understand what I’m trying to tell you,’ she said calmly.

‘I don’t want to fall in love ever again!’ I burst into tears. At that point, I felt as fragile and broken as a sheet of cracked glass that hadn’t shattered yet. But anything, literally anything that touched me, whether it was a gust of wind or someone’s words, could break me.