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what’s-his-name? You almost seemed to be serious about him at one time,” said Kina.
    â€œBryce was never officially my boyfriend. Yeah, he was good on paper, but we rarely ever saw each other. Whenever we did go on dates, if they could be called such, we were constantly being interrupted with phone calls and text messages. There was never a love connection there. I just happened to find the only other person who’s as busy as I am, and who has as little use or time for a love life as I do.”
    Sullivan returned with the sandals she purchased. “If you ask me—”
    â€œAnd for the record, I didn’t,” interjected Angel.
    Sullivan rolled her eyes and continued. “If you ask me, the reason that you keep finding things wrong with every man you go out with is because you keep comparing them all to Duke. I don’t think you’ve ever really gotten over him.”
    â€œDu’Corey?” Angel laughed to herself. “That was so eight years ago.”
    â€œI have to admit it, Angel. I agree with Sully on that one,” weighed in Lawson. “You haven’t really dealt with it, and you never had closure with that situation.”
    â€œYes, I did,” countered Angel. “It’s called a divorce.”
    Kina placed her hand on Angel’s shoulder. “That’s not the same thing. You won’t even talk about what happened.”
    â€œWhat’s there to talk about, Kina? We got married, it didn’t work out, and we got a divorce. End of story.”
    â€œTo this day, I’ve never seen anything like the love between you and Duke,” recounted Lawson. “Feelings that intense don’t just go away because you want them to.”
    â€œYou don’t even celebrate Christmas anymore because of what went down,” added Reginell.
    â€œCan you blame me?” Angel’s mind flashed back to that fateful Christmas Eve eight years prior. After nearly a year of trying to conceive, she had just found out that she was pregnant and had planned to give her husband the positive pregnancy test as a Christmas present. The surprise was all hers, however, when he came home and announced that his mistress, a woman named Reese, had just delivered their baby. He then professed his love for his baby’s mother and told Angel that he was leaving to start a life with his new family. He packed his bags and never looked back.
    â€œIt’s no wonder you had that miscarriage,” replied Lawson.
    â€œDon’t forget about the mental meltdown,” Sullivan replied absently. Everyone scolded her with burning looks. “ What? It’s not every day that one of us spends some time in a mental institution.”
    Lawson feigned disappointment. “Sorry. How could I forget to bring up the part about my best friend nearly losing her mind with depression and having to be hospitalized after she tried to kill herself?” she asked sarcastically. “Good grief, Sullivan! Is there at least one sympathetic bone in that anemic body of yours?”
    â€œI have lots of sympathy for Angel!” argued Sullivan and glanced in a mirror. “And my body is flawless.”
    â€œI just thank God that you had so many people praying you through it,” said Kina.
    Reginell pushed Sullivan away from the mirror. “Duke was the love of your life, Angel. You don’t just get over that.”
    â€œ He certainly did!” scoffed Angel.
    â€œWell, with him back in D.C. now and you in Savannah, at least you don’t have to worry about bumping into him wherever you leave the house,” said Lawson.
    â€œI don’t know, Angel. Sometimes the past has a way of catching up to us when we least expect it,” warned Kina.
    Angel shook her head. “Not in this case. Duke can rot in hell for all I care.”
    Sullivan pointed at Angel. “You all hear that? You can only wish that kind of suffering and pain on someone you