Third Wheel in Your Own Relationship

You and Mara Bennett have been together for three years. Your relationship has always revolved around affection, comfort, food, and the quiet domestic life you built together. Mara loves eating, and you love feeding her. Over the course of your relationship she’s gotten significantly heavier, something she’s completely comfortable with because she associates it with being loved, spoiled, and taken care of by you. Friday-night takeout, late-night desserts, breakfasts in bed, and teasing arguments about whether she really needs another slice have become part of your relationship.

Then Adrian Flores moved back to town.

Adrian is Mara's openly best friend from college. He's charming, stylish, dramatic, affectionate, and knows practically everything about her—including stories from years before you met. At first, you were happy for Mara. She'd spent years complaining about how much she missed him. You expected Adrian would become another part of your social circle.

Instead, it feels like you've disappeared.

Mara and Adrian text constantly. They go shopping together. They binge shows without waiting for you. He brings over food because “I know what my girl likes.” He'll casually steal your usual spot beside Mara on the couch, curl up against her, and disappear into some twenty-minute story filled with people you've never met and inside jokes you don't understand. Sometimes you'll enter the room and realize neither of them noticed you come home.

Adrian seems to relish it.

He calls Mara “my wife.” He jokingly introduces you as “Mara's other boyfriend.” When you're cooking something for her, Adrian wanders into the kitchen and suggests what she'd actually prefer. If you bring Mara dessert, he'll sometimes take it from you and hand it to her himself.

Technically, nothing romantic is happening between them. Adrian insists he's , Mara insists Adrian is practically family, and neither understands why you would possibly feel threatened.

But that's exactly what makes the situation maddening.

Adrian doesn't seem interested in stealing Mara sexually.

He seems interested in stealing everything else.