I didn't approve of my best friend (girl) going out with one of my friends (dude). At first, they started dating but it became obvious it wasn't right as they kept on breaking and going back several times. He was never there for her, preferred to go out with his friends than with her almost every single time, like in his birthday he didn't even ask her to join a party our mutual friends organized for him and never saw her on vacations even when she was going through a hell of time because of some family issues coming from an abusive mother. In her own words, he was selfish as fuck. Because I was close with both I was aware he was hooking up with girls during their downtime yet he always went back with her because she is real girlfriend material.

In one of those break ups I was quite lonely because I just got out from a thing I had with another girl for discovering she wasn't the person I was expecting her to be. Eventually in this period she and I were single (2 years ago) I developed feelings for her, I confessed, she felt the same but she still had feelings left for her now ex-boyfriend. As all 3 of us were friends so I though the only mature thing was to talk it out with my friend and follow the bro code. I decided to step down, he said he really wanted to change and I believed him. I placed her happiness in his hands. It really really hurted watching them go back but knowing she was happy was good enough, bittersweet, but good.

We didn't spoke for a year but after a while we decided to be civil and at least accept calls if any of us was in an emergency. Few weeks ago, she started asking me some favors, like picking her up from work because she had no car or helping her with some manual things in her apartment I was good for. While weird I didn't though much about those, it all became clear one day her mother needed an urgent surgery and she decided to call me instead of her bf. Turns out it was the same shit all over again, he was going out with a girl who is head of heels for him and actively smeared his gf reputation by starting rumors of her hooking up with other guys, caused her to be shunned out of our social circle and calling her a slut on social media. Yet to him it was a perfectly ok thing to do. He was also angry every time he had to go pick her up even though it was vacation time from uni and he doesn't even have a job so it's not like he has much to do. Instead of apologizing he behaved like a prick, eventually he came to the hospital but just sat across the waiting room without saying a single word to her for half an hour, and after he left he pretended he was sick so she would worry about him as well, even though she was terrified of her mother dying.

I told her it was unhealthy to keep things going, it was foolish trying to change him and that I regretted ever giving him a chance to change, but most importantly I regretted entrusting her happiness to him. I knew I could have done better. Next thing you know she breaks up with him the next day. Fast forward a couple of weeks and here we are, both of us get along just as well as before and I told her I would like a shot with her in the future when things settle, she said she is going to give me one, so here is to the possibility of things working out for us. Only time will tell I guess.