Dear Anita,

whenever we see each other she acts all sweet and, unfortunately, so do I. Next time I see her I will do it differently. When she’ll start to provoke (and she will), I’ll look her in the eyes as you suggest. I imagine saying something like this: “I am not in high school anymore, but clearly you still are. What makes you so unhappy that you have to constantly provoke and seek attention? Take your bullsh*t somewhere else and pretend to be a good person there. And get some serious help. You know who my therapist was, maybe give her a call. Bye.”

“I knew what I should have said and done after it the situation ended (and not in my favor).”  – This is exactly my struggle. It is so easy to come up with what I wrote above when I’m alone, but in the moment I kinda freeze. Often it is not even that I don’t know what to say. It is the fear of saying it that stops me.