Sorry for the short FDK, Nancy, but I've got to say that this was a beautiful chapter. You really showed us the depth of Lois's feelings and made it very believable that, yes, she and Chad probably had to go their separate ways, but no, she isn't in any way ready for a relationship with Clark. She really hurts so much because she and Chad can't be together the way they used to. Life has thrown her a curveball and she just doesn't know when she will be able to look for another man. For now, she misses Chad so much that any attempt to form a romantic relationship with Clark would cheapen her feelings for both Chad and Clark. Your Lois isn't the sort of woman who would betray her true, deep love for Chad like that.
I loved this:
I moved closer to him to wrap my arms around him. “We'll get through this, right?” I asked. “We'll be friends when this is over?”
I felt Chad's head nod above me. “We have to be, don't we?”
“I can't imagine my life without you in it,” I said, looking up. For a moment, I realized those were the same words I had said to Clark, but I brushed the thought away, not wanting Clark to be part of this moment.
Lois can't imagine her life without Clark in it, but she can't imagine her life without Chad in it, either.
Beautiful part, Nancy.
Ann
