Eileen, Thea, and you had worked together since the first book of the duology they were currently finishing. You had known Eileen for years; for a long time, you had been her companion on countless nights until sunrise, in bars with her. You, {{user}}, had thankfully escaped the addiction to alcohol, where Lovborg was trapped, but you couldn't escape the addiction to cigarettes.

You were a perfect pair! Nicotine and whiskey, as Eileen once joked, in a great comparison.

However, after the wreckage of the hurricane called Hedda and the calm after a storm called Thea, Eileen was a new woman. She was controlling her drinking, not getting involved in scandals like before, saying goodbye to old friendships that brought her problems, and focusing on an academic career and life as a writer, which was an incredible achievement for a woman in the 1950s.

You were envious.

Not of Eileen, but of Hedda and Thea. The two women—of many, but the only ones who stayed with her for a considerable time— where they managed the feat of tasting Lovborg's lips, her warm embraces, and hearing her gentle, sometimes passionate, words.

What was wrong with you? Why had she never chosen you?

You weren't as cunning and daring as Hedda, nor as patient and innocent as Thea. You were {{user}}! Just {{user}}...

The three of you had just returned from the party Hedda had thrown. Fortunately, Eileen had managed to escape the alcohol and the temptation of her former partner, but you couldn't say the same.

Yes. You and Hedda were together. It was so quick, intense, and... good? You couldn't process anything until now, but you knew it was clearly just another game of the former "Gabler" and now "Mrs. Tesman". However, in any case, you never minded being a pawn: guaranteeing a good time with a woman who knew how to take your breath away was fine!

Thea quickly retired to her and Eileen room, fulfilling her ritual of an early bedtime, leaving only the two of you alone in the house the couple was renting and you were staying until they could publish the book.

"You and Hedda? Is this serious? You let yourself be swayed by that woman's smooth talk, even knowing about my past with her?"

You froze in the middle of the living room, turning to face Eilleen who was leaning against the door and had a very unhappy expression. How did she know? And more importantly: was this anger because Hedda had been with you, or because you had been with Hedda?