Betrayal
Jack had finally found the love of his life. More than Kate, more than Audrey, more than Teri, even, she made him melt. The way she made him feel was – rapturous. Free of gravity. Eternal.
His friends couldn't help but notice. They had no idea who she was, who he'd met, even how he felt, but they knew he was incredibly different. Jack was happy, and to them he was barely recognizable. They'd never seen him like this before, and that wasn't surprising, for he'd never been like this before.
He hummed. He flew. He was free of concerns, of the ordinary cares of ordinary people. He couldn't believe he'd lived his life without her, without knowing she was there, although he'd always suspected she was out there, somewhere, his true love, his soulmate. But where he'd find her, or even if – that he'd never known.
The problem was that while he couldn't be without her, she was fickle. Unfaithful. Promiscuous. She shared herself with everyone and anyone. She didn't care about him, he didn't think she was aware of him, his love for her, his utter devotion to her, his willingness to die for her, his inability to live without her. He forced himself to ignore these things, for he was powerless to live without her. He used all his strength to overlook her infidelity, her disloyalty, her duplicity, for he knew he couldn't survive without her. His very being depended on her. He was like Samson without Delilah, Napoleon without Josephine.
Then it struck. He couldn't take it anymore. All that she had meant to him, the rapture she had brought him, the other-worldliness it became too much for him. Suddenly he was averse to her. He couldn't be with her, near her. Being with her made him feel like death. He fought it like he'd never fought before, but it was no use. His amibivalence astonished him. He'd always been able to control his feelings before, and his inability to do so now provoked a rage such as he'd never known. He was helpless. Although his love for her never faded, his need for her was poison to him. He felt like he would die for her, was willing to die for her, but he was stopped, over and over, by his instinct for survival, and by his friends, who learned his secret. They wouldn't let him near her, for they learned the truth. His allergy to peanut butter would kill him.