(Annie Lane is off this week. The following column was originally published in 2022.)

Dear Annie: I had a seven-year relationship with a man who I thought was the love of my life. I had been married twice before—once for 17 years—to an alcoholic, and I was in a 10-year relationship with a man 15 years older than me.

I have one daughter, who is now 40, and he has a daughter with whom he is estranged. She is 43. He has been married three times, the longest for seven years, with one marriage lasting for only a month.

I received a phone call about 10 months ago from an old boyfriend with whom I have remained friendly but with whom I ended a physical relationship when I met “Mr. Seven Years.” When the phone call came over my Bluetooth car connection, I did not answer. The next day, while I w

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