I heard this along time ago, and really try to remember it, especially at a time like you are having now, Val.

The way people act is a reflection of them , not you .

For me, it is easier to recall that sentiment time and again, instead of struggling with, "what did I do wrong, why did they do this to me". There are probably 15 million reasons the person betrayed you that has nothing to do with Valerie. Nothing at all. It has everything to do with where this person was in their life.

Does this help deal with the pain? I dunno. For me, it is far easier to accept that other people are sometimes doing the only thing that they can do, at the time, for their own reasons, and not to take it so personally.

Forgive? Forget? Move on? Get over it? While life is short, so are opportunities to make 'true' friends. So, take some time, examine what happened, didn't happen, and just take some Val time to see how things plan out.