The versions of me - SC87 - Part three
Sidney Crosby x Ex Wife Reader
Word Count: 2624
Summary: Sid has spent four years learning to live with what he did, while you has spent four years learning how to live without him. When Sidney finally apologises, you has a choice to make, do you forgive him and see if there is still something worth rebuilding, or forgive him and walk away for good, Because sometimes choosing yourself means giving someone a second chance
Genre: angst, hurt/comfort, emotional drama, second chance romance, infidelity, divorce, alternate endings, closure.
Masterlist Part one Part two
Quick Note: I couldn't decide which way I wanted to end this, so I decided to give you both. Since I used a lot of the “this version of you” and “that version of you” throughout the story, it felt fitting to end it with two different versions of you too. One where you forgive him and decide to give him a second chance, and another where you forgive him but have already moved on and choose the life you've built for yourself.
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It had been four years since the night you took off your wedding ring.
Four years since you walked away from Sidney, four years since you stood in that gala, looked into the eyes and finally chose yourself.
You hadn’t expected the pain to last forever.
It didn’t. It also didn’t disappear at once either.
It faded slowly, in the mornings where you didn’t think about him until lunch, in the songs you could finally listen to again, in the places you could walk past without wondering if he was there.
Eventually, you stopped measuring your life by how long it had been since you left.
You had built something new, a life that was yours, and Sid had built one too.
You still heard about him occasionally.
Someone would mention a game, a friend would tell you he’d been doing well, you’d see his name in an article and scroll past without feeling like the ground had disappeared beneath your feet.
You were okay, really okay.
Which was why you almost didn’t recognise the feeling that settled in your chest when you saw him again.
It was at a charity event.
You hadn't known he would be there.
You were standing near the bar, talking to someone you hardly knew, when you felt someone’s eyes on you.
You turned, and there he was.
Sid stood across the room, older somehow.
Not physically, but there was something in his expression, something quieter. He looked at you for a moment before offering a small smile.
You returned it, not because you had forgotten what he had done, but because you hadn’t.
You were just no longer angry.
He approached slowly, giving you enough time to stop him if you wanted.
And for a moment, neither of you knew what to say.
“You look good,” he said, finally breaking the silence.
You smiled faintly. “So do you.”
He nodded. “I wasn't sure you'd want to talk to me.”
A quiet laugh escaped him. “Fair enough.”
You looked down at your glass. “Are you okay?”
He considered the question. “Yeah.”
The answer surprised you. “Actually?”
“Actually.” He looked at you. “I spent a long time thinking I needed you to forgive me before I could forgive myself.” You didn't say anything. “I was wrong.” His voice was quiet. “I spent years trying to understand why I did what I did.”
You looked at him then. “And?”
He exhaled slowly. “I thought finding a reason would make it less unforgivable.”
“No.” He shook his head. “It just made me realise how much of it was mine.”
Your chest tightened. “I hurt you because there were things in me I didn't know how to deal with. Insecurity. Fear. Ego. Whatever excuse I tried to give myself at the time.” He looked down. “But instead of dealing with any of that, I made you pay for it.”
“I made you question whether you were enough.” His voice cracked slightly. “And you were.”
The words would have destroyed you four years ago.
“I know that now,” you said.
“I should have.” You nodded.
“You should have.” He took a breath. “I don't expect anything from you.”
That made you look at him. “I mean that.” His eyes met yours. “I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't expect you to come back. I don't even expect you to want me in your life.” He smiled sadly. “I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry.”
You stared at him for a long moment, then you nodded. “Thank you.”
He looked almost relieved.
“What else do you want me to say?”
A small smile appeared on his face. “Nothing is enough.”
You looked around the room.
The music continued, the people laughed around you, and the world kept spinning while the two of you had been apart, and that did hurt anymore.
“I forgive you,” you said.
His eyes widened slightly. “You do?”
“Yes.” You smiled softly. “But forgiving you doesn't mean I forget.”
“And it doesn't mean what happened was okay.”
You looked at him for another moment. “But I'm glad you figured things out.”
And for the first time in years, being in the same room with him didn't feel like standing inside a wound.
It just felt like standing beside someone who had once meant everything to you.
Someone who had hurt you.
Someone who had finally learned how to live with the consequences of that.
And maybe that was enough.
Ending one - The second chance
The two of you talked for another hour, nothing important at first.
His career, your life, mutual friends, the little things that had happened while you weren't speaking.
It was strangely easy, almost too easy.
When the event began to wind down, Sid walked you outside.
The night air was cool against your skin as you stood beside your car, keys between your fingers. “I should probably go.”
You looked at him, and he looked at you.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Do you ever think about us?”
Your heart gave a small, traitorous ache. “Sometimes.”
He nodded slowly. “I do too.”
A silence settled between you, not uncomfortable, just honest.
“I don’t want to make this harder for you,” he said. “So if the answer is no, I’ll understand.”
He looked at you. “Do you think there's any chance for us?”
You didn't answer immediately.
Four years ago, you would have said yes without thinking.
You would have given anything for him to ask.
But you weren't that woman anymore.
You had learned how to live without him, and maybe that's why the answer felt different now. “Maybe.”
Hope appeared, but he didn’t reach for it too quickly. “Maybe?”
You nodded. “But it would have to be slowly.”
He smiled. “Slowly is okay.”
“And you're going to have to earn my trust.”
You studied his face. “And if I change my mind…”
“You can.” The answer came immediately. “I won't hold it against you.”
Something in your chest softened. “Okay.”
You opened your car door, then stopped. “Sid?”
“I don't know if we can ever be what we were.”
He nodded. “I don't want to be.”
You looked at him. “I want something better.” Your eyes filled slightly. “Then maybe we can try.”
He smiled, not the same smile from the gala, not the one he used when everything was falling apart, something softer, something real.
You laughed quietly. “Dinner.”
“I've waited four years.”
You rolled your eyes. “Tomorrow.”
And for the first time in four years, you let yourself wonder what it might feel like to choose him again.
Not because you needed him. Not because you couldn't live without him.
The two of you ended up on a quiet balcony overlooking the city.
The noise from the event below felt distant up here, softened into a low hum.
For a while, it was nothing important.
A few shared memories that somehow still lingered between you.
When the night started to wind down, Sidney leaned against the railing beside you.
The air was cooler up here, brushing lightly against your skin.
You rested your hands on the edge of the balcony, keys still looped around your fingers.
“I should probably head out soon.”
Neither of you moved right away.
He was already looking at you. “Can I ask you something?”
You hesitated for a second. “Okay.”
“Do you ever think about what we were like… back then?”
Your chest tightened slightly. “Sometimes.”
He gave a small nod. “I do too.”
A quiet settled between you.
“I don’t want to make this harder for you,” he said softly. “So if you’d rather I didn’t ask, I’ll stop.”
“Do you think there’s still anything left between us?”
You didn't answer immediately.
Because once upon a time, you had imagined this moment, imagined him coming back, apologising.
You had imagined him finally understanding what he’d done and now that he was standing in front of you, doing exactly that…
You realised you didn't want him anymore.
You could see the disappointment in his face.
But he didn't argue, didn't ask you to reconsider.
He just looked down at the pavement. “Okay.”
You swallowed. “I want you to know something.” He looked back at you. “I believe you.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “About what?”
“That you've changed.” You smiled sadly. “I believe you're sorry.”
He looked away for a moment. “I don't know if that makes it easier or harder.”
“It should make it easier.”
“Because you don't have to spend the rest of your life hating yourself for what you did.”
“You broke something in me that took a long time to fix.”
His eyes filled with tears. “And I don't want you to think that because I don't want to come back, none of this meant anything.”
He shook his head. “I don't.”
You smiled through the tears. “And I think some part of me always will.”
He looked at you for a long moment.
“But I'm not in love with you anymore.”
He closed his eyes briefly, then nodded. “Okay.”
“You've moved on,” he said quietly.
His eyes searched your face. “Is there someone?”
You hesitated for a moment before smiling. “There is.”
The name landed differently, because he didn’t just know Nate as “Someone.”
He knew Nate as his best friend, or at least, he had.
Before everything fractured, before the divorce, before the silence that followed, before the rumours of you and him.
You saw it flicker across Sidney’s face before he could hide it, not just hurt, something sharper, history.
“Of course,” he said quietly.
You frowned slightly. “Sid…”
He shook his head once. “It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t, not really.
You could see it in the way his jaw tightened, in the way he looked past you instead of at you.
You hadn’t expected Nate’s name to feel like that between you, not like a bridge, like a wall.
“Are you happy?” he asked, but it sounded more distant now.
You looked toward the balcony doors.
You could see Nate waiting inside.
He had been talking to someone, but the second he noticed you looking, his attention shifted towards you.
He smiled, warm, easy, familiar.
Like nothing in your life had ever been complicated.
You smiled back without thinking about it.
“Yeah.” Your voice was softer this time. “I am.|
Sidney followed your gaze, and something unreadable crossed his face. “You two… started after?”
You hesitated. “We didn’t do anything while I was with you, if that’s what you’re asking.”
His eyes flicked to yours. “That’s not what I meant.”
“It just… happened later.”
He nodded slowly, but it didn’t ease anything. “He’s good to you?” he asked, quieter now.
“He is.” There was no hesitation. “He’s patient with me. He never makes me question where I stand with him.” You looked back at Sidney. “He doesn’t make me feel like I have to compete for a place in his life.”
Something in Sidney’s expression tightened at that, not jealousy, something more complicated, regret maybe, or memory.
“I’m glad,” he said, but it sounded like he was saying it because he should.
“I think you would have liked him,” you added carefully.
A small, humourless laugh left him. “I did like him.”
The words hung there, heavy.
“Yeah,” he continued, quieter. “I did.” A moment passed “Before everything.”
You didn’t respond right away.
Because you knew what he meant.
Before the divorce, the distance, the rumours that started circulating after you left, before people started looking at Nate differently and before Sid stopped looking at Nate at all.
“I didn’t know it would end like that between you two,” you said softly.
He gave a faint shrug. “Neither did I.”
Not comfortable anymore, just full.
You exhaled slowly. “I didn’t come between you, and I didn’t make him choose me,” you said, more firmly now. “If that’s what you’re thinking.”
His eyes snapped back to yours. “I didn’t say that.”
He looked away again. “I know.” That was worse somehow, because it meant he had thought it even if only for a second.
You softened slightly. “I didn’t leave you for him,” you said. “I left because I couldn’t stay.”
He nodded once. “I know that too.”
But the space between you didn’t fully settle, not anymore, not with Nate’s name in the air, not with everything that had been lost between the three of you.
You stepped closer, not close enough to touch.
Just close enough to be heard.
His eyes lifted. “For what?”
“For not turning this into something uglier than it already was.”
A faint, tired smile tugged at his mouth. “I’ve had enough ugly.”
A pause. “I hope you're happy, Sid.”
He looked at you for a long moment. “I hope you are too.”
And this time, it still felt true.
Even with the history, even with Nate and everything that had been broken and never quite rebuilt.
You started walking towards the door. “Goodnight, Sid.”
You stepped back inside, leaving the balcony behind you.
Nate was waiting for you.
You walked toward him, your eyes finding his across the room.
For a moment, you stopped, then you looked back.
Sidney was still standing on the balcony, watching you from a distance.
The man who had once been your husband.
The man who had once been Nate's best friend.
The man who had lost both of you in different ways.
You looked at him one last time, not with anger or regret, just with the quiet understanding that some things couldn't be undone.
You couldn't fix what had been broken between you, and you didn’t need to.
You had spent years looking backwards, wondering what could have been different, but you finally understood that moving forward didn't mean pretending the past never happened.
It meant accepting it for what it was, a part of your story, just not the ending.
You turned back toward Nate.
He smiled when you reached him, holding out his hand.
You slipped yours into his.
And this time, when you walked away, you didn't look back again, not because you had finally chosen what came next.
Nate was waiting for you.
Your life was waiting for you, and for the first time you weren't choosing between your past and your present.
You were simply choosing forward.
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Author's note: Yes, I picked Nate because he's hot and for the drama.
