Upon reflection this morning, though, I realize that two common outcomes represent much more plausible eventual realities. One, that I let her go and, as a result, I never see her again, and two, even if I do see her again on a regular basis some day, she will become a non-entity in contrast to her current, long-held status as love interest to me. Looking back into my past, those two outcomes far outstrip any, "if you love someone set them free..." fantasies where someone such as her "returns" to me (as if she was ever with me in the first place).
All along, I guess I played to these two eventual outcomes to a greater or lesser extent. What I get out of such outcomes depends a great deal on whether I can keep the drama, hijinks, and overall bullshit to a minimum while the situation remains "live." I think, so far, I've done a great job on that front, and doing so until either one of these two outcomes arrives gives me a sense of self-control, self-reliance, and autonomy that I typically enjoy these days whenever one of these scamps decides to start in on me and I eventually put the kibosh on their whole deal. That always happens these days because, between me and her, I play the part of the adult in these little tragi-comical scenarios they manage to cook up. Asshole!