She's ... taken.
Well, as I said a few days ago, however lightheartedly, a lovely girl such as her is not likely to go unescorted for too long. And I meant that, thus I should have been better prepared for this punch to the gut. Ah, well, I will just have to step back and be smitten from afar. Not to intentionally make it sound sinister or anything, but I am used to being the guy walking in the shadows at the edges of the life of the girl he adores. ^-^ It's happened once before, and I came out just fine with no personal regrets.

I will simply continue to like her from afar but keep my feelings on the down-low so as not to be a bother to her, for however long my feelings are meant to last.

It is my understanding that this other man is the same person she'd been seeing for several years, practically since being children, so I would certainly have no right to expect or demand that she choose me over him. .... I think I am at peace with this.