Nope, you still played it to perfection. I seriously doubt you would have gotten the apology (which you totally deserved, incidentally) if you hadn't responded the way you did initially. Total boss moves, all the way. I raise my glass to you, sir.
OP's handled the situation remarkably. But not sure if the apology even needed to take place. The irony is, the end effect of most apologies that takes place is that the person apologizes feels better about themself/situation, and not necessarily the person being apologized to. Typical female rationale in this situation: -She's thinking in her head: "I ****ed up" (What she really feels: "I feel stupid/ I didn't expect that response / I lost" but won't want to believe this or admit to herself, but this is the driving force behind her next action) -Her solution: "Let me apologize" -After apology: "Yeah I ****ed up but, atleast I reached out to him apologized and we talked about things, ended on good terms. He's not a bad guy but not for me. Moving on." Self affirmation that she did the right thing. She is a good person. -5 minutes after hanging up *Erased from memory*. The nagging guilt that had been bothering her is now gone and she feels free again. By that "talk" that didn't necessarily need to take place, the person apologizing gets closure. The closure that OP didn't necessarily need (he found closure within himself, he already began moving on, he didn't need the "talk"). Basically the "talk" didn't really help him at all. It wasn't necessary for him. Yes, talking it out like mature adults is an admirable thing. But I'm more focused on whats more helpful to the perspective of the OP. Looking at the situation from a very objective point of view, having the talk can suck a person back into a mental rut they just got out of, while simulatenously giving the other party the closure they want. If OP is strong enough to not get fazed then it won't hurt him so no big deal, but I don't see how it helps him in anyway either.
