love is eternal as long as it lasts. no choice is definitive, count the players who after choosing Jill have been rejected.
MC was convinced of his choice, but the arrival of an ex is an event that changes the cards on the table, so as a development is credible. the doubt, not necessarily the change of choice
But
why? Why would the MC think the cards have changed just because his ex returns? That's what I don't quite get.
I realize the MC didn't expect Zoey to return now, but he does remember how he felt about her. The whole point of the crossroads was that someone was going to get hurt if the MC kept pursuing multiple girls. He (supposedly) searched his heart and decided which girl was right for him - if any.
Assuming he did pick a girl(s), doesn't that imply he's at least as serious about her as he was about Zoey? If so, then trying to pursue Zoey now will only end in someone getting hurt; that's not a new card, it's just another copy of an existing card. If not, shouldn't that have been the clue that none of these relationships were ready for prime time? He knows this isn't what true love feels like, so at that point he's just leading the girl on for sex - which should be what the Others path is for.
To me, this is the big sticking point. Zoey's return just isn't enough to justify rethinking what was portrayed as a major decision. I understand the MC is surprised and will likely have to deal with some old baggage, but that's a far cry from reshuffling the whole deck. If the MC isn't going to agonize over, say, breaking up with Sage to pursue Jill, he shouldn't agonize over formalizing his breakup with Zoey, either. To do so would only indicate the crossroad was as trivial as it was forced.
