The time left after a cancellation can feel like a gift or a rejection.

Two hours have appeared and their character is entirely undecided. If the cancellation felt kind, the time reads as unexpected freedom. If it felt like being dropped, the same two hours read as evidence, and you spend them going over the message rather than in them. The hours are identical; the story attached is doing all the work.

When a plan falls through, give the empty time a use before you give the cancellation a meaning. Something small and real: a walk, a job long postponed, a bath. If the hurt is still there afterwards, it is easier to look at from a settled place.