Image is mine
I would rather be hurt by the truth than find solace in a lie. The thing is that I will always find out the truth, and after being comforted with a lie, discovering the truth afterwards will sting, and it will sting hard. For me, there's no coming back from that kind of hurt—the feeling of betrayal and being led on.
I honestly cannot comprehend the need for people to lie because one lie will always lead to another lie, creating a chain reaction of deceit.
I remember a relationship I had during my National Youth Service year. It was one filled with love and peace. There was never any suspicion, and we had no reason to quarrel. After my year of service, I moved back home, which strained our communication. Fortunately, when I continued my education at a university in the same state where I served, a friend informed him of my return. He reached out, and we rekindled our spark. It felt blissful, but sadly, he was soon transferred to the northern part of Nigeria while I stayed in the south.
He promised to stay in touch, but I felt those were just words, and although he called occasionally, it never felt the same. True to his words, he invited me over a couple of times, but I wasn’t prepared because I had a lot going on with my studies.
After several years, he called to say he was coming to the South for a friend's father's burial. He had suffered a gunshot wound to his hand that required a metal replacement for his bone to heal and join. Thank God the surgery was successful. At the time he informed me of his coming, he was healing, so I suggested that he skip the trip and send a condolence package instead. But he would have none of my suggestions as he insisted it was a chance for us to meet.
Well, I gave in and agreed to let him come over. On his arrival, we spent a wonderful day together, filled with joy, hugs, and laughter, even drawing playful teasing from his friends. I had come with a few personal items to stay with him. We went grocery shopping together, and I enjoyed cooking and caring for him during his delicate time.
As nature might have it, it was also my time of the month, and I had work to do. I informed him, and he asked that I take my items home. I had assumed he wanted me to change clothes, so I didn't overthink it. But then, after my shift, when I called to let him know I was on my way, his cold response surprised me. I ended the call, but I wasn't comfortable, so I called him again. I asked him if he wanted me around, and he firmly said, "NO." But I wasn't going to take no for an answer, so I went to the apartment we shared. It was noticeable that he didn't want me around as he went out with his friends without me, and when he returned late that night, he was drunk and went straight to bed.
At 2 a.m., there was a knock at the door. I peeped and found two girls outside, one of whom I recognised as his friend's girlfriend. I opened the door and they were shocked to see me. They asked about my partner, and when I informed them he was sleeping, they quickly left.
I got back to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I started overthinking things, and to satisfy my curiosity, I searched through his belongings and found a pack of condoms in the pocket of the trousers he wore out. For the first time, I realised he was cheating on me, and my suspicions were confirmed.
I waited for him to wake up, holding the condoms I found. When I showed them to him, he froze and scrambled for excuses. He claimed he had no idea his friend’s girlfriend would invite her friend over. To defend himself, he asked, "Why would I bring in another woman knowing you're around?" I almost believed him until he offered the most pathetic excuse—he said his military escort saw the pack of condoms on the floor and brought it to his notice, so he picked it up and just put them in his pocket to trash it but he forgot. I was speechless because I couldn't make sense out of the lie.
After the whole incident, I realized I couldn’t trust him anymore, so our relationship finally came to an end. While I recognize that everyone is flawed, lies that cross into deceit are a clear cue for me to walk away.
Above is my response to the Inleo prompt day 2. You can participate HERE
Posted Using INLEO
