I was in the church's calculation room, working on the tithe calculations with the other ushers when Raymond walked in and beckoned me over.
As I stood to meet him, the ushers began whispering among themselves.
Raymond led me to a smaller building behind the church altar, where I was surprised to see all the church pastors gathered in a large hall.
"This is my girlfriend, Catarina Johnson," He announced, holding my hand possessively. "I love her so much, and I'm going to propose to her soon."
I shyly acknowledged their curious stares, wishing I could disappear.
In Christ Love Ministry, I had always tried to remain unnoticed, but Raymond was making that impossible.
For the first time in my life, I had to shake hands with the seven expensively dressed pastors in our church.
When I returned to the calculation room, the ushers were all staring at me with curious eyes.
Dominic broke the silence, eyeing me cynically. "It's your type I fear the most. Pretending you're not interested in someone, but secretly you are." Her words were laced with contempt, and I could feel the tension in the room.
Juliet came to my defense. "Can you force a man to love someone? Raymond chose her, and there's nothing you can do about it," she said firmly.
Patricia gritted her teeth. "Then why did she pretend to love Jeremiah Lewis, just to divert our attention and hide that she was a green snake in green grass?"
Diana rolled her eyes. "Did you all think her relationship with Swanta wasn't part of the plan? That was her strategy from the beginning!"
I smiled inwardly at their reactions, knowing it was born out of envy.
I told Juliet to wait outside while I used the restroom.
As I washed my hands, I heard footsteps behind me.
Turning around, I saw Bernie Armani, the most popular chorister in Christ Love Ministry, known for her beautiful voice and second in command to Raymond.
She smirked. "Do you know who I am?"
Feigning ignorance, I replied, "Who are you?"
"I'm Bernie Armani, the face of Time magazine worldwide and the daughter of the CEO of Peace Flights," she boasted.
"Good for you," I said, turning back to dry my hands.
"A little birdie told me that Raymond announced you as his girlfriend," she continued.
"Thanks for your best wishes," I responded sarcastically.
"I give you two weeks to end the relationship if you want to last long in this church," Bernie threatened.
Amused by her arrogance, I asked, "Why would I do that?"
Bernie shrugged. "I don't think you'll be able to handle the hate from the other women in this church. Everyone believes Raymond and I are a perfect match because of our reputations, but no one knows or respects you."
"In God's house, everyone is equal. Keep your so-called reputation outside the church," I retorted.
She chuckled mockingly. "In this day and age, reputations matter, even in churches. You're tarnishing Raymond's reputation."
"Maybe you should tell Raymond to walk away instead. Even if I break up with him, he'll never agree. Shall we test that?" I challenged.
Bernie nodded defiantly.
I dialed Raymond's number and put the phone on speaker. "Hi Raymond, I wanted to tell you that I'm ending this relationship. I'm tired of it already." I hung up and grinned at Bernie. "Count to five, and he'll be here."
Bernie rolled her eyes. "No woman can make Raymond stop what he's doing."
But in a split second, Raymond burst into the restroom and dragged me out, completely ignoring Bernie.
As he pulled me along, we attracted stares from church workers still present."I've never known you to be intimidated by anyone, so why would you let someone threaten you?"
Raymond asked, his voice low and intense.
"It was a plan. I wanted Bernie to see that I have a strong hold on this relationship," I explained.
Raymond gasped. "That was a smart move."
"If you hadn't come, she would've thought I was forcing my way into your life," I added.
Raymond nodded thoughtfully. "That was wise. Are you hungry? You must be, after all that calculating." He reached into his car and handed me some chicken.
I was starving, so I devoured the chicken eagerly. "Oh my God, I'm really enjoying this relationship," I said, laughing with him.
Noticing the sweat on my face, Raymond took out a manual fan and gently fanned me until I cooled down.
He also noticed my swollen feet in my heels."Did you bring flat shoes?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied.
Before I could reach for them, he had already grabbed them and squatted down to remove my heels. "I don't want your hands to get dirty while you're still eating. Let me do it."He carefully replaced my heels with the flats.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched him.
Even if this was just a fleeting moment of fantasy, I was going to savor it after the months of torture I had endured last year.
I dialed Juliet's number. "Hi, girl, I'll meet you at home."
"Take your time and enjoy this princess moment with our king," she replied before hanging up.
As Raymond drove on, he noticed the tears in my eyes. "Is this about Bernie?" he asked.
"Not really," I replied. "I just feel so emotional about your tenderness in this counterfeit relationship."
He rolled his eyes. "You act like you've never experienced tenderness before."
"I've always been the one giving tenderness. I trained myself to accept love instead of showing it. That's why I get emotional when you do things you don't even mean," I said, chuckling as I wiped the tears from my eyes.
He sighed. "This might be a counterfeit relationship, but every act of tenderness is genuine. You deserve to feel like a princess, Catarina. Don't let anyone make you think you're receiving too much love. It's just a natural instinct for you to be treated like a queen."
I tried to keep my emotions in check as I felt stirred again.
When we arrived at my house, a heavy silence fell between us.
Finally, I cleared my throat. "It was nice meeting you today."
He chuckled. "Why so formal?"
"Did I sound formal?" I asked, surprised.
"Why not?" he teased.
"I didn't mean to," I said shyly, stepping out of the car and waving until he drove out of sight.
Juliet appeared beside me. "Are you sure this is a counterfeit relationship?" she asked, laughing.
"You should've seen how he took off my shoes in church! I felt really special. Maybe I should've just skipped the hassle of a genuine relationship and gone for counterfeit ones all my life," I joked, and we both burst into laughter.
"Bernie and the other busybodies at church will take it out on you and we are ready for them!". Juliet grit her teeth.
Catarina shrugged. "I really wonder why everyone in church see Ray as lottery".
Juliet nudged her. "Take a look at ordinary counterfeit relationship already sweeping you off your feet, how then will the genuine one be?".
We burst into laughter again.
Juliet nudged me. "Guess what! Raymond made Francis Branch manager of the fish project".
I stifled laughter. "Why am I not surprised?".
"Really? Why are you not surprised?".
"Francis is the assistant pastor of a smaller branch of Christ Love Ministry two bus stops away from the office. I found that out from Jeremy. Obviously Raymond knows about it and appointed him branch manager because he is a spiritual guy".
"No wonder! How could I not have suspected?".