The Betrayal
"Ritaaaa" that was the first time I heard someone call me so loud that I had jump out from my bed in fear."Ritaaa" the voice came again, this time louder than before. ',who could this be? I asked my self repeatedly before forcefully opening my eyes."Rita" then the door opened and someone came in."Are u still asleep?" It was Sarah my best friend and roommate"do you realize how lazy you have been this days? You literally sleep anyhow and anywhere.or are you preg..." Before she could finish that sentence, I was up."are you mad?" I managed to reply her"I was just asking as a concerned friend" Sarah stood up and walked to the door to close it"you were calling my name so loud.what happened?"Then she turned and smiled at me saying"I saw Oliver"
" Oliver?"I asked her again and she nodded"yes,but maybe i might be mistaking him for someone else.but the guy I just saw looks just like Oliver"she replied. You might be wondering who Oliver is!! Well... Oliver and I dated Ten years ago in the year 2015.he is what most girls call ex and he is what I call a mistake.Oliver and I started dating when he came for his NYSC in Lagos,I met him in a restaurant and we kicked things off in a couple of weeks.we were really in love with each other at that point,and we promised to remain loyal and faithful to each other.
While I was busy picturing the future with Oliver, he was busy planing to leave lagos for Abuja to meet his fiancee. For the past two months that we dated,all he did was plan to get married in Abuja and abandon me in Lagos.Funny how men breath after hurting others.
After hearing about Oliver's marriage, I totally broke into pieces.i cried, refused to go outside and refused to eat or drink anything.that was how much I loved Oliver and how much he hurt me.I always heard people say Time heals' but in my situation,time turned it back on me, abandoned me and left me to pick the remaining pieces of my life.it was hard for me to believe that Oliver was not going to be part of my plans in the future.it hurt me so bad that each time I knelt to pray,I prayed for Nothing but a failed marriage for him.but unfortunately for me....God does not answer those kind of prayers...
Weeks grew to months and months grew to years but I never grew pass that pain and agony.each time I went to his Lodge to ask about him,I would be told"Oliver has moved on..you should do the same" but is it actually easy to move on?is it easy to tell children to walk away from their home and never look back? because that was exactly how I felt.i felt like a child been taken away from her family and told never to come back...I felt lost and lonely.....
And now after all this years,he has come back?How?why? What businesses would he have with Lagos after Ten good years...was he good?,was his wife in Lagos?,or was he just meeting a friend?..all these questions I asked my self without an answers.i was curious to know why he was in Lagos...
"Where did you see him?"I asked Sarah
"Along the road"she answered still trying to lock the door properly.
"What road?and where?"I asked her again still looking so confused and angry.
"Do you want to run to him?"
"Of course not" I sharply replied, knowing fully well that I was lying to myself.
"Then why do you want to know where I saw him?..it's irrelevant right? It shouldn't bother you because Oliver is a past participle and not someone that you should worry about.okay"
Then I nodded,knowing that I worried so much about someone who treated me like Trash.....
"It's 7:30 already..we have less than thirty minutes to get to work and remember you promised the manager not to be late again.so please get up"
Sarah and I worked at a graphic design Company not far from our house.Sarah and I have been friends for the longest and I loved her so much.she was my backbone,a friend turn sister,a role model and a mother to me,she was everything in one.working at a graphic design Company was not our dreams but we had to do anything to put a food on our table.
We both got ready and left for work.....
When we got to our workplace,I headed straight to my table and sat down,did my little morning prayers and proceeded to clean my space.
"Good morning,Rita".....that was Judith my colleague at work.
"What's up"was all I could say
"Are you okay? You sound sad"
"I am okay,thank you"
Then I continued with cleaning my space.
"If you say so...are you hungry? Let's go get breakfast before Mr.Ade comes to work"
"No,thank you"
"C,Mon,nah Rita..it will not take time I promise..pleaseeeeee"
While Judith was pleading with me to go and get breakfast with her,I also thought about going outside to receive some fresh air....so I accepted to go with her so that I could have a short time to breath and think before actually starting the day with work.
So we left the Company and headed straight to where we normally got breakfast.
"Omg...I am so happy for Sarah..and I know you would not be so happy for her because you are about to be alone and--"
Immediately,I cut her off....
"Happy about what??"
"Did you not know?"
"Know what,judy?"
"Sarah is transferring to our branch in Abuja as a manager..did she not tell you??"
"You are not making sense Judy...what are you talking about?"
"Sarah has been sending a transfer letter through me to the boss for over seven years now. Did you not know?"
"Sarah has been asking to be transferred for seven years now?"Judy nodded in response....nothing Judy said made sense...how could my best friend,my roommate asked to be transferred and not tell me?why? Why would she want to leave? Why would she want to leave and not tell me of all people...Why?
I didn't ask Judy any other questions because I wanted to hear from Sarah herself.we walked and Judy kept talking about other office colleagues..she was the talk active.
"Good morning ma"Judy greeted the restaurant owner immediately we entered the restaurant.
"You are welcome" she replied us with a smile and offered us a place to sit.
While Judy was busy placing our orders....I was glued to my phone trying to find the right way to text Sarah..then someone tapped my shoulders saying
"Hey"
Then I gently lifted up my face to know who it was....lo and behold it was somebody that I never expected it to be....