8:05 PM
Hey Lati, great to see you. I’ve been anticipating your arrival. Remember, I promised I’d share a story with you. But guess what? You’re getting the drinks this time! Are you in or out? I can’t just head out to a bar at night, leaving my family at home, just to hang out with you without getting some payment in return. And by the way, I even had to bribe my wife. So, what’s your decision?
You’re the man, I knew you wouldn’t hesitate. Alright, let’s get to it!
So one evening, I was leaving my house to catch a football game when I got a call from my ex-girlfriend, Veronica Johnson. I was really happy to talk to her since it had been years since we last spoke.
We ended the call abruptly, as I didn’t want to miss the game – it was a big derby.
After I got back from the game, I called her and we had a lengthy conversation. We reminisced about the memories from our relationship, things that we both connected with. It felt like everything was fresh, as if it happened just yesterday.
She mentioned that she ran into Favour at an event, and through him, she got my contact info. Favour was a close friend of mine from our tutorial years.
I was overjoyed. The time I spent on that call made me feel like a missing part of me had been found – not replaced, but rediscovered.
So, we agreed to meet up on the weekend. But hold on, let me give you a brief background on Veronica.
When I told you earlier that reconnecting with Veronica felt like a missing part of me had been found, I meant every word of it. That phrase carries a lot more weight than you can imagine.
Veronica wasn’t my first girlfriend, but she was my first love, the only girl I ever truly adored. I could have worshipped the ground she walked on and would have willingly sacrificed for her – that’s how deeply I cared for her.
We first met at a tutorial while preparing for our JAMB and Post UTME exams.
Veronica was an absolute beauty. Fair-skinned with long, shiny dark hair. Men of all ages would marvel at her beauty. She was down-to-earth, and her smile had the power to brighten up anyone’s day. Sometimes, it was contagious – even if you were in a bad mood, you’d find yourself smiling without realizing it. She had a curvy and attractive figure, just right in every way.
Her intelligence matched her beauty. She wasn’t just a pretty face; she had brains, which set her apart from other girls.
I won’t dive too deep into this part of the story today; there are more essential things you need to know.
But you know how it goes – someone has to date the beautiful girl, no matter how attractive she is. So, I played my cards right, and we ended up together.
We dated throughout our tutorial years and continued into university. We even attended the same university and studied the same course – psychology.
Unfortunately, her parents didn’t approve of our relationship due to our different ethnic backgrounds (I’m Yoruba, and she’s Igbo).
After we both graduated, we had to go our separate ways. It was painful, but we had to respect her parents’ wishes.
I got to the restaurant well ahead of her to ensure everything was perfect. I knew she liked a quiet atmosphere and valued her privacy, so I reserved a table for two in a secluded spot.
In the days leading up to our meeting, we kept in touch, and I have to say, those calls and texts were some of the best moments of my week.
As soon as she saw me, she rushed into my arms, and we held each other tightly for a moment. I could feel her heartbeat as she nestled against my chest. We stayed like that, both of us smiling and lost in the moment – it was truly beautiful.
Eventually, we let go, and then we got down to business.
Now, let me share a few things I learned about Veronica that night.
I discovered that she earned her MSc in Marriage and Family Psychology and had been practicing for the past five years. Coming from a respectable family, it wasn’t surprising to see her achieving so much. I was genuinely happy for her and proud of her accomplishments.
Veronica had grown into an even more alluring woman. She exuded a sense of elegance and sophistication, and her smile was as radiant as ever. I had to compose myself to avoid being completely ensnared by her charms.
But then she shared something with me that night that nearly shattered my heart. How could a marriage counselor be single? She revealed that she had been married five times.
Can you believe it? I was just as shocked when she told me. That night, she opened up and explained a lot to me.
Veronica’s first husband was Francis, whom she met at the NYSC camp. He was an accounting graduate and had a muscular build. She was drawn to his self-sufficiency despite coming from a well-off family. He was ambitious, loving, and had charisma. An outgoing extrovert, he introduced her to the clubbing and party scene. She enjoyed his adventurous spirit that added excitement to her life.
Within a few months, she got to know him better, which influenced her decision to date him. After being posted to different places for their primary assignments, they eventually reunited and got married.
However, after six months of marriage, she started noticing changes. He became irritable, constantly nagging and finding fault over trivial matters. Arguments over minor things escalated into verbal abuse, with hurtful words even directed at her parents. She tried to reason with him, explaining that she needed time to adjust to these changes, but it was futile.
Veronica discovered that he was a chronic drug user, particularly weed. She stumbled upon his stash one day when she was searching for his credentials. His behavior became increasingly intolerable, and their relationship turned toxic. Eventually, she decided to leave the marriage.
Then came Charles, who won her over with his silver tongue. She fondly called him “Sugar” due to his smooth talking. He had a way with words that deeply affected her. Yet, he was a narcissist, manipulative and never admitted fault. He belittled her efforts and manipulated situations to his advantage.
Despite red flags, she believed he’d change, but he grew worse over time. He stopped showing affection, became unsupportive, and his charm faded. He only seemed interested in her sexually, and even then, their intimate encounters were marred by his aggressive behavior. He introduced BDSM elements into their sex life without her consent, and it left emotional and physical scars.
Veronica had to leave Charles as well, and her experiences led to a deteriorating self-esteem.
Jude, her third ex-husband, appeared calm and religious. A bank manager with a good income, he struggled with anger issues. Despite his church involvement, he concealed his abusive nature behind a façade of religiosity. They were seen as a perfect couple from the outside, but behind closed doors, he unleashed physical and sexual abuse on her. Her pleas for him to seek therapy fell on deaf ears.
Veronica’s own counseling clients admired Jude for his church persona, unaware of his darker side. He isolated her from friends and even assaulted her in front of her friends.
Whoever sees him in church contributing to “Sunday school” topics and quoting scriptures flawlessly and effortlessly would pray to have him as a partner.
She has seen ladies on different occasions admiring them from afar; she has heard rumors of how ladies wish for Jude as a husband; how intelligent and eloquent he was and so on… But they were shortsighted; they only saw the surface, leaving the deeper part of who he truly was. If only they knew who Jude truly was; if only they knew his true nature: if only they knew he was abusive sexually and physically, they would never wish to be in her shoes, let alone envy their relationship.
Jude’s shortcomings were insecurity and anger. I mentioned anger earlier, right? Yes, I did.
Jude would take her phone for days just because he suspected she was cheating on him and, to be honest, she never did!
She is a marriage counselor for goodness’ sake; she has to resolve couples’ disputes. She has to be there for her clients whenever they call.
Jude would forcefully grab her phone from her in the middle of a conversation with her male clients; yell, threaten, and warn them never to call her line again.
He went to the point of telling her to quit her job, that he is capable of providing for her needs, but she argued that they never agreed on this before they got married. He knew she was a working-class woman before he proposed to her, so why the sudden change of mind?
Jude would physically abuse her with a belt, with a stick; he would chase her around the house as if she were a criminal; he would slap her; forcibly undress her, and sexually assault her; if she resisted, he would punch her, turning her into a punching bag like someone in a boxing ring.
Several times she had to lie about her health or give other excuses as to why she was absent from work whenever he confined her to the house.
Living with Jude was like living in bondage: he was so controlling and hot-tempered.
At first, she wanted to endure the problems that came with the marriage, but later when it became unbearable, she had to escape for her life. She informed her parents and they ensured he spent 4 months in prison. It should have been longer, but constant pleas from his parents saved him.
You’re amazed, right? But you won’t believe what I’m about to tell you next.
She met her fourth husband at a restaurant; it was love at first sight when her gaze met Chiwendu’s; her heart was beating very fast; she could feel goosebumps all over. Her heart skipped, and her voice faltered when he approached her; smiled, and said, “Hello young lady, looks like you’re having a good time.”
She stammered, “Hi,” because his smile was enchanting. He was well-built, tall, and composed. She was just smiling like a fool as he kept smiling back.
She didn’t plan to marry anytime soon, because she was afraid the same thing would repeat itself.
After her experiences with men, she had sworn off relationships for the time being, but Chiwendu had a compelling presence. It felt like magic. And coupled with the fact that she had to be a role model for her clients.
If she’s teaching her clients to maintain a healthy and peaceful relationship, she has to have one herself.
So after months of dating Chiwendu, they became husband and wife.
Chiwendu was so loving during dating and even in the marriage. He was peaceful and understanding, but he didn’t go beyond kissing her.
She should have known when he told her no intimacy before marriage. She should have known he had issues when he always gave weak excuses not to be intimate with her. She should have known when he told her he was working on his sexuality for her. Instead, she prayed fervently that God would intervene.
Each time they planned to be intimate, he would fall asleep or not come home.
Her parents began to question her about why she hadn’t conceived yet since he was her best spouse so far. This worried her, so she began to find ways to initiate intimacy.
She tried everything she could to seduce him, but nothing worked. She was getting tired. All they did was joke, play, cuddle, and sleep in the same bed—no sex.
So one fateful day when she got to the office, she realized she had forgotten something at home and rushed back to get it.
She was expecting a client that morning, so she took the fastest route to the room.
As she got closer to the room, she began to hear some strange sounds. But this sound was unusual because it was the sound of male voices—moaning—a deep, mature male voice. She was perplexed. She felt like she was hearing things. Not until she burst into the room and found another man on top of her husband engaging in an immoral act. She froze instantly as both men separated from each other in a state of shock, confusion, and guilt.
** 8:55 pm Let me finish my drink… So…
Veronica got sick and tired of her failed marriages. She almost succumbed to depression.
Her colleagues started calling her names because of her situation; she couldn’t attend some family functions due to low self-esteem.
Every time her marriage fell apart, she changed churches to avoid shame.
Gradually, she began to lose herself. The only things that kept her going were her profession and her family. Her family stood by her. They never gave up on her.
Then out of nowhere, Eseosa came and swept her off her feet. He appeared at her most vulnerable time.
He showed her care and helped her through her recovery: protected her from shame; brought joy to her face. He promised to be with her for life, and she believed him. She saw him as her other half—her prince charming.
Against her parents’ wishes, she moved in with him. She turned down several advances from other men in her community. They had put her through enough hardship.
Eventually, she gave her already wounded heart to Eseosa, but to her surprise, the angel she thought had come to be with her for life was an illusion.
That night, Eseosa drove her wild: he had sex with her passionately; he left her in a state of ecstasy. It was the best sex they ever had.
Little did she know that night marked the end.
She returned home that evening and found no trace of Eseosa or his belongings. She tried calling him, but his phone was off. She worried and tried reaching his friends and family, but their phones were unreachable.
She was worried, so she had a thought and went to his workplace. There, they broke the news to her: Eseosa had informed them that he was relocating abroad with his family.
They added that they had celebrated his success at the office the day before. She didn’t know what came over her, but all she remembered was…she found herself in the hospital bed.
I held her hands when I noticed the change in her expression. I had to comfort her and reassure her that now that we are together, she is safe.
You said I’m romantic, well, I’ll take that as a compliment.
I think destiny brought us back that night.
My love life hasn’t been any better either. I haven’t been lucky in relationships since Vero and I went our separate ways. Things could have been much better if her parents had approved of our relationship earlier.
Do you want me to share my story? Seems like you want to stay here tonight.
But I’m grateful Vero stayed strong… maybe for me… because not many survived similar experiences.
This time, her parents couldn’t say no to the Yoruba boy again, because it was clear we were meant for each other… And we lived happily ever after.
9:30 pm
Listen Lati, I’m not being biased, but some relationships are not meant to be messed with. If Vero’s parents had accepted our union; if they hadn’t sacrificed their daughter’s happiness for their rigid beliefs and ideas, she wouldn’t have gone through these traumatic experiences.
Here’s Another Amazing Story: My Identity: Ewa’s Dilemma
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