LOVERS DESK
Lovers Desk is a weekly Lovelife.ng series that explores the relationship struggles and exploits of young Africans. It showcases the hidden love and hurt stories that are rarely shared or discussed, helping you see through their lens and draw lessons for your own love life.
MY STORY
I got a message on instagram that changed my whole life.
It was from a young guy who slid into my dm on the 17th of May 2017.
Before responding to the message, I went over his profile pictures as is customary for most people and I liked what I saw.
From what I could get from his profile, he was handsome, tall and really well built. He also seemed to be well off judging by the cars and luxury pictures in his page.
I was naturally attracted to him. We got talking that evening and we texted back and forth for hours unending. This was not the first time I had texted that long with a guy before, but, this was the first time I had completely enjoyed it.
He eventually asked for my number to continue our conversation and I obliged him.
The next day he called me and I was completely taken aback by his voice. His voice was soft and warm, completely different from his physical looks. I was expecting a completely deep sounding voice.
I told him that and we laughed over it. We spoke every single day after that and talking to him soon became the best part of my day.
I started to request for a video call after a while but he would always make up an excuse for it. I soon started to grow exhausted with just talking on the phone and I let him know how I was feeling.
He told me he didn’t want to see me in a video call yet because he wanted to see me physically first.
We both eventually planned a meet up date. On that day, I wanted to look really stunning so I took my time to curl my hair, apply makeup and spritz my expensive body perfume all over my body.
I also wore a gown that showed off my long beautiful legs. The aim was to totally impress him at first sight. I held my breath and hoped that I would meet someone who stayed true to their instagram pictures.
Well…
We met at the freedom Park in Lagos. When my Uber driver dropped me off, I looked around for a sign that he was already in the park, but I did not find any macho looking male that fit his description.
I called him again and he told me that he could already see me, and that was when things got weird.
I did a quick search with my eyes again and that was when I noticed a car that looked exactly like the one on his instagram page parked at the corner of the park.
I made my way tentatively to the car and almost at the same time a woman came from the back of the vehicle pushing something forward.
She was pushing forward a man on a wheel chair who looked very pale and frail.
I almost ignored them when I noticed the man on the wheel chair was watching me intensely. And that was when it hit me forcefully like a tonne of bricks.
I didn’t want to believe it at first, so I took out my phone from my purse and dialed the number of the guy I’ve been talking to for a long time, I was completely shocked when the phone that rang out sat helplessly on the thighs of the wheel chair bound man.
I gave him a closer look and discovered that he was indeed the same guy but years apart from his pictures.
I was too stunned to ask for an explanation but he told me anyway. He explained to me that everything he told me was true but that he had missed one important part, he had a heart disease and it had been eating away at him for a long time.
He told me he was scared that if he had let me in on the truth I would leave him. He also went on to say that he had been given a few years to live and meeting me had been one of the best and happy parts of his otherwise miserable life.
I obviously needed a moment to digest everything and I asked him for it. After some weeks I decided that even though he lied to me, it was understandable. I also found out that I was already deeply in love with him and that did not change because he lied to me or because he was sick and frail.
I told him I was still willing to give him another try and that ended up being the best decision I could have ever made.
He died three years later, in 2020. I was by his side holding his hand till he drew his last breath. I’ve been unable to give myself fully to another man after that, he was everything.
He is the best man I’ve ever known and even though he’s gone, his memories will remain with me.
