Betrayal

Valerie Marquez

It was supposed to be the dream come true…The fairy tale. The kind where everything falls into place. The kind of story people write songs about. How uncanny it was that the night we met in a night club, I was on a girl’s night out. When I met the man of my dreams, he was tall dark and handsome, and our eyes met and locked, across a crowded room. On the turntable they were playing the song…Secret lovers, you know the one by Atlantic Star. 

He was tall, dark, and handsome with beautiful, hazel eyes. He was wearing light blue, and it made him stand out from the crowd even more. It really suited him. He made a beeline for me, and of course I played hard to get. But, by the end of the night, he had my number. That was it. I thought so. He came into my life like a whirlwind. We clicked, like lightning, everything seemed perfect. He was sweet, attentive, thoughtful, everything I wanted. Two years in, and I was convinced I’d found the one.

We travelled a lot together, went on holidays, little weekends away, and I was in it, all the way. He showered me with gifts, flowers, necklaces, the occasional trip to a new restaurant. He always had an excuse though for why I couldn’t attend some of his family functions, but I didn’t think much of it. I had met his mum, she was like a ray of sunshine, I always felt warm and secure around her. And sister, she was lively and funny. We all seemed to trundle along well. Although there were times however, when he found excused not to attend functions with me. It would be, work, a guy’s weekend, his mate needed him, whatever. He was still there when it mattered. We never moved in together, though. Timing wasn’t right, he said. Maybe that was a red flag, and I didn’t see it. 

We’d save up for a place, make it official when the time came. We even set up a joint account, talking about our future like we were already married. I had no reason to doubt him.

Then came the ‘guys’ weekend. He’d done it before. A break from work. Some time to bond with his mates. I didn’t think twice. But when he came back this last time, something was… wrong. He had gifts, new trainers, a tracksuit. A little flashy, but whatever. He’d bought the wrong size, though. The first time he’d messed up.

So, I decided to stop by his flat after work so we could go swap them. No big deal, right? 

But something was off.

When I got there, his friend answered the door, looking shocked as hell. His mop of curly hair untidy, like he’d just been caught with his pants down, he stood awkwardly at the front door trying his utmost best not to let me by. I didn’t understand what was going on as he’d usually opened the door seeing it was me and just let me in. 

Instead, he dropped the bomb. Pow…Boom, Crash, wallop!

“Andy doesn’t live here anymore. He moved out months ago. He had been crashing with me while he was sorting out his new place.”

“Excuse me? What? I froze. Months ago? He was supposed to be saving for a place with me. The joint account. Our plans. All of it. I didn’t understand.

I barely got the words out, demanding to know where he was living now. His friend hesitated, but finally, after a long pause, he gave me the address.

I headed straight there, my mind racing, the weight of confusion suffocating me. When I arrived, I knocked on the door, my hands shaking. I didn’t know what to expect but I was furious, and I wanted answers, and I wanted them NOW! 

A woman answered. Young, fresh-faced, that soon turned into a frown. With long dark hair in braids, she was holding a child. She looked me up and down, with distain. Sizing me up like she had all the time in the world. The worst part? She was wearing the exact same red dress Andy had bought me, oh my God…the same necklace, and the same pink fluffy slippers. For crying out loud. Was this some kind of twisted joke.

“I want to see Andy.” I demanded. “What the hell is going on here?” I asked her, but she wasn’t rattled at all.

Who the hell was this girl, and why the hell was she living in his “new place?”

She didn’t answer right away. She was cool, calm, like she was used to people showing up asking questions. Then, she spoke, her voice cold but polite.

“I’m Lena,” she said, “More to the point, who are you and why are you looking for my man?” It made me wonder had something like this happened before. “Andy and I have been together for years.” She stated. “What do you want with him?”

I found it hard to explain that I was his girlfriend too…

What? Years? I felt the ground shift under me. I felt faint standing there; it was like I’d been in a car crash and the Air Bag was suffocating me. I stared at this woman, while the child gurgled. And suddenly, the truth hit me like a freight train.

She wasn’t just a random lady. She was his girlfriend. No, no, no, she was wearing an engagement ring. She wasn’t just his girlfriend; she had been his fiancé the whole time. They’d been off and on for years, broke up and got back together three years ago. He’d moved in with his mate while she was living at home with her parents, saving money for their future. Their baby girl was just seven months old.

And here I was, standing in the middle of their life—his life—with no clue that everything he’d told me had been a damn lie.

He’d been playing us both. Everything he gave me; he gave her too. Same clothes. Same jewellery. Same damn slippers. What the hell? How had I missed it? How had she been so laid back?

I realised that there was no real point in having a go at her when he was the one to blame. He had wronged us both and there was a child amid it all. How could he?

Lena invited me in, I wasn’t sure if I should, but I wanted to know more. Lena and I sat down, both of us in shock now, trying to piece together the wreckage of what we’d been told. She was kind to me, but I could feel the pain in her voice, the rawness of betrayal she’d been carrying around. At the same time there were moments when I felt she was gleeful, as she had her man, and I was just the spare part. We were both victims of the same damn liar. And there he was all the while, living a double life carefree.

I left their house, numb, but I couldn’t break down there. No, not in front of her. I didn’t want to cry in front of the woman who’d been living the same nightmare. I left and walked home in the rain, my head spinning. Every step felt like it took me further away from everything I had known.

It felt like I was walking through the streets in a haze after I left their house. My mind couldn’t stop replaying the conversation we’d just had. I thought I’d known Andy. I thought I had it all figured out. His little quirks, his love for me, the way he looked at me like I was the only one who mattered. But now I realized it was all a façade. A carefully constructed lie he had been weaving between two lives, and I was just another stitch in that damn tapestry.

The rain hit my skin, cold and sharp, but it did nothing to cool the fire that was raging inside me. How could I have been so blind? Every time he told me he couldn’t make it to a family event or needed a “guy’s weekend,” I believed him. Every excuse felt legitimate. Why hadn’t I questioned him more? Why hadn’t I asked the right questions when the red flags popped up? How had he managed to manipulate me into thinking that he was my soulmate when he was busy making the same promises to someone else?

I got home that night, soaked to the bone, my thoughts tangled in knots. I didn’t even know what to do next. All I wanted was to scream, to hit something, to tear down everything he had built up in my life. But instead, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at my reflection, wondering how much of the woman I’d become had been a lie, too.

The betrayal was harsh. I wasn’t just heartbroken. I was furious. Furious at Andy for being the man who could betray two women at once. Furious at myself for falling for it.

I tried calling him that very night, I wanted answers. Was anything we had real? Now that the cat was out the bag, it was funny how suddenly he couldn’t/wouldn’t answer my calls. Or call me himself with an explanation, I was just left hanging.

I took it upon myself to go see his mother and sister as I felt they had betrayed me too. We got along so well. I was comfortable with them; they had welcomed me with open arms. Did they dislike me so much that they went along with what he was doing knowing fully well that one or both of us would get hurt. They both confirmed that they have known Lena for years. That she was his high school sweetheart, and when they broke up, they were happy about it as they never liked her. They didn’t know that they were back together and heard about the baby through people outside the family. They didn’t believe it was their job to tell me. 

We hugged and cried together; they begged me to keep in touch. I left teary eyed; I wasn’t sure if I’d want to keep in touch. Not after all that had happened. Right now, it was all just too much to process.

I was in a right state, constantly crying, and checking my phone. I was living in hope that he’d at least ring me or come see to explain. Tell me something anything… I went sick from work; I couldn’t face telling anyone or having anyone seeing me in this state.

I could hear the Queens words; Never complain or explain.

Three weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it. After everything, I was pregnant!

There was no turning back now. Andy had made his bed, and I wasn’t going to lie in it. Not anymore, the deceit was too much.

One day, I found myself standing in front of the mirror again, this time with my hands on my stomach. I realized that this wasn’t the end of my story. Not the way he had intended, at least. I wasn’t going to be some casualty of his deceit. No, this was my life, and I was going to take it back.

I wasn’t just going to move on—I was going to rebuild.

And when the baby came, I’d be ready. Because whatever else Andy had taken from me, he hadn’t taken my strength. Not yet.

It seems that red flag had been flying for quite some time, when I think back to that song I heard playing when we first met. That’s all I was…His secret lover…

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