Till Lies Do Us Part (A Short Romantic Story)

They say he who finds a wife has found a good thing; No one ever said what happened to he who lost one.

Two year ago, I lost the most important thing that’s ever happened to me; my wife. The first day I laid eyes on Cynthia, I knew she was the one for me. I had met her at a friend’s engagement party and for some reason; she was the only one that caught my attention. I watched her for several minutes, trying to muster enough confidence to approach her, knowing fully well that at some point or the other, I was going to make a move on her that evening.

Cynthia was a beauty to behold that evening. She wore a blue sequence dress which hugged tightly to her curves. Her dark hair was pulled up in a bun, showing off her sexy long neck. Long silver earrings dangled down from her ears. Her cream colored skin glowed under the party light. She had high cheekbones which complimented her round face with large dazzling dark eyes. I was lost in those eyes.

Every time I caught her laughing with her friends, I couldn’t help but smile along. It was as if I had lost my mind and talking to her was the only thing that would make me whole again.

It seemed impossible to get her sole attention with her friends hovering over her. Luckily, Jennet, the bride to be was my high school best friend and when I saw her walk towards me with Cynthia by her side, my hands trembled.

“Victor!” Jennet exclaimed excitedly as she came towards me. I quickly handed one of the waiter my glass of wine. It was the lady standing next to Jennet; it was her effect on me that left my mouth dried and thirsty.

“Oh my God, Victor, It’s been so long.” She came in for a hug.

“I’m almost hurt that it had to take a wedding, my wedding before I could see you again.” She said and I smiled shyly. Jennet had been that one girl I was head over heels in love with back in our high school days. We had tried dating when we graduated from high school but it just didn’t work out so we agreed that it was better if our friendship didn’t transpire into something more than friends. A year later, I introduced her to my college roommate now here we were, at their engagement party. When we separated from our long overdue hug, she introduced her friend to me.

“Victor, meet Cynthia, she’s the very best. And Cynthia, meet Victor, the guy I told you about.” Jennet winked at her friend whose cheeks were now turning a rosy red. We shook hands as the hostess went on with her introduction, it didn’t come as a shock to me that Jennet had already told Cynthia about me, she’d been bugging me about getting married since she got her ring.

“I’ll leave you guys to get talking.” She said just as one of her guests called for her attention.

There I was with the girl I hadn’t been able to get my mind off. She called a waiter for a drink.

What do I say to her? My time was running out and one thing I’d learnt was to never keep a lady waiting so I began, hoping she’d take every word that came out from my mouth as if spoken by the Lord himself. So I began.

“First they meet, then an engagement, a wedding thereafter and the divorce comes last as a shock.”

“But if the love is always there Mr.?”

“Victor, please.” I said quickly. I stood in awe, the sound of her voice knocked me out of this world; it was enough to have melted pharaoh’s heart.

She smiled before she continued. “If the love is always there Mr. Victor, there would be no need for the last point you mentioned.” she took a sip from her glass. “In fact, I have proof of it.” She added.

She was the outspoken type, just what I needed. I came to stand in front of her, playing my cards right to get more information about her. “Proof? Are you married?”

She chuckled. Taking a sip from her glass of wine again, she eyed me and I felt those dark pretty eyes on me, hypnotizing me.

“Yes, I am. Happily married.”

“Oh,” I swallowed hard, not really sure if she was bluffing or simply being honest.

“How about we talk about your happy married life some other time over lunch, tomorrow?” I continued, hoping that the being honest part was only in my imagination. As much as I would have loved to spend more time with her that night, I had to speed things up because my friend, James was coming towards us. We came in together and I knew he’d had his fair share of the drinks- and ladies- and was ready to go.

“Someone you know?” She said after she had turned to see who it was, having noticed that I had moved my gaze away from her.

“Yeah. About lunch, what do you say?” I replied, trying not to derail and hoping to get a positive response.

“I’ll think about it.” she said, as she swirled her glass of wine in a circular motion.

“Okay, can I at least get your number while you’re still thinking?” I said hurriedly because James was getting closer to us. She stared at me puzzled when I didn’t bring out my cellphone to store her number in. I had forgotten my phone at home but I had a very good memory.

“Don’t worry; I got it stored up here.” I told her, gently tapping the right side of my head with a finger. She let out a witty laugh of agreement just in time before James got to us.

“Now, what is a lovely lady like you doing with a brute like Victor?” Cynthia’s dark painted lips curved into a feigned smile. But that wasn’t enough to stop James, he continued. “By the way, can I just say you look dazzling, magnificent, beautiful, and let’s not forget sexy in that dress? No other girl here can compare.”

I jumped in, not wanting him to ruin my chances with Cynthia. I responded to his previous question. “Same thing you were doing with that lovely lady over there, talking.”

I sensed Cynthia was growing uncomfortable, so I asked James for his cellphone. I wanted to make sure I had all eleven digits of her number correct, so I dialed the number she gave me right in front of her but her phone didn’t ring. She was embarrassed at the scene and simply smiled asking I give her my number, but I refused. I insisted that I had hers instead. I knew I was moving too fast considering that I’d just met her a few minutes ago but I couldn’t just let her go like that. She called out a different number and I quickly saved it on James’s phone.

We bided each other good bye and I watched her leave first, her head tilted down.

As soon as I got home that evening, I dialed her number and thankfully, she picked up. We spoke for hours that night and I didn’t forget to ask soon enough if she was truly married. I imagined her smiling and nodding her head as she gave me the answer that kick started our relationship.

A year later, after three break ups and everything you could imagine could possibly go wrong in a young relationship, I popped the big question on our way back from a two weeks’ vacation in Calabar.

Our wedding day was one of the best days of my life. I had everything I’d prayed to God for, and when she called me three months after our wedding that we would be expecting our first child, I couldn’t help but thank God for how well he was taking me through this journey called Life.

Iffy came some months later. We were so excited to have her as part of our family. She brought so much joy along, and we soon realized she added stability to our now growing family.

Two months after the baby came, the unexpected happened. Everything changed. My wife and I were coming back from another friend’s engagement party when we were suddenly thrown off the bridge by an unknown driver. Cynthia always hated to wear her seat belt, saying it doesn’t really prevent the inevitable. But that fateful night came so suddenly and I’d hope for once she hadn’t kept to her believe.

One minute we were giggling about the recently engaged couple’s recall of their meeting and how it seemed familiar to ours, and the next, my head was bursting through my car’s left window.

“Hello sir. Sir, are you okay? Can you hear me?” I couldn’t get a clear view of the person speaking but I knew it had to be a woman due to her soft voice. I tried to move my body but I was knocked down by the excruciating pain from my head.

“I’m a doctor and I promise you will be fine. Just try not to move, okay?” I heard the voice say again.

“Where am I?” I asked her. She told me I had just gotten involved in an accident and in that instant, I came back to life.

“Cynthia… Cynthia…” I called out wearily, trying to move myself up.

“Sir, there is no one else here with you. Was there another passenger in the car with you?”

“Cynthia, my wife… S-she,” those were my last words as I blacked out again for the second time.

The doctors were sure I wouldn’t survive because I had suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury from the force of my head breaking through the window of my car but my doctor was determined to make me whole again. Vivian was the doctor who found me that night. She was like an angel sent to me from God. She was the one who broke the news that shattered my world.

Two weeks after the accident, they had found a body which they claimed to be my wife’s and she was proclaimed dead. I couldn’t even attend the funeral they had hastily prepared for her. Who prepares a funeral when the husband is still not sure of making it out alive, I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye because I was still battling to survive and be there for our then two months old daughter.

Eight months later, Vivian and I began a romantic relationship. It started that one evening after I dropped her home from work. She invited me in for dinner and I couldn’t refuse. One thing lead to the other, the next morning, we were agreeing on a possibility of dating. At first, I needed her because I missed my wife who was taken from me unfairly by death. I also needed a mother figure around my daughter and so I needed her more but then, I began to fall for her. The night I prepared to head to the restaurant where I told Vivian to meet me, I had one intention and one only, I would ask her to marry me.

“Victor, are you sure about what you’re about to do?” James asked when I told him that

evening.

I placed the phone back to my ear after finishing off with my tie. “Yes. You know how I feel about her. I just feel this is the right thing to do.” After giving his approval, he advised me to not be too heartbroken when Vivian refused my proposal. I stared at myself one more time in the mirror, making sure that I at least looked like a man who was about to ask a woman to spend the rest of her life with him. Although I was nervous about the step I was about to take, I knew it was the right one.

As I hurried to the door to leave for the restaurant, my house keeper stopped me. “Sir, will you be coming back tonight?” the elderly woman asked.

“Mrs. Ada, I hope not.” I winked at her and we both smiled.

Upon opening the door, the sight that welcomed me rendered me speechless. As soon as I opened the door, I felt a weight fall into me. I jerked in shock at the lady who looked lifeless in my arms. My throat tightened and I could feel my heart race in disbelief.

“Jesus Christ!” I exclaimed in utter shock as I carried her into the living room. Mrs. Ada who wasn’t far away came to my rescue.

“Water…” she said, coughing.

“Chineke!” Mrs. Ada screamed upon seeing the lady in my arms.