“Are you sure, Harriet?” Sharon asked.
“Yeah, I’m very sure,” I replied.
“I’m telling you that I saw them outside his place of work,” Sharon said.
“George would never do that to me!” I replied as I gathered my things to leave.
I left the restaurant without looking back. I knew that Sharon was only looking out for me, and I loved her for it. However, George was my boyfriend, and I knew he wasn’t a cheater.
I met George during a date I was supposed to have with a guy from work. The guy didn’t show up, and since I had been sitting alone for a while, George came to my table. He cracked some jokes, we talked about random things, and he made the evening better for me. I felt like he was the one I was supposed to go on a date with.
We set up another date, and as time went by, we ended up dating. George was so good to me. He was kind, patient, understanding, and very loving. He would also help me with my makeup business from time to time. We had gone through so much. How could I start believing that this man I had been with for three years was cheating on me?
“Babe, is that you?” George asked as I opened the door.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I said as I walked in.
“How was your girl’s night?” He asked as he helped me take off my coat.
I kept thinking about Sharon’s accusation against George, and I had this urge to ask.
“We had a little misunderstanding, so I left early,” I said as I sat down.
“Oh, what was the issue?” he asked.
I looked at him and realized that I had no right to question him over what someone else saw. George was almost always at home. There was no way he was cheating on me.
“It’s girl stuff, don’t worry about it,” I said, smiling.
He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push for a good answer either.
“Okay, well, I took the liberty of packing for you; I know how much you hate packing,” he said.
“Thank you, love; I think I should go take a shower and then head to bed,” I replied as I stood up.
“Casey has already cooked, so I think maybe you should eat first,” he said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dining area.
I went and took a long shower after eating and went straight to bed. Usually, George and I would watch an episode of Friends before bed, but today I didn’t have the energy to.
“Are you okay, babe?” George asked before switching off the lights.
“Yeah, I will be; I just want to get up early, so I don’t miss my flight,” I replied.
He switched off the lights and got into bed.
The following day I left early; George had offered to take me to the airport, but I decided to let him sleep. I knew that if we went with him, he would ask me what was wrong again, and I would tell him what happened.
I got to the airport and boarded my flight. On the plane, I decided to let go of this story since I was traveling for work and didn’t want any distractions.
A few hours later, I arrived at my destination and went straight to the hotel. I was too tired to do anything, so I took a quick shower and went to bed. In the middle of the night, I heard my phone buzzing; it was George calling me.
“Hey babe,” I said in a sleepy voice as I picked up the phone
“Hey, you left without saying goodbye,” George said.
“Yeah, I woke up late, and I didn’t want to miss my flight,” I said.
“Okay, did you arrive safely, though?” He asked.
“Yeah, I did,” I replied
“Okay, we’ll talk tomorrow,” He said
“Okay, bye,” I replied before hanging up.
In the days that followed, I never spoke to George on call. He would text in the morning to check up then that was it. I was also too busy to have an entire conversation with him.
My trip was meant to be for five days, but on the fourth day, my boss asked me to travel back home. There was urgent work that needed my attention. I thought of surprising George since I felt I was harsh on him over an assumption.
I took an early flight so I could get him some gifts. When I was done shopping, I went home, and to my surprise, George was not around. Casey helped me carry some stuff to our bedroom and then assisted in cook supper for George. Everything had to be perfect.
As we set up for dinner, I noticed two stick-on nails under the table. I couldn’t believe how stupid I had been. At that very moment, George walked in, and he was shocked to see me.
“Babe, when did you get back?” He asked.
“Today,” I replied bluntly.
“What’s wrong?” He asked as he sat down on the sofa
Casey finished setting up the table and went back into the kitchen.
“Whose nails are these?” I asked, holding them up so he could see.
“I don’t know. They don’t belong to you?” he asked.
“George, I don’t do fake nails,” I responded.
“Oh, wait, I remember seeing Casey learning how to do her nails,” He said confidently.
“When?” I asked.
“Saturday,” He replied quickly.
“Casey isn’t usually here on weekends,” I said.
“That’s why she was learning how to do them that day. It was her off day,” He said.
“Casey, get in here now!” I yelled.
She walked into the living room slowly.
“Yes, Madam,” She said.
“Let me see your nails,” I said as I held up her hand.
I didn’t know why I asked her to do so. George was lying not because Casey couldn’t do her nails but because she always grew out her regular nails.
I held up her hand and showed George her nails.
“Care to explain further,” I asked him
George gave me a confused look.
“Women don’t do stick on’s when their normal nails are as long as hers,” I said.
“So are you trying to say I’m lying?” he asked.
“George, just tell me who the nails belong to before I get mad,” I said softly.
“I’m telling you they belong to her!” he yelled.
“Casey, were you here on Saturday?” I asked.
“No, madam, I was with my parents,” She replied
“Babe, she’s lying.” He insisted.
“George, I may be in love with you, but I’m not stupid. Casey always goes home every weekend to see her family,” I said.
“How can you be so sure?” George asked.
“Are you sure this is the hill you want to die on?” I asked
He didn’t respond.
I picked up my phone and texted his secretary to come over. It was time we all faced the truth.
“Who are you texting?” He asked.
“Wait and see,” I replied.
Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Casey went and opened up for Ashley, George’s secretary.
“Hey..” She said as she walked in
George didn’t respond.
“Hi, Ashley, by any chance do these belong to you?” I asked, holding the nails up.
She looked surprised and tried covering her nails with the sweater she was holding. “I think I have my answer,” I responded as I placed the nails on the table and went upstairs.
I packed a few of my things and called for an uber. As I walked down the stairs with my bag, George was still seated where I had left him. Ashley had gone, and Casey had started removing the food and mats we had set up on the table.
“Babe, we can fix this. Please wait,” George said to me.
“There’s nothing to fix, George, you chose Ashley, and now you can be with her. I can’t believe you were prepared to blame Casey for this.” I said.
“It was an honest mistake,” He said as he walked up to me.
My phone buzzed, and I knew that my uber had arrived.
“I’ll send someone over for the rest of my things,” I said as I walked out of the door.
The driver dropped me off at Sharon’s place. I talked to her about what had happened and apologized for not believing her. She understood that I had to face the truth in my own time.
The following day she offered to go and pick up the rest of my stuff. George asked her to talk to me and ask if we could sort things out, but she refused. He kept calling me every day until one day, I texted him and asked him to stop.
Months later, I bumped into Casey after work. I hadn’t spoken to her since that day. We decided to catch up at a café nearby. During our conversations, she mentioned that George dated Ashley weeks after we broke up. I didn’t feel bad since I had healed, and I had a feeling he would probably cheat on her too. We talked for a while and parted ways. This relationship opened my eyes to how naïve I was. Nevertheless, I had learnt my lesson and accepted my loss.
