We started dating when we were in Level 100. Wendy was the most beautiful lady I’d ever seen on campus, and because we came from the same town and had a lot in common, we became friends and later started dating. I didn’t have money, but I did my best, and she also did her best to support me. When she needed money for books and the money didn’t come from home, I would call my parents and lie to collect money from them to help her buy the books she needed.

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She would also do the same for me when she had the means. There was no me without her. While on vacation, she came to visit me at home, and I boldly introduced her to my parents as my wife-to-be. My dad looked at me like he was seeing a ghost. My mom didn’t understand where I got that boldness from. I was ready to risk it all for her.

When she left, my dad called me. I thought he was angry and was going to reprimand me, but he said, “I sent you to school to learn and not to bring home a wife. One day, this lady will find a more mature man and leave you behind. You can’t marry your classmate.”

I brushed him aside, thinking he was just jealous of me. Maybe when he was my age, he couldn’t date a beautiful woman like mine. Our love blossomed from first year to third year until Alex came into the picture.

He didn’t come as someone who was interested in Wendy. Wendy had a problem with her hustle, and he helped her. Later, they became friends. I personally went to Alex to thank him for helping her, and we even became sort of friends. I would see Alex, say hi, and we would talk for a while. Unbeknownst to me, something was building between him and my Wendy.

One day, I saw Wendy coming out of Alex’s hostel. She told me she was around and had gone to say hi to him. Alex himself told me I shouldn’t think about it the wrong way because he had called her when he saw her passing by.

The rest of the gossip came from friends and mates who were in Alex’s hostel. They told me they saw Wendy going out of the hostel late at night or entering the hostel late at night. I asked her about it, and each time I did, she told me I was going to allow gossip to ruin our relationship.

So one evening, after I had seen her off at her hostel gate, I hung around to see what was going to happen. I stayed there until 12 a.m. Just when I was about to give up, I saw her in a short, straight dress hurrying out of the hostel. I followed her quietly until she got to Alex’s hostel gate. Just when she was about to enter, I called her name.

“Wendy, I thought you should be sleeping by now?”

She jumped when she heard my voice.

“I thought you said the rumors were lies, so what are you doing here this late at night?”

A few seconds later, Alex also came out, apparently to take her inside.

“What is going on? You guys should tell me what is going on.”

The most hurtful thing is when you expect to hear lies but are met with the truth. I had seen the truth with my own eyes and was still asking questions, hoping she would lie to me.

She said, “What do you want me to say now? You’ve seen it. I don’t have anything else to tell you.”

Alex went back inside, leaving us to sort out our issues.

“Wendy, remember where we started from. Is it because Alex has more money than I do? Is it because he’s in a better hostel than I am? Remember, I’ve always been there for you even when I didn’t have anything.”

I delivered the perfect speech to change her heart, but I think she had gone too far to turn back. She still went inside the hostel, leaving me standing there like a telephone pole.

“Herh Wendy. Herh Wendy. Herh Wendy…”

That’s all I could say while walking back to my hostel.

The kind of heartbreak that happened to me, I thought I wouldn’t survive it. I could call my dad late at night and ask if my mom was okay. My dad kept asking if I was okay. I would go quiet, sob, and say I was okay. My friends were laughing at me, especially when they saw those two together. I couldn’t stand the jokes, so I went home.

I told my dad what the issue was, and he burst out laughing. “I hope this broken heart doesn’t affect your grades. That’s where my investment is, and that’s what concerns me.”

When I went back to school, I called Wendy. I begged her.

“If it’s money, dear, one day I will become very rich and take very good care of you. Alex doesn’t have money. He’s using his parents’ money to lie to you. He doesn’t love you. I swear he has other women.”

Nothing I said made sense. What my dad feared happened. I trailed two subjects that semester. My dad said he wasn’t going to pay for me to rewrite those papers. Finally, it was my mom who paid.

After that heartbreak, I vowed to be successful. I vowed never to allow any woman to put me through that kind of pain again.

Eleven years later, Wendy and Alex are married and have two kids together. I see their lives on Facebook Reels. I saw their wedding. I saw their honeymoon, and I’m still watching them move from grace to grace while I’m here, jumping from one trotro to another, praying success finds me before I’m too old to enjoy it.

I Called My Girlfriend And Another Man Answered The Phone

My dad was partially right. He got it wrong when he said a more mature man would come for her. Alex only had the money I didn’t have, and he won.

I don’t know if I’m happy for them, but I’m happy for the lessons I’ve learned. I’m happy I can tell my kids how to guard their teenage hearts. I still feel the pain of that very night I found them. No one should have to go through that kind of pain as a boy.

—Martey

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