I met Johnny a year after my ex-boyfriend left me to marry another woman. We became friends for a few months before he proposed. He was very nice and everything he did showed he loved me. But I told him to give me some time to think about it because I wanted to be sure that I was ready for a relationship. After thinking about things for a while, I decided it was time I give love another try. So I accepted his proposal and we started dating. We had good times together and the vibe between us was lit.

I was a student in one of the universities in Kumasi while he worked outside Kumasi. We agreed that to make the long-distance work, I had to travel from school to his place almost every weekend. He also visited me whenever he was off duty. I grew to love this man with each day that passed. I’d sit and think, “It’s so refreshing to be loved and treated right for once. This guy is the best thing that’s happened to me.” We had conversations about everything. And we often traveled to beautiful places and enjoyed ourselves. 

When the time came for me to do my internship program, I found a place in his neighborhood so I could live with him. And for the entire duration of my three-month internship, I stayed with him. We both believed in living in the moment, so that’s what we did. But as time went on we started talking about the future. I had less than a year to complete school so we planned that I would introduce him to my parents after I was done with school. In the meantime, he introduced a young woman to me. “Babe, this is my sister. Well, technically we are cousins.” He said, “She is married with a three-year-old child, and they spend time with me whenever they are free.” He explained that the lady’s husband works elsewhere and comes home only on weekends. I didn’t doubt anything he said because of the trust I had in him.

I took this lady my boyfriend introduced to me as a sister. She came around with her child every time I was there, and we talked, cooked, and ate together. Sometimes I bought clothes, and toys for the child. My boyfriend also went to her place to eat, whenever I wasn’t around to cook. Things were very okay with us and Johnny often talked about us getting married. 

One weekend I went to visit him when around 11 pm on Sunday his phone rang. The caller ID had his sister’s name. Initially, he didn’t want to pick up the call because he said it was late. I told him, “If she’s calling you by this time then you should pick up. It could be an emergency.” He listened to me and took his phone to the hall to talk to her. I thought it was a family issue so I wasn’t bothered. I slept peacefully until I heard Johnny’s footsteps heading to the bedroom. I looked at the time and realized that an hour had passed, but I didn’t ask any questions.

Another night around 1:00 AM his phone rang, it was his sister again. He took the phone and went to the hall and stayed there for hours. The next morning I asked him, “Why did your sister call so late last night? Is everything okay with her and the child?” He looked me in the face and said, “No things are not okay with her. She is having some family issues so she called to talk about it.” “What kind of family issues? Is her husband not acting right?” I pressed. He replied, “Oh you know the usual misunderstandings in marriages. I can’t say much on the subject because she confided in me.” Truth be told, I wasn’t happy about his answer but I accepted it.

The lady came around later that day and insisted on spending the night at our place. That was when I started asking questions. “Johnny, it doesn’t make sense to me that a married woman would leave her marital home and insist on spending the night with her brother. What at all is going on with her?” He fumbled through his answers and whatever explanations he gave me didn’t even make sense. I decided to accept it but do my secret investigation. I left for school the following week and didn’t return to his place for almost three weeks because I was writing exams.

 I was in class one evening when a message popped up on my phone from an unknown number. It read, “I pity you. Do you think Johnny loves you? Do you honestly think he will marry you? You are just wasting your time with him. When he finishes using you, he will dump you and I will still be here. We have a child together so he’ll never leave me.” I was confused when I read it. I tried to figure out if the message was meant for me or if the sender sent it to the wrong number. I called Johnny and told him about the message. I even forwarded it to him so he would read it for himself. “Do you know the number?” I asked. He said, “No, I don’t. And I’m not cheating on you so rest your mind.”

I didn’t believe him but he swore it was the truth. I remember us arguing about the issue for days. I started having doubts about him and became very suspicious. I tried calling that number but it wasn’t reachable. I went to his place that weekend and we still talked about the message. He still denied ever knowing that number or being involved with someone else. That night when he slept, I took his phone but I realized he had changed his password. So I put the phone down and slept. The next morning I had my eyes on him, especially when he was using his phone. I paid close attention to him until I got to know his new password. That night I unlocked his phone and entered the number that sent me the message and immediately his sister’s name popped up with love emojis.

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 I was surprised, “I thought he said he doesn’t know the number so how come? Besides, I have his sister’s number already. Or this one is a second number that only he knows?” I pondered over these questions as I read their chats. The things I saw left me more shocked and confused. They talked about how much they loved each other. They also talked about their child (his sister’s three-year-old child is his and not her husband’s). She even said, “You know that my husband’s small joystick doesn’t satisfy me. I fake everything he does just to boost his ego.” I thought that one was the most shocking until I read another text that said, “When are you leaving your girlfriend? You know I want you all to myself.” I felt weak when I saw it. I wept bitterly the entire night until the next morning.

When he woke up I showed him what I found, gave him my piece of mind, packed my stuff, and left. He called several times to apologize telling me, “So the truth is that she is not my sister. We were dating when she married someone else. I didn’t know she was even pregnant with my child until after her marriage. I kept her around because of the child but I don’t love her. It’s you I love.” I found the whole thing messy and confusing, but I forgave him and moved on with my life. It’s been seven months since the breakup and I am healing. His baby mama keeps texting me insults because she says I am the reason Johnny doesn’t entertain her or their child anymore. I have blocked all the numbers she has texted me with but she keeps texting me with new ones. 

Her husband doesn’t seem to know about his wife’s affair, or that the child is not his. He lives in the dark and even though I think he deserves the truth, I am minding my business.

—Selena

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