I am Peace John. Why do I feel attacked ahead of this year’s Valentine’s Day (today)?
Maybe it’s because of the experience I had on 14 February, 2025 when, ahead of the day, my boyfriend, Paul, a stunningly handsome, well endowed, hunky dude, called me and asked if I will be less busy so we can go out and celebrate Valentine’s Day together.
As I live in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for outings most times we’d go to Kubwa, a bubbling satellite town located several breath-taking expressways’ drive close to the Federal Capital City (FCT) Abuja, to enjoy our quiet time at a beautiful, nature-suffused leisure spot/garden 🪴 known as Yellow Page.
Such spots dot the ‘happening’ towns in FCT as it is a deliberate policy of FCT Administration (FCTA) and the overarching Federal Government (FG) to keep the nation’s capital as green as possible and perhaps, make most parts as close as possible to being replica homes-away-from-home.
And indeed, residents are responding positively in terms of patronage.
On this day, I told him that “sure, I will be busy, but let’s see how it goes as I could be there.”
On 14 February, he called me again and I told him I was still busy.
But the reality, which I didn’t disclose to him at the time, was that I was planning to surprise him by showing up unexpectedly at his residence.
With my heart racing, I made my hair, bought a red and white dress, wore it, and looked as ravishing as any virile guy’s eyes could ogle.
I especially relished the red in the dress because the colour stood out screaming and didn’t need prodding to get noticed from even a far distance.
Besides, red is glued to Cupid, the mythical god of Love –and, by Jove, my guy knows I’m in love with him!
In this narrative of my experience, readers should permit my mixing of tenses as, sometimes, I still feel the happening is in the present.
My feeling for Paul is reciprocal too. He’s so attached to me that sometimes I feel ‘what if something untoward happens to me, can this guy cope?’
Truth made simple: we were deeply in love.
Like I wrote earlier on, because I wanted to surprise Paul, I didn’t inform him I was coming over.
Surprises on occasions like this can inject fuel to relationships and trigger sparks that send mutual affection billowing skyscraper-high.
When I got to his place, my world came crashing like a card pack as I saw him with another girl making out!
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Shock gripped my being. My knees nearly gave way. I almost fell down in a swoon.
In this miasma of confusion, my brain instantly recalled a million scenes of the assurances of fidelity and unbreakable love we’d sworn to each other, our dreamy eyes in those moments true reflections of sincere words flowing from the heart.
He’d never done this, betrayed me before –at least, not to my knowledge.
My Paul did this to me? I managed to hold my emotions, got back home, my vision and head blurred, and then a floodwater of tears came cascading down my face like a burst dam.
‘Why should Paul hurt me like this,or hurt me at all? What had I not given him or done for him? Just what?’ I thought, face soaked in tears.
Indeed, if tears could turn to blood, mine would have easily done so that day.
Paul, Paul, Paul, you who took me to your parents and introduced me to them!
You who led me to know practically every available member of your family and they all accepted me like I’m the next bride into the family!
Paul, you and I had gone very far in agreeing that we’d live the rest of our lives together!
Everything seemed on track and I was as happy as I ever could be!
You, of all beings on this earth, stabbed me in the back with this red-hot dagger? On a day as this?
The questions were as endless as the ocean of tears. I wept. I wept. I wept.
If I had ever done same thing to Paul, then I wouldn’t be as hurt. But I believed that as we would eventually end up on the altar, there was absolutely no need,no profit, in philandering.
I turned down the appeals of several men in the past just to stick to my guy.
And now this. I wept the more.
When I managed to gather a part of my reasoning faculties together, I called my close male friend, with whom I’m involved in a platonic relationship, and narrated my ordeal with Paul to him. Needless to say, he was beside himself with surprise.
After some time, same day, Paul started calling my phone.
Seeing the fond name I saved his number with light up on my phone screen, I cried out the more.
I couldn’t bring myself to take the calls. I was hurt, real hurt.
His sister and his dad later kept calling me too.
Inexplicably, with my mind in a whirl, I instantly began suspecting members of Paul’s family of aiding and abetting his ‘sin’ against me.
I thought: can they claim they don’t know Paul has that secret lover? Why didn’t at least one person pre-inform me all this time?
As the days went by, I resolved not to have anything again to do with Paul and his people.
I came to the conclusion, right or wrong, that Paul was just using me to while away time.
I consoled myself that I have to be strong and that rather than die, I’d call it quits with him and move on with my life.
And that’s exactly what I did.
A bad Valentine’s Day it was that year, but I’ve since stood firmly on my feet.
