We all have that one cousin who all your relatives warn you about. They are usually the example of who not to be. Vivian is that cousin. She was always a wild child. She never really followed any rules and it seemed like she got in trouble every time she did something. Nonetheless, she managed to make a decent life for herself. She finished her catering course and started her own business.
Her best friend, Diana, was one of her biggest supporters. She helped Vivian get customers and launch her business. Their friendship seemed like something most people would dream of. However, many of us couldn’t help but notice that it was a bit one-sided. While Diana came through for Vivian any time she needed her, Vivian didn’t put in the same effort.
She was always a bit self-centred so it didn’t come as a surprise to us that there was an imbalance in her friendship. Diana didn’t seem to mind, though. It worked for them and that’s all that mattered. I mean, they were best friends for 10 years so they clearly understood each other.
Since they were best friends, Diana felt comfortable confiding in my cousin. She was having problems with her fiancé and baby daddy and needed a friend who could lend her a listening year. She would go to my cousin’s business every day and rant to her. My cousin listened and seemed to be concerned.
“Give it time, Di. Every relationship has problems.” She told her.
“I’m trying but I’m so overwhelmed. I think he’s cheating on me.”
“If he’s cheating then you don’t deserve a man like that.”
It turned out that indeed, Diana’s fiancé was cheating but the person he was cheating with was the last person any of us expected. Diana came to find out later that her fiancé was cheating with my cousin. Again, it wasn’t a surprise. Vivian did whatever she wanted without any regard for other people. However, this one had gone too far. She was best friends with the girl for 10 years and you simply don’t betray such a friendship. Vivian was like a sister to her.
“Please talk to your cousin.” She pleaded with me.
“What can I tell her that we haven’t already said. She won’t listen to any of us.”
“He’s moving in with her. I’m now the laughing stock of our friend group. Everyone seems to have abandoned me.”
“Don’t worry, Diana. Her karma will catch up to her.”
Just as Diana said, the two moved in together. Their relationship seemed to be going strong. Most of us thought it was a fling that would die down after a month but two months in and they were still together. In fact, my cousin mentioned something about getting married.
We tried to warn her again but it fell on deaf ears. They flaunted their relationship on social media which was a bit cringe to watch but she looked like she was happy. A few weeks passed and she posted that she was as engaged to the man. She showed off the ring he bought her and a few pictures of the engagement.
While this would have been great news for our family, most of us expressed our disapproval.
“Vivian, I know you have your way all the time but you shouldn’t do this. It will come back to bite you.” I DM’d her.
She saw the message but didn’t reply. We later heard from her mother that we weren’t invited to her wedding because we were “jealous” of her love. It really didn’t bother me because I wasn’t planning on attending the wedding anyway. At that point, everything was out of our hands. We checked up on Diana from time to time to see how she was doing. She was healing but still, the hurt lingered.
“They’re getting married.”
“I know. Someone told me.”
“Just so you know, we’re not going to the wedding.”
“Thanks. But she’s your cousin. You should be there for her on her big day.”
“You’re very selfless but there’s no way I can support her behaviour. Has she even reached out to you?”
“No, I haven’t heard from her since the day we found out she was the other woman,” Vivian replied.
Despite the backlash she faced, my cousin continued to plan her wedding like nothing was wrong. The days drew closer and it became more apparent that the wedding was happening. In fact, it was only a week away.
We received a call from my cousin’s mother a few days before the wedding. She sounded hysterical and it took a few minutes for her to tell us what was going on. I thought that something had happened to my cousin or the wedding plans.
“It’s Ben. He’s… He’s dead.” She finally said.
It sounded like a bad joke. He died in his sleep the previous night.
“How is Vivian?” I asked.
“She’s alright but quite shaken up. She was sleeping next to him.”
I sympathized with her. No matter how bad she had done her best friend, no one deserved to suffer such a loss. However, I couldn’t help but feel like this was the karma we warned her about. The man wasn’t old and didn’t show any signs of sickness. In fact, my cousin had been out with him that day to pick out the wedding cake and flowers.
The whole incident seemed like it was a lesson from the universe. Some even speculated that it was retribution by way of a village witch. Or maybe it was simply a coincidence. Whatever it was, my cousin must have learned her lesson the hard way on why you should not build a home on another woman’s tears. Diana, on the other hand, must have been somewhere thanking the heavens for the karma. It’s safe to say that the besties were not going to reconcile or maybe they could bond over the experience.
This story is inspired by @ForeverTahj’s tweet.
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