Grace was like a sister to me, or so I thought. She had been my friend since primary school and we had been through thick and thin together. However, she started changing her attitude towards me when I got engaged to Michael. She didn’t even send me a congratulatory message when I announced my engagement on social media.
When I confronted her, she simply said, “I didn’t see it.”
Grace was a social media addict. She’s that one friend who sends memes from morning to night in the group chat. So, I didn’t buy her story because she didn’t see my engagement post. Nonetheless, I let it go. I was in a happy mood and wanted to celebrate with my friend.
Fast forward to a year after my big, beautiful wedding, my friendship with Grace was non-existent. We mostly interacted when one of our mutual friends hosted a party but after that, we went our separate ways.
Though I had other friends, I missed Grace and I was feeling a bit lonely in my marriage. Michael was gone most of the time since he worked for the military and I didn’t have much to do at home since I was a housewife. I decided to reach out to Grace to try and rekindle our friendship. Surprisingly, she accepted my lunch invite.
“Of course, I’ll come. I miss you too.” She replied excitedly after I requested her to visit me.
“What should I cook for you?” I asked.
“Anything, darling. You know I love your cooking.”
I didn’t want anything to go wrong so I cooked almost every food I could think of. I made pilau, white rice, grilled chicken, beef stew, chapati, Mukimo, mashed potatoes, kachumbari… you name it. You would think I was hosting a party of 10 but it was just me and Grace.
She showed up on time. In fact, she showed up a bit early and helped me set the dining table.
“Long time, my friend,” I said, trying to break the ice. I could tell that she was still reserved so I wanted to make her feel comfortable.
“It’s been long indeed.” She finally smiled.
We set the table as we caught up on lost time.
“How’s marriage?”
“It’s good but it can get lonely.
“You know, this is Nairobi. If you get lonely, you go out and look for someone to keep you company. Kwanza you’re lucky because your husband isn’t around.”
I laughed and then looked at Grace who wasn’t even smiling.
“I have some tea for you, my friend. Sit down.” I invited her to the living room where we both sat on the same couch.
“You know, it got to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get a side piece.” I said in a whisper.
She looked at me in astonishment and excitement at the same time.
“You? The church girl? Njambi the Saint?” She still couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah. I’ve been seeing him for a couple of months now.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re too good to cheat on your husband.”
I unlocked my phone and showed her the text messages between me and the other man. Then she started to believe me. I thought showing her that I wasn’t so perfect and my life wasn’t as rosy as everyone thought it would bring us close as we used to be. It did.
Grace opened up to me and we ended up talking the whole afternoon about our lives. She even slept over. The following morning, she woke up early and left without as much as a goodbye. I tried to call her but her phone went unanswered.
As I prepared to leave the house, my phone rang. I thought it was Grace returning my calls but it was my husband.
“Hi, babe,” I said.
“Babe? So, you’ve been cheating on me? I’m here risking my life to make a living for us and you’re sharing your body with any man that looks at you.” He said, rather calmly.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t try to play dumb. Grace sent me the screenshots of you flirting with that man. I want you to be gone by the time I come back home. Go and live with that man.”
I was in shock and still couldn’t understand what was going on. Everything happened so fast that it took me a few hours after the phone call to realize that my friend had betrayed me. I had confided in her and she betrayed me in the worst way possible.
I wasn’t even upset about the divorce. If I’m being honest, I got married for the wrong reasons and to the wrong person. My marriage had been challenging from the beginning so I was relieved that it was ending.
What hurt me the most was that my friend was the one who incited my husband to divorce me. She had betrayed my trust and went a step further to cook stories so my husband could divorce me.
I was served the divorce papers when I was still in my matrimonial home and that was when I realized that things were truly over. I moved out shortly after that. My husband didn’t even bother to find out how I was doing when he came back. I later found out that he and Grace were dating which was funny to me. Grace was nothing like me. She was more of a downgrade but to each their own.
I already moved on and I’m enjoying my new life. However, it still bothers me that my close friend was the reason my marriage ended. It wasn’t until I got divorced that I realized the impact bad friends can have. Nowadays, I mostly keep to myself as it takes a lot for me to trust anyone. I also don’t think that I’ll get married again. One marriage is more than enough for me. I’m enjoying my freedom.
Check out
The Relationship Coach Who Was In A Toxic Relationship
A Lunch Date Brought Me Back To Life After A Messy Divorce
His Lesbian Best Friend Turned Out To Be His Ex! He Lied To Me For The Two Years We Dated
My Best Friend’s Boyfriend Accused Me Of Flirting With Him After I Rejected Him
We Broke Up Because Of His Relationship With His Female Best Friend
