Linda wanted a fairy tale kind of love. She wanted a Prince Charming that would sweep her off her feet and take her into a world full of warmth and romance. In her mind, she had the perfect picture of a gentleman who would shower her with affection and gifts often. One who would understand the five languages of love and pick hers perfectly, executing it with perfection. The universe might have paid attention to her prayers, she met with Brian and Brian was exactly what she had asked for, and even extra.
As she sat down in her living room having this difficult conversation with her friend, Halima, she could not believe that she fell for what was clearly not love. She paused while speaking to make sense of what she was saying. Brian had been manipulating her into being in a relationship with him by going over and beyond so that she was not able to think clearly.
“The first time you had warned me, I wondered why anyone would talk ill of someone determined to give love to a woman he loved.” She kept pausing and gathering her thoughts in order to explain what happened to Halima.
The first time Halima got to know about Brian’s intentions, had been when after two weeks of Linda and him knowing each other, Brian was all over the place wanting to take over Linda’s life. He was buying her things left right and centre. By the end of the second week, he had bought Linda new appliances in the house, including a new phone. Every day he came to her house with different gifts. That’s when Halima pulled Linda to the side and spoke to her about her concerns.
“Do you think that all this is okay?” Halima said looking worried.
Linda was very naive in her response. “What do you mean?”
“I mean everything that’s going on between you and Brian.” Halima had to point it out.
Linda could not see what was wrong. She had for a long time wanted a man who would come through in the way that Brian was now coming through. What Linda saw were answered prayers.
“I am not getting you.” Linda was genuinely confused.
“You should be concerned about how he is buying you expensive things and you haven’t even gone out for a long time. Two weeks and your house is full of new things.”
Linda got annoyed. She was mad at Halima because how could she not see that the type of man she had always wanted was now here? Her Prince Charming was already in her world changing things around, the way she’d always wanted. How can she see that as a problem?
“I can’t believe it, Halima. You are supposed to be happy for me.” She said getting so emotional because she could not believe her friend could be jealous of what her man was doing for her.
“I am happy for you, but I am also concerned. Things are going so fast. Too fast Linda.” Halima said as she tried to make her see sense.
Linda looked deep in thought for a few minutes. Halima thought she was thinking about how these were red flags. She thought she would see sense.
Then Linda spoke and said things that left Halima hurt. “I want you to leave. Right now. I can’t have hypocrites for friends. Life is already too hard and when things are starting to look better, you do what? Want to ruin it for me? No! Leave.”
Halima knew that there was no need trying to talk sense to her when she was that mad. She wouldn’t listen. She would continue yelling and calling her a fake friend and whatnot and in the end, there won’t be any reasonable conversation. She left but she knew that it won’t take long before things became clear to Linda.
Now, a month after the bitter exchange between Linda and Halima, they were seated having a chat. Linda had come to see that Halima was right. It actually was the first time after that bitter exchange that Halima had come to her place.
After gathering her thoughts well enough, Linda spoke yet again.”It seemed like he was genuinely in love with me from my end. After all, this is something I had wanted for a long time.”
“So when it came with other intentions, you could not see. I understand.” Halima said, understandingly.
There was a long silence. Linda was trying to process what had happened over the past month. Brian had been a married man, going through a rough patch in his marriage. She had been the consolation that Brian needed and when things were back on track in his home, he disappeared. Leaving Linda hanging.
“It was a fall from Heaven to Hell, Halima.” Linda described how it felt
“I can only imagine,” Halima responded.
From going to dinner dates like every other weekend, constant communication and gifts every now and then, to nothing, and silence. The sudden change of events was too dramatic that Linda was sometimes left questioning herself about what had gone wrong. Was it true that he had left her or he’d come back one day?
“I must have been blinded by the too-good moves that I failed to see reality for what it was.” She admitted to Halima that she indeed had been right.
Linda could see that Halima was sorry for her. She was sorry that her romance-filled relationship, which was heavenlike was short-lived. She was also sorry that it had all been a lie. She knew everything in detail and her eyes showed it all. She realized that had she listened to Halima, maybe she could have avoided all that was at hand. She could have saved herself from the sorry look that her friend was giving her right now.
“I wish I had listened to you,” she admitted at last.
Halima smiled. Then she said sarcastically. “You were deeply in love,”
“That was not love.” Linda said.
Linda could see that all her friend had come to do was give her a listening ear. She had nothing else to say. She had said it all the day she came to have a difficult conversation with her the other time.
Linda understood. It was better than having someone reminding her every now and then that she could have done something about it. She appreciated her presence and continued talking.
“If it was love, it would have truth in it. It would not have been him and the wife showing up and taking everything he had bought me.”
One day she might find it funny but not at the moment. The drama that had happened when Brian came to her house with his wife. They had come with a pickup, and the wife ordered the guys they’d come with to pick up whatever looked new. Linda told Halima what happened. Halima made it into a joke that they both laughed at.
“That’s not the issue though, I can always buy myself anything I want. But how about the constant attention and love I had gotten used to?”
“There’s that,” Halima said.
“I feel so lonely. Unbearable so if you ask me.” Linda confessed.
“I know how it may feel,” Halima responded “Especially when you look at your phone and see the chats while you were dating.”
“Yeah. Especially when I look at the love messages.”
“It was love bombing girl. I don’t know how that swept you off your feet, you are usually very sensible. I didn’t think such things would turn your head.” Halima spoke her mind, hoping that Linda wouldn’t be annoyed.
Linda could not understand how she failed to see Brian’s actions for what they were. He had made moves aimed at making her let down her guard and let him in her world. He had made extravagant gestures but done within a short time of them knowing each other to blind her. After a few moments, she found the perfect words to say what was in her mind.
“I think I had a yearning for such type of love and it did not matter how it was packaged. Even when it was in the extreme and obviously manipulative.”
Maybe accepting that she had been blinded by the love bombing would give her closure. Had Brian’s manipulative actions met her guarded and more careful, this could not have happened.
“Do you think I could have prevented this?” She asked Halima.
Halima sighed before saying anything. Linda knew the answer to the question she had asked Halima, but she needed to hear Halima say it out loud.
“I don’t think so. I spoke to you about it. Do you remember how you reacted?” Halima reminded her.
How could Linda have forgotten that? “Yeah, I remember how nasty I was towards you. Sorry about that. I am really sorry that I did not listen to you or take your counsel.” She apologized.
Halima came over and hugged her. “I think it was destined to happen. No amount of convincing could have made you see things clearly.”
“I know,” Linda said as she returned the hug. She had loved and lost but she was happy to have her friend back.
Here are other short stories you may want to read.
Our Love Burned Hot And I Was So Happy. I Did Not Know I Was Being Set Up For A Con
My Romantic Boyfriend Was Actually A Toxic Love Bomber
My Friend Cut Me Off To Save Her Toxic Relationship
I Thought He Was The Perfect Guy. He Love-Bombed Me And Then Ghosted Me
He Took Breaks From His Main Relationship To Date Other Women
The Burden Of The Past Unexpectedly Poses A Dilemma On A Budding Love
I Loved Her But She Was So Obsessed With Being On Tik Tok It Would End Up Ruining Our Dates
