The first birthday I ever celebrated in my life was when I turned 19. I was in university and my friends at the time organized a small party for me. They even bought a cake for me. I’ve never felt so loved in my life so from that day, I promised myself that I would celebrate every birthday even if it wasn’t a big party. I was lucky enough to always have good people around me who planned a party for me. Birthdays were associated with love and happiness. However, as the years went by, I found myself having to plan the parties by myself. Most of my friends were too busy with their lives to plan them and since I wanted to celebrate my birthday every year, I had to do it myself.
The first time I planned my birthday party felt strange since it seemed like I was buying a gift for myself but it turned out great. I was so proud of myself and decided that I would be planning my own birthday parties from that day. It was easier and I got exactly what I wanted. I had more control of what I wanted which made the day even more memorable.
Nothing changed when I got into a relationship. In fact, my boyfriend was so happy that I didn’t put pressure on him to plan a birthday party for me. In general, I’m a low-maintenance girlfriend. I don’t ask for much and I’m happy just to have someone in my life. It’s probably because I wasn’t shown what love was like growing up. As I said, the first time I ever celebrated a birthday was when I was 19.
“What do you want to do for your birthday?” He asked when we started dating.
“I’ve already planned everything.”
“Really? That’s new. Most girls I dated expected me to plan their birthday.”
“I like to plan mine so that I have control of everything.”
“So what should I do?”
“Nothing. Just show up.”
“Okay.”
The first year of the relationship was good. Jack was a decent boyfriend. He wasn’t Prince Charming but at least, he didn’t stress me. We never argued because we had nothing to argue about. We both lived very independent lives and even when we were together, we were too focused on our goals and future to argue about anything. I liked it since he kept me motivated and I didn’t waste time worrying whether my man was happy. However, I must have trusted him a bit too much.
A wise man once said, “There’s no such thing as a good man.” I should have kept this in mind when dating Jack. I let his quiet demeanour fool me because he turned out to be a Devil in disguise. At times, I wondered whether he was too good to be true but he proved to me that he was genuine so I let my guard down.
The cracks in the relationship started to show a few weeks before my birthday. Jack never missed my call and when he couldn’t answer, he would message me immediately to let me know that he would call me back. I also didn’t call him frequently since I was busy with my work. However, I needed his help getting a cake since my usual baker was on maternity leave.
I called him three times in a row and he didn’t answer or message me back. I thought it was strange but I brushed it off. Eventually, he called me back.
“Hi, what’s up?”
“I’m good. What are you doing?”
“Nothing. I got your missed call.”
“Yeah. I was asking if you know a cake vendor.”
“Actually, I do. My friend’s girlfriend makes cakes.”
“Perfect. Can she make one for my birthday?”
“I’ll ask her.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
We ended the conversation and I never asked him why he wasn’t answering his phone. However, I saw James less and less after that day. He claimed that he was busy with work but this was a classic excuse that even I knew. I didn’t buy that his work was keeping him tied since I had a pretty demanding job too and I always made time for our relationship.
We talked a few times over the course of the week but I didn’t see him in person which worried me since I wanted to spend my birthday with him.
“Will you make it to my birthday?” I asked.
“I’m not sure but I’ll try my best.”
For the first time, I was dreading my birthday. I didn’t feel excited. On the contrary, I felt crippling anxiety. Apart from the cake disaster, I didn’t know if my boyfriend would be around to celebrate it with me. I tried to keep a positive mind and remind myself that the only thing that mattered on my birthday was that I was able to celebrate it.
I stopped focusing on whether Jack would celebrate my birthday with me. The only thing I wanted was a cake and since he had promised that he would deliver it, I wasn’t worried about it.
The night before my birthday, I called him to confirm what time the cake would be delivered.
“When is the cake coming?” I asked Jack over the phone.
“I’m not sure. Let me ask the lady.”
“Will you make it tomorrow?” I asked before he hung up.
“I don’t think so. I’ll make it up to you next weekend.” He said then hung up.
The following day, I got ready and welcomed the few people I had invited for my birthday. We enjoyed a few snacks as we waited for the cake to be delivered. I kept calling Jack to ask if they were on their way but, again, my calls went unanswered.
Around 4 pm, I got a call informing me that the cake delivery guy was at my apartment gate. I went to pick it up and almost told him to go back with it. It looked nothing like I expected. It was so small and the decorations looked cheap. However, I didn’t have much of an option so I took it.
As I turned to go back inside, the rider handed me the receipt and then left. I looked at it to see how much the cake was, then noticed that there was another woman’s name and number on the receipt. I knew it wasn’t the vendor’s details since those were at the top of the receipt.
I decided to find out who had paid for my cake so I called the number. She answered immediately.
“Hello.” I heard a bubbly voice answer.
“Hi. Is this Hilda?”
“Yes, who is this?”
“Did you buy a cake recently?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t for me. It was for my boyfriend’s sister.”
I hung up the phone in a panic. I never thought that ordering a cake for my birthday would expose my boyfriend’s cheating. However, the most insulting thing was that he told his side chick to buy the cake. He didn’t even care enough to buy it himself.
I tried to fake a smile but I was too distracted by my thoughts. The party ended early and as soon as my guests left, I tried to contact Jack. He didn’t answer the phone so I sent him a message letting him know that I wanted to break up. He still didn’t reply until I mentioned Hilda. He called back immediately.
“How do you know about her?”
“Her name was on the receipt.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cheat on you. Things just got out of hand.”
“You were the last person I thought would cheat on me,” I said then ended the call.
The truth was Jack had been cheating on me for months. It wasn’t a mistake and he had many opportunities to tell me what was going on but didn’t. From that day, I’ve never allowed anyone to take me for a fool again. I always keep a watchful eye on the guy I’m with regardless of how innocent they seem.
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