If you’re an adult living in Nairobi and you haven’t experienced a heartbreak that left you swearing you’ll never date again, you need to teach a masterclass on how to avoid toxic people. Nobody is safe in this city, even the ones in long term relationships. You could be with someone for years thinking that you’ll spend the rest of your life with them yet they have another person and they choose to marry them instead.
I had never been in a long term relationship prior to dating Cedrick. The longest relationship I had been in was 8 months and it felt like years. We used to argue almost everyday so I knew it wouldn’t last long.
To be honest, I didn’t think Cedrick and I would date, let alone be in a long term relationship. I sort of had a feeling that he was a ladies man and avoided him for the first few months after we met. I was also in a vulnerable state when we met and I didn’t want to make the mistake of jumping into another relationship when I hadn’t recovered from the previous one.
However, Cedrick was adamant. He wasn’t pushy but he made me know that he was interested in me. Every time we bumped into each other, he would make sure that he made me smile.
“That dress looks good on you.” He said as I went down the stairs.
“Thanks.”
“Where are you going?”
“Church.”
“Pray for me.”
“Okay.” I said as I walked away chuckling.
After bumping into each other regularly, we finally exchanged numbers and planned to hang out soon.
“What are you doing tonight?” He asked after giving him my number.
“Nothing.”
“Do you want to come over and watch something?”
“Sure.”
I went to his place later that night and he got straight to the point.
“I want you to give me a chance.” He said.
“What chance?”
“You know what I’m talking about. I like you a lot Abby. If you give me a chance I promise I will marry you.”
I laughed thinking it was one of his jokes.
“You’re funny, Ced.”
“I’m serious. I want you to be my girlfriend.”
“I need to think about it.”
Though I had grown fond of Cedrick, I was still skeptical since I had bad experiences in my previous relationships. However, none of them had reached the point where I gave up completely on love so I agreed to date Cedrick.
I quickly fell in love with Cedrick and we became inseparable. Everyone in our apartment knew about us, even people who I didn’t talk to. Cedrick was so proud to let people know that I was his girlfriend and that he intended to marry me.
Of course, this attracted some haters but I was so in love that I didn’t want to hear any negativity about my relationship.
“Are you sure he’s going to marry you?” One of my neighbours asked.
“Yes. Why wouldn’t he?”
“Cedrick isn’t the angel you think he is. I know you moved in a few months ago and you don’t talk to many people so you wouldn’t know his true colours.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He’s a player. He changes women like clothes.”
That wasn’t the first time someone had warned me about Cedrick. One of his best friends also hinted that I might not be the only girl in his life.
Still, I didn’t see any signs that Cedrick was cheating on me. I actually thought Credrick was the one who would make me believe in love.
For three years, we had a nearly perfect relationship. We hardly argued and he gave me the ultimate princess treatment. He would give me anything I wanted, take me on romantic dates, and never made me feel sad or insecure. Our relationship was blissful and I looked forward to the day I would marry him.
At that point, we had built a little life together. It was like we were already married and we just needed to make it formal so I didnt even doubt that he would marry me. However, Cedrick hadn’t proposed to me yet. I assumed he was just waiting for the right time so I started hinting that I was ready.
“We should start planning our wedding.” I said.
“Yeah.” He answered enthusiastically.
“When do you think we’ll get married?”
“Maybe by the end of the year.”
A few months later, I didn’t get the ring as promised. Instead, Cedrick broke up with me abruptly. Nothing had happened between us. He just packed his things and left.
I felt so ashamed to leave the house since the whole apartment knew about our perfect relationship. However, things were only going to get worse. The rumours started going around that Cedrick was actually getting married to another girl he had been dating for two years.
I thought they were simply fake stories that people made up. I was still hopeful that Cedrick would come back and we would get back together. However, my hopes were instantly shattered after I saw a video of the man who promised to marry me walking down the aisle with another woman.
I was simply scrolling on social media when I saw a familiar face on one of the accounts that I followed. Cedrick didn’t use social media and neither did most of his friends so I wondered why I was seeing him on my feed.
The video was on a page that featured Kenyan weddings but it still didn’t hit me that I was watching Cedrick’s wedding. It was only when he stood at the altar that I made the connection.
“What? How could he do this to me?” I asked myself while still looking at the video in shock.
I decided not to contact Cedrick since it was pointless. He had already married another woman and nothing would change that. However, that experience was definitely my last straw. I’m never dating again.
Check out
My Three Baby Mamas Want Me To Marry Them
I Dated Two Men At The Same Time For Years Who Wanted To Marry Me
The Singlehood Series: When He Marries You For Optics But Is In Love With Someone Else
