THE VOW
EPISODE 11
© Jennipher Duru
After an hour, Helen knocked on Gabriel’s door. Gabriel looked through the peephole and saw that it was Helen. He quietly went back to his bed and refused to open the door. When Helen couldn’t get a response, she left a small note and slid it under the door. The note read “I know you want to rest, but staying alone won’t help the issue. Here is my number if you want to talk…” She left. Gabriel took the note and after reading it, folded it and threw it in the dustbin.
Cynthia finally decided to meet Monica at a nearby restaurant that evening.
Monica: Cynthia, why have you been avoiding my calls? I just wanted to talk to you to see how you were doing.
Cynthia: I am just not in the mood to talk to anyone.
Monica: How can you say such a thing? I am your best friend for heaven’s sake and care about you. That is why I had to leave everything I was doing to come and meet you here
Cynthia: Thanks anyway, but you have to understand that our plan did not work. Gaby has left me and he is nowhere to be seen.
Monica: Oh don’t worry baby girl. Gaby will come back soon. It’s normal for him to do this. But once he realizes how much he has messed up, he will come back. Just stay strong and make sure you don’t swallow your pride. You need to keep your dignity intact.
They left the place and were in Cynthia’s car. Cynthia parked her car near a minimarket in order to grab some few items. As she was about to step out of the car, her phone dropped from her pocket. Monica looked at it and kept quiet. She picked it up without letting Cynthia know and followed her to the minimarket. At their arrival, Monica suddenly said “Oh Cynthia, let me go and use the restroom”. She hurried to the restroom and once she was there, she put the phone on silent mode and hid it in her bag. There was no password to her phone, so it made her plans easier.
Cynthia dropped her at her house and went home. Monica quickly opened the phone and went straight to her Facebook profile. She put up a status on Cynthia’s profile which read “When you finally find true love…..feeling loved”. After a few minutes, she wrote again “I don’t care who gets hurt by my actions, as long as I am happy with him…….Celebrating my freedom”. People started commenting. Monica switched off the phone and hid it in her wardrobe.
Gabriel received a notification “Cynthia just updated her status”. When he saw the two statuses, his heart sank. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Many people had commented on them, some encouraging her to follow her heart, while others condemned her. He rose up in anger and hit his fist on the wall. He suddenly remembered Helen. He looked at the dustbin were he had thrown the note she left and picked it up. He dialed her number and asked her to meet him in his room. Helen arrived after a few minutes. Gabriel showed her the status. “I am really sorry sweetheart. Just try not to pay attention to all this ok?” she said, rubbing her hand on his lap. Gabriel looked at her. He felt the urge to kiss her, but something within him drew him back. Helen was already stretching her two hands on his shoulder to pull him towards her. He stood up and shook his head “No, I can’t do this. “Helen, I am sorry but you have to leave now. I am sorry for disturbing you. Here take this money for your transport” he said
Helen put her hand on his waist “Oh come on Gabriel, I know you want me as much as I do. I can make you forget your sorrows” she said. Gabriel was losing his strength. He looked at Helen and started to unbutton her top. Yet again, he stopped and this time around, with all seriousness, he spoke “Helen, please leave this place now”. Helen tried to hold him again, but he held her hands, opened the door and pushed her out of the room. Helen laughed “You are behaving like a kid” she said as she left.
Gabriel threw himself on the bed and cried “Why is this happening to me, why?”
Cynthia searched for her phone to no avail. She called Monica to ask about it but Monica said she knew nothing about it. “I am sure you forgot it at the restaurant. Cynthia went back to the restaurant, but couldn’t find her phone. She gave up as she thought it had already been stolen.
Upon seeing the status and the news circulating on social media, Sara tried to call Cynthia that night, but could not go through.
When Cynthia went to the office the following day, one of her colleagues asked her about the status. She logged on using her laptop and found numerous notifications. Her head was spinning “My account has definitely been hacked. I am sure the person that stole my phone knows that I am Gaby’s wife and put up those statuses.” She said to her colleagues. She decided to deactivate her account. She went to her network provider and retrieved her number. Sara called after a few minutes and Cynthia explained everything to her.
Sara: Cynthia, why didn’t you tell me all this from the beginning?
Cynthia: I didn’t want to disturb you, that’s all.
Sara: You know that you can never disturb me with such news. I’m surprised that even Collins didn’t say anything about it despite the fact that we have been chatting every day.
Cynthia: I am sure he had the same reasons. You are far right now and we want you to concentrate on your training, not giving you information about a couple like mine. I have actually made up my mind to just file for divorce, as I know that our marriage is beyond repair.
Sara: Oh don’t say that girlfriend. Your marriage represents a model to me. You and Gabriel are my role models. I am just so surprised that you listened to everything that Monica has been telling you. Don’t you know that Monica has been jealous of you from the beginning?
Cynthia: What do you mean?
Sara: Yes she has. Sometimes, she tries to talk behind your back when you are not around, but I always tell her off. I’ve never wanted to tell you because I didn’t want to bring enmity between the two of you. But she has really been jealous of you, believe me. I am very sure that she made up all those lies to see your marriage ruined.
Cynthia sat down and thought about what Sara had just told her. “Could she be right? Did Monica just come up with all these things to make me lose my husband?” she thought to herself.
That night, as she slept, she had a dream. She saw herself walking in a very hot desert heading to a place she could not see. She was becoming very thirsty. She looked around to see if she could find some water to drink, but there was none. She suddenly looked behind her and saw a gorgeous fountain with beautiful green grass and flowers. She tried to run towards it, but all of a sudden, a huge wall appeared in front of her that separated her from the fountain. The wall was too high to climb. “Oh God, how will I get over this wall? I am very thirsty” she said. Suddenly a voice sounded behind her calling her name. When she turned to see who it was, she noticed that it was the Pastor of the church she attended. He looked at her and spoke softly “Cynthia, Cynthia, Cynthia, The Vow! The Vow! The Vow!”. He disappeared. Immediately, Cynthia woke up from her sleep. She wondered what this dream meant.
To be continued
