The mystery man

"I swear if I had a gun, I might as well go out there and blow out his brain," paused a little as she laughed, suddenly her expression changed at the sound of her first word as realization filled her mind;

"You know I can't believe I wasted three years of my life with that son of a…" the gorgeous dark-skin young maiden spoke as she gnashed her teeth while hitting her forehead before she got interrupted by her cousin's laughter. Who was just as surprised to hear Mwaba wanting to curse someone.

The grief she held inside for such a long time caused her body to shake making it so hard for her to even utter a word as she continued;

"You know I thought he was the one to save me, protect me, I will love you forever, those were his words." Mwaba's eyes hardened and narrowed into slits as she stood before a mirror looking at the familiar stranger reflected, she didn't recognize herself anymore, the

woman she saw standing before her wasn't her anymore. This woman who kept so much secrets and was so determined to lie time after time as long as she kept herself safe. She turned to look at Brenda,

"Just how do I go out there and make that announcement, and be working up to him everyday knowing it's all a lie?" Her big watery eyes held back a flood of tears as she didn't want to ruin her makeup.

"I know none of this is easy, but you have come so far to let one mistake ruin years of hard work. You will step out there and make that announcement." Before Brenda could even finish, a knock came through the door as a voice followed.

"Ma'am, it's your time to come and close the evening." It was Mwaba's personal assistant. Tonight was the official launch of the teenage pregnancy-free campaign. Mwaba's organization was a big organization and well recognized for its great work.

"We will be there soon." Brenda responded as she began to fix Mwaba's make-up as she told her, "Put up a great look, today is the day your life changes, look happy." She emphasized, "look happy." Indeed, she was just going to look happy because deep down she was breaking into pieces. The bathroom was on the far end of the hall, when going back she had the whole way to walk through. The room was filled with arrogantly dressed men and women, either in white or black. Each table had four people stationed on it and most of them were couples. Mwaba made her way to the podium with every step she inevitably called attention to herself, starting with the scent of her perfume down to the noticeable curves and edges which could be seen through the magenta dress she was wearing. The moment she caught eyes with Daniel, she smiled as she blew him a kiss followed by a wink. After she was done with her closing remarks, she cleared her throat as she said;

"Ladies and gentlemen" she paused a little until she made sure she got back everyone's attention. "We have a special announcement to make, my fiancé and I are getting married."

Fiancé? Did Mwaba just declare openly, that she was getting married, but to who? Everyone wondered. For how long has she been in a relationship and with who? No one knew she was even engaged. People in the auditorium wondered who the lucky man was as everyone knew Christopher as the one she was supposed to marry but that was before he got married to Miranda so who could this mysterious man be, who is this fiancé?

"Ladies and gentlemen, Daniel." Mwaba finally announced her man to the world.

Wait, what? Daniel was Christopher's best friend. Dumbfounded Christopher felt his heart rip apart in that moment. Even Daniel was in shock as well because he could remember asking this woman for a hand in marriage but she turned his proposal down. No one could believe what just happened.

Well, that is what happens when one gets too careless with their emotions, they lose what can't be replaced. It's sad how one gets to realize the worth of what was lost the moment it's already in someone else's hands.

Though Christopher was already someone's husband, he still couldn't hide it, the news was more than a shocker to him. Truly, he loved Mwaba, but just how and why did he leave her to marry Miranda? Guess Mwaba wasn't just enough to amount to marriage, otherwise why else would he have left if she was enough for him.

Marriage is the end goal of a relationship, if anything, marriage is what makes a relationship official. Otherwise, it doesn't speak so much for your relationship if your partner can't see you in their future with them. A lifetime of loving each other in marriage is the ultimate goal of a relationship.

"If you don't contain yourself, you will rue the day you met her" Miranda warned her husband while she rubbed her hand on his lap as her face maintained a very big smile.

The shock on Christopher's face could still be seen even after the warning from Miranda and it was clear questions cluttered his mind; "what just happened and why my best friend of all men?" Just how hypocritical of Christopher to make it seem as though Mwaba didn't fight enough for their relationship. For a long time Mwaba lived in a nightmare of Christopher proposing marriage to her and assuring her a whole life together, within the same day and breaking up with her.

Mwaba spent a long time praying Christopher would come back to his senses, as she would picture him coming back crawling and crying out for forgiveness to say; "Me marrying Miranda was just a joke, you are the one I love and want to spend my life with."

Mwaba and Christopher were planning a future together. The two were supposed to get married or perhaps those were only Mwaba's plans. It had no logical explanation how from nowhere there was another woman in the picture, and of all things Christopher was getting married to the new woman, Miranda. All that happened about five years ago and now Mwaba was finally moving on, she was ready to make peace with her past and all the things that hurt her, she was leaving it all behind. Questions still remained, why Daniel?

Daniel made his advancements but Mwaba turned him down because he was Christopher's best friend, she didn't want to hurt Christopher or come in between their friendship. So what could have happened to cause the sudden change and result to marriage of all things, to a point of publically announcing it.

The time Christopher left, the development was the talk of the town, the beautiful young and rich African woman can't even keep a man. Just how humiliating it must be to be left for another woman a month before your own wedding. Some sympathized with her as they wondered how painful it must have been that he couldn't even wait but to marry another woman. The rumors of their break up spread like wild fire, some talked of just how unfaithful she must have been and so her marriage to his best friend confirmed all those rumors.

Daniel was now making his way to where Mwaba was still standing, a round of applause continued as one would clearly tell some sounded like joy while others sounded like condemnation. Obviously people saw all that happened. Daniel bent his head to the microphone as he whispered;

"Thank you."

That night had been so mysterious that it left the groom to be with so many questions; 'what happened?' That was a mystery he'd to figure out. Meantime, he was going to enjoy the ride, besides he loved Mwaba. So all the answers he needed would have to find him in the question.

After she was done with their announcement, Daniel was the first to get down the four stairs as he stretched his hand to help her get down while her other hand held the dress.

Mwaba was a good woman such that Christopher couldn't even give a reason why he cut off their engagement. But every time a man leaves, it is a woman's incapability to keep a man, everyone goes just in to point out just how she must have done something wrong. What could she have done, when she did everything for that man? Even before they got married, his problems were her's, as she helped Christopher carry his burdens, she loved and did everything for him. She put him first, to her he was a priority in everything. All that a man could need she gave him as she valued and appreciated him, he was the center of her world. Perhaps when love becomes too much people tend to feel you are too needy and can't do without them and begin to see you as desperate.

Mwaba cut off all her friends for him, she changed her entire life just so she could build a life with Christopher. She sacrificed her life and career for him. Who knew all that love did was dig a grave and one day she would be the one to lay in it.

It is so painful to realize the moment Mwaba got to feel she has found the one is the moment Christopher showed her she wasn't the one and that she will never be as he left to marry another woman.

After their break up, Mwaba held so much resentment for him as all she wanted was to rip him apart, but then she realized he was not worth it, as she thought to herself;

"Why cry over someone who doesn't care that I am even crying?"

It is just unfortunate that Christopher couldn't even give her a reason why he left. Soon she stop trying to find closure to a world, she dreamt of having with him. But all that was coming to an end as she was getting married to his best friend. Who was now more hurt, the one who was left or the one who still loves?