Hello Love, Goodbye. Thanks For Cheating

June 30, 2021

Hello Love,

My memories with you are still vivid clear and it's only amnesia can remove them from my mind. Do you still remember the first time we talked with each other? It was in the middle of Summer in 2007 and you got my number from my classmate who was your former classmate and your neighbor. She actually gave your number to me as well as she thought I needed it. Was she our cupid? From then on we started exchanging hi's and hello's, good morning and good night, have you eaten yet? What are you doin'? How are you? I'm fine thank you.

All days and nights as if we were connected and we don't want to miss every single minute not texting each other until the free 100 texts and 60 minutes free call were all consumed. I still remember how annoyed I was because my Nokia 3315 keypad was boisterous especially when everyone was on the bed and the darkness has covered the whole house, and only the occasional faraway barking dog broke the silence of the night. But it wasn't only a barking dog can break the silence, but my phone's keypad as well. With the fear that my mother might hear, I was removing the keypad at night and just use a pointed thing to press the phone. We were texting until we fall asleep.

Do you still remember our unplanned meet-up? We were walking down the street that time and I was heading to the terminal and you were heading somewhere else with your classmate. As I spotted a familiar pair of shoes heading in our direction, my heart beats abnormally. They were the same shoes I saw from a group picture my friend has shown to me, your picture with your high school friends. That's when I checked the owner of the shoes to confirm if it was you. When my friend (who was your friend) called you, I cursed her in my mind because I wasn't ready yet to meet you personally. You were shy when she introduced me to you and I was shy too like a kid hiding at her back. I felt like my chicks were pretty red that I can't look straight at you. You were smiling widely and doesn't know what to do like an ignorant kid until we bid goodbyes after the short conversation and you were teased by your classmate and I was teased by my friend.

Do you still remember the day we became officially girlfriend and boyfriend? It was July 13, 2007, and I just said yes to you through text messages after you have proposed to me. That day I don't even know what true love means but I was sure that I was always happy when talking with you. You were one of the varsity players in your school's basketball team and you even imprinted a jersey with the number 13 on the back and you gave it to me. I felt guilty though, as I felt like I have cheated on my mother. She told me not to fall in love yet, but I broke my promise to her. Was it even true love? Because all I know that time was puppy love. I have cheated on myself as well as I oath not to love anyone else and I said to myself that I can live without a man. But when I met you, I felt like I can't leave a day without seeing or texting you. Two cheating were done in one day. I felt like I was very bad.

The puppy love I thought grew bigger as days passed by and became true love. Since then you always picked me up from school and accompanied me to our bus terminal, and every Saturday after class was our dating day and we sometimes went to the cinema to watch the latest movie. You always buy the ticket, I always buy the snacks. Do you still remember the first movie of our idols that we have watched together? It was "The Very Special Love" of Sarah G. my idol and John Lloyd your idol, you even copied the sun dance of Sarah G. like an idiot outside the cinema and I was embarrassed as people were looking at you.

I felt the love from you that I never felt from my irresponsible ex. You held my hand and carry my bag when walking on the streets. You liked to piss me off but you know how to win back my mood. One day I tested your love and told you "let's break up, I don't love you anymore," but you insisted and told me that love me much. I still remember the first time you got jealous of my closest male classmate, that was when we attended your town fiesta and you saw us taking photos outside my friend's house and my male classmate leaned his arm on my shoulder. Your face was funny but deep inside I was worried because it was the first you get mad at me. But we never ended the day without reconciling. Nonetheless, he's the boyfriend of my female classmate, my cheater classmate.

Do you still remember the first time you introduced me to the engineering team? It was also the night when I saw a different you while you guys were having a prayer meeting and I was just watching you from the corner since I can't join because of my different religion. That night I said to myself, "I wanna marry this man." It was also the night when your hometown friend visited the city with his motorcycle and you showed off your skills to me. You borrowed the motorcycle of your friend and we drove from the city to your hometown because you were planning to introduce me to your family. On our way, you were worried that I might fall so you told me to hold on tightly, but I hugged you from the back instead just like those romantic scenes in the movies. But in my mind, I was more worried about what will gonna be the reaction of your family once they see me. When we get there, instead of going with you to your house, I just called my friend and chitchat with her on the roadside while waiting for you. Your little siblings came out and were curious about "who's this new chick in town" with their eldest brother.

I graduated from college ahead of you and I immediately looked for a job in the city just to be with you. Do you still remember the night you arrived in the city from your class trip? It was in the middle of the night and no more vehicles going to your hometown and so I opened my door for you. You have a fever, you were very hot and trembling and your clothes were drenched by the rain. I nursed you the whole night and just hugged you until you get better.

When you graduated from college you told me that you will go to Cebu for a review in a center recommended by your professor. The first months were fine and our communication was still stable until you finished the review. You came back to me but you only told me that you need to go back again to Cebu in the first month of 2011 for another set of reviews. I trusted you because you never cheated on me in more than three years of relationships. It was a review, I have confirmed, but you have changed in some ways. You seldom replied to my texts and declining my calls, and your reason was always "I am busy." A female instinct is always right but I don't want to doubt you because I love you.

Until February 20, 2011, do you still remember this date? It was when you shattered my heart into pieces. I never knew anything about your whereabouts until my officemate who happened to be your high school classmate told me about your current status on Facebook. She asked me "did you break up with Bri? Check his Facebook profile photo," and my heart beats so fast and doesn't know what to react because I knew what she meant. I don't have data at that time to check my Facebook account so I waited until I get home.

When I checked your Facebook, the first photo I saw was a smiling lady standing close to you and you looked so happy together. D*mn. How dare you posted a photo with another lady if we were still in a relationship? You should have broken up with me first, maybe the pain I have felt was different.

Tears started to roll down my face and I felt like I was struck by the lightning and I can't breathe well. I called you a hundred times but you kept on declining my calls and even turned off your phone. I texted you if we can talk for the last time and that's when you responded to my message. You spitted out everything from the day you met her up to the event when you took the photo together. You met her on the ferry going to Cebu and you have the same religion. But you know what's more hurting? It's when your friends and family like her based on their comments on your post even if they know that we did not break up yet. She's pretty, of course, they will like her. And when your friend asked you, "kayo na?" You responded, "malapit na." If I could only spit out all the profanity words on this post, I should have done that to inform them that, "Hey! We did not break up yet." Wtf, I was too weak to do that.

You were sorry and I asked you why did you cheat on me? You said that you felt like being strangled by me. Strangled? Seriously? How come? You were miles away? You can't even reply to my messages and answer my calls because you said you were always busy. Is it wrong for a girlfriend to demand a single message from her boyfriend? Strangled your ass! And when I asked you, "why did you not break up with me before when I told you to let's break up? Why now?" You said you were not ready to let go of me yet at that moment, and you were not ready to be single yet. And because you met my replacement, you became ready already? D*mn those reasons and explanations! Did you even love me the way I loved you?

Where were you when I needed someone to comfort me when my father cheated on my mother? I was too devastated to the point that I want to smash my supervisor's computer every time she played the song, "Dance with my father." Perhaps, you were with that lady and I was in pain but you never know it. Because you were always busy and I don't want to disturb you. Strangled your ass! I gave my love to you, all of it, and almost nothing left on me. I even forgot to take care of myself because I was more busy taking care of you. But what have you done? You cheated on me! If I could just literally strangle you and choke you to death, but of course, I will never do it. Maybe you just don't like J, because the name of the lady who ruined our relationship was Vida, and your wife now is Vanessa. You like V not J, for Jane. I was your first girlfriend and I wanted you to be my last so I gave you almost everything, but it never happens, I never been enough to you. Because you cheated on me, you were not contented with me.

If there's a thing that I have regretted the most, that's when I loved you so much more than myself. And now I don't know how to love again, I don't trust anyone anymore.

But you know what? Thank you. Thank you for cheating. Because of that, I have learned to love myself again. Because of that, I stopped cheating on myself especially on my mother. Maybe our breakup was karma to me for cheating on my beloved mother. Thank you for cheating on me because I realized my worth and I have learned how to give value to myself again more than anyone else. You left me with pain but I have gained a lot of lessons.

So goodbye to you my love as I wanted to bury our memories in oblivion and I don't want to recover them back anymore. You have your own life now, so do I. Thank you for teaching me how to love and be beloved. And thank you for cheating on me and giving back the life you have once stolen.

Hello Love, goodbye and thanks for cheating.

This is my entry to @JonicaBradley new prompt: Cheating.

This time, I wanna tag the momshies here and for sure, they have stories about cheating 😅 @Eybyoung @Yen sorry for the tag 🤣

You guys can join too.

• Write an original article about the prompt: Cheating

• At least 600 words

• And don't forget to tag @JonicaBradley

Thanks for your time