The first time I heard her sing, I knew the angels must have lent her a voice. She looked elegant yet modest, standing on that small wooden stage in her church. She had her eyes closed, holding the microphone in her hand, as she poured out a song that made the whole congregation quiet. Her voice carried something that made me believe in purity. The way she quoted scriptures with ease, an aura I've never seen or heard before.
That was the day I realized she was different. She wasn’t like the other girls I’d known. She was the one. She would be my wife.
I remember her soft voice telling me, “Marriot, I can never stand those girls who cheat on their men. It is wickedness.” I believed her. I mean, who would see all that and not believe her?
A few days later, I asked her out officially and we started dating. Honestly, it felt like the beginning of something eternal. It was beautiful. Just the kind of relationship I wanted.
We prayed together on the phone at night before bed and in the morning to start the day. We laughed over funny stuff. Eating roasted corn by the roadside. Cooking together whenever she visited and even planning our future in whispers.
You can see it from afar, the way she wore her innocence like a crown. For three years, I handed my heart over to her, trusting her to keep it safe in her hands.
It got serious when I introduced her to my parents. They loved her. My mother especially would smile each time she visited. “That girl is a treasure,” she said once. “Don’t let her slip away.”
I had no plan to. In fact, I was already making plans for the day I would go on my knees and ask that question. "Will you marry me?"
Then one evening, she came over after choir practice and asked to check her Facebook on my phone. Her phone was stolen a few days back and I was still planning on how to get her a new phone. I obliged. She was my woman, and whatever she wanted, I was willing to give.
I watched her log in and browse with my phone. Laughing at jokes, she made sure to burn all my data, then left without signing out. I didn’t notice at first. I had several things to do that o didn't touch my phone for hours after she left. Besides I've grown a soft heart for her to imagine anything could be hidden in her world.
It was later that night, as I prepared to sleep, that a message lit up my screen.
“You kept moaning his name yesterday. Though you said you didn’t love him, just that he helps you with your finances.”
I froze at first. What's that from my inbox? I asked myself.
I sat up in bed, staring at the message. My heart thumped so loudly it drowned out every other sound in the room.
Must be a post notification I thought. But before I could even finish processing the first message, another message appeared.
“How about you sleep over at my place again tonight?”
Just then it occurred to me that my love had accessed her Facebook with my phone earlier. Maybe she didn't remember to log out.
I couldn't breathe. I quickly logged into Facebook and I scrolled to the inbox. The thread stretched longer than I dared to imagine. Laughter, secrets, plans—conversations with a man I had never heard of.
It was like reading my nightmare. The angel who claimed to hate cheating women, the woman who sang, and the presence of God came down, was not who she seemed.
All this while she was someone else entirely. An angel skilled in disguises.
I thought I was dreaming. Maybe it was a joke between them. I needed to be sure. I kept reading. The more I read, the more I discovered it wasn't with one person. I'm sure I stopped counting at three. I didn't know if I had the heart to find out more.
Three years of my life were wasted on being faithful to the wrong person. When I was the only guy. The things she had denied me, which I thought were signs of her discipline, were freely given to another.
I've always been that guy who detests arguments. I value my peace a lot. So I didn't bother calling her to ask. I just took a screenshot of the chats and showed her the next time we met.
When she was done reading. I waited for her explanation but the songbird was out of tune. She stammered instead but I could already see the wolf behind the wool.
"It's over. Have a nice life." I said. Then I walked away.
Months have passed, yet sometimes I still replay it in my head. How I thought I had found forever. Instead, I discovered a mask so perfect it fooled not just me, but even my family for years. I thought I was holding onto a bright light whereas it was a fire burning me from within.
So believe me when I say. I have been with a wolf with a sonorous voice.