By Yetunde Arebi

HI
How far will  you go to get out of a situation? The story below is narrated by a young, Public Relations executive named Cynthia who after an affair with a charming, young man went into depression for almost two year. How did it happened? Find out as she shares her story below:
Dear readers, Please do write and share with us if you or anyone has fallen victim or escaped from the clutches or traps of these Internet predators or fraudsters. From your own experience, how do you think Internet predators can be curtailed? Your contribution might be the saving grace for other unsuspecting Nigerians. Send your contributions to: [email protected] or P.M.B. 1007, Apapa, Kirikiri Canal. I’m looking forward to read from you.

BY this time, people had gathered around us and the club owners too had gotten wind of what was happening. Because Duke was a regular at the club and friendly with the owners, he demanded that the guy be thrown out.

They obliged because of the respect they had for him. At this point, I was still thinking that the guy was either joking or insane. I turned to Duke thinking he would console me and tell me everything was okay but the look in his eyes shocked me.
He remained rigid, as if stuck to the ground. I made to touch him  but he flung my hand away. He said I should not touch him. That he did not know I was a cheat and a liar. That he was sorry he ever had anything to do with me, let alone asking me to marry him. That he did not know he was dealing with a prostitute.

I was shocked, turning to people I did not know to help me beg him. That the guy was a total stranger to me and I was innocent of all he had said. That the guy must either be mad, or was trying to set me up. But no one helped, they were more interested in the scenario and how it would end. Duke walked away and I began running after him. When he got to the car, he stopped and told me not to dare step into his car. I just stood and watched him drive off into the night watching the rear of his car. Suddenly, he started reversing and when he got to where I was still standing, he opened the passenger door and told me to get in. I was so happy. I thought he had changed his mind and decided to believe me rather than the stranger. I was wrong.

He told me he was taking me home to tell my parents all that had happened and that the wedding plans had been called off. I went numb all over and began pleading with him as if my life depended on it. That I would die if he left me. But it all fell on deaf ears. That night, Duke woke my mother up to tell her all that had happened and why he would no longer want to continue with the wedding plans. He apologised like a real gentleman, full of all the charm and respect that I admired in him from the beginning, then he walked out.

Everyone wanted to know what really happened and if indeed, I knew the stranger. But I kept telling the same story over and over again. I did not know the guy and I had no idea why he had done what he did to me. I did not sleep a wink that night and so it continued for the next four days. I did not eat, sleep, bathe nor even brush my teeth.
My parents became confused, they called him several times but he did not change his mind. On the fifth day, I was taken to the hospital and sedated. I was allowed home a week later. That did not stop my crying though. And for months, I stayed at home, waiting and hoping that Duke would call. That he would discover the truth and apologise for not trusting me enough and beg me to marry him. I refused to go out, not even to church.

As I was not working anyway, that left me with much time on my hands to wallow in self pity. In my heart, I felt it was a good thing that I did not have to go out to face people and be forced to explain what had happened over and over again. I refused to see my friends too, believing they would all be laughing at me or feeling pity for me.
Three months after Duke and I broke up, one of my sisters came home with news of Duke’s coming wedding with another lady. From the photographs, she was definitely older than me. A Yoruba girl, she had bleached her skin so much and I was convinced that she must have charmed him. She was nothing like the sort of girl Duke would date, not to talk of marry.

All attempts to call Duke had failed and my parents had barred me from calling and all my siblings from talking about him. I can’t say for how long I held the wedding invitation in my hands but I remember that I kept it under my pillows for a very long time. Long after the wedding in fact. Most of what I recall that I did, are things told to me by members of my family. But I do remember that I was always crying. I was always being administered with drugs to sleep,wake,eat,etc. It was pathetic. Eventually however, I started going out after one full year. Not to the hospital anymore but to church. Our pastor had come several times during the year to pray with us and so had most of the sisters.

To be continued.