I had always thought getting married to the guy of
your dreams would be a very enjoyable experience, ever since I was little, I had always had the
mind-set that the guy I would eventually get married to would be a very respectable, loving,
caring and by far, would be my perfect guy. I guess this is what most ladies usually dream
of when asked of their future partners. But I can tell you with all honesty there is in the
world, my case was most definitely not it. For as long as I can remember in my marriage, I have
never experienced a much coy switch up or drastic change in a man’s character than I did in Tom.
My name is Emily, I've been married to my husband, Tom, for almost 6 years, or 7th anniversary
would be coming up by October. I would not say I have not been happily married for
the entire 6 years, because there was most definitely a period where I experienced the
sweetness and pure nature of love from Tom, which was around the first year of our marriage.
My story and Tom’s go way back to when we had met for the very first time. This was immediately
after graduation from high school. Tom and I have been mere acquaintances back then in
high school, as back then, he was the kind of guy that would rarely associate himself with
other people, either in social gatherings or in general. He was what you would call a strict
introvert. I on the other hand, was overly social, and thus I knew next to everyone everywhere
I went, and I was basically the most social person you would ever meet . At the time, I just
knew there would have been no reason for the both of us to even associate with each other. However,
this would change much sooner than I had thought. So the school had organised a closed in party
for the members of the school, which involved and not excluding the academic staffs, non academic
staffs, and obviously the students. During this period while everyone was being asked out to the
upcoming party, I was surprisingly left out, as I had received no offer from anyone. It it kind of
hurt at the time, seeing as amongst all my peers and my friends I was the one most likely to have
a partner to the dance. I just waited patiently as I began to get less and less interested in the
dance, as at this time, every single person was literally taken. To the extent that I even went as
far as taking matters into my own hands, by going around and asking guys myself if they would like
to go to the dance with me, and practically every single person that I had approached and asked
literally turned me down on the spot, even guys I had thought that were single at the time and would
not have had a date to the party at the time, were among those that turned me down at the time.
It got to a point that it became frustrating, and then later on, annoying. But I just decided
to pay it no mind, as this was no longer something that interested me again. But seeing as the
school made the attendance to the party mandatory, I just had to come regardless of whether or
not I had a partner to go to the dance with. It was the day of the party, a very sad and long
friendly morning, and all my friends were so excited about the dance seeing as they even left
me out of their conversation and their after party plans, seeing as I did not have a partner of my
own. It hurt that my friends would do this to me, but I did not take it to heart. My goal that
evening was just to survive the party night and forget it had ever happened. The school
dismissed the students quite early that day, as we were instructed to head back to our homes
and prepare for the party which was slated for the same evening that very day. We were dismissed
at around a few minutes past 12PM and were to reconvene back at the school Gym which was
where the party was supposed to take place. I got there a few minutes past 7PM, as the time of
commencement of the party was 30 minutes after 6, but I was not willing to comply by this time,
seeing as I was practically the least motivated person to come for the party at the time. Little
did I know that I was only seconded by one person, which was none other than Tom. Apparently when
I got to the venue of the party, I had no idea that Tom was also not present, as you could say
he has a zero rating on his social presence. I just sat down at the corner of the room, while I
watched as every single one of my friends had the party of their lives, everyone was paired up and
ready to get the party started, but there I was, sitting in the corner of the room like some loser.
At the time, I had not the mind nor the intention to stay in the room any longer, so I just left
the premises as I headed back to the class area, just to try and get a breather. And as I
approached the class I wanted to cool my head off in, there he was, Tom was already in
the room I was making plans on making use of, to pass the time. The moment I saw him in the
class, I tried to apologise and leave immediately, but he stopped me and said if I wanted to make use
of the class, I was free, seeing as he literally had not the right, nor the power to stop me
from doing so. I was still being stubborn and reluctant at the time, but I later gave In and
came into the class. We initially had a really long moment where neither of us had anything to
say to the other, until I asked what his name was, what grade he was in, and why he was here in the
class room and not out there in the Gym enjoying himself. He responded in same and asked why I was
also not in the gym, but rather I was looking for a place to escape down to. I explained myself to
him, which till this day, I do not know why I did so to a complete stranger at the time, but he did
the same, as he also told me why he was here in the classroom and not down there in the gym.
Surprisingly we both had very similar reasons, as he too was not able to fins someone he could
take to the party, and thus after he had checked himself into the party, he immediately found a
chance to leave the party and come here just to enjoy some quality and alone time all by himself.
He seemed like a really nice enough person and I began to wonder why It was that I had never once
remembered myself engaging in a conversation with him. The night was a very long one and we both
had lots of things to say to each other all to pass the time we had. We talked about a lot, who
we both were individually, what we had planned for ourselves in the nearest future, what our goals
and ambitions were, what we had planned to do once we got out of High-school, just basic stuffs like
that. And before you know it, it was not too long before we saw that every person that was attending
the party began exiting the Gym, as it was already signalled, the end of the party that is, I was
initially surprised, as I thought at first that the party was ended abruptly, but after checking
my phone for the time, I realised that time was far spent. And I did not notice this because
Tom and myself were both having one of the most interesting and intelligent conversations I have
ever had. I even thought to myself back then that, I had never recalled myself having a conversation
with someone, and the I would begin losing track of time, as I was a very time conscious person.
Anyways after which we had seen the members of the school begin exiting the school premises
and conducting searches in the classrooms, to find out if there was any students that
was still lingering around in the classrooms, we decided to get up and leave the classroom. The
conversation we were having was so interesting and captivating, that I just could not help but
request for his number so that we both would be able to meet on another time. We exchanged numbers
and we both went on our way home. It was after I had gotten home, gotten myself settled down, and
freshened up, that I realised that at that moment, I actually was kind of interested In Tom.
I Know how crazy I must sound, but that was genuinely how I felt at the time. Probably it
was because I was already rejected by practically everyone I knew at the time and for others that
I just had relations with, I was still rejected by them. So this seemed like it was right from
the get go. I paid little to no attention to what ever it was that was running through my mind
at the time that was trying to make me lose interest in Tom. I mean how could I possible
do that, for one he was the perfect gentleman to me throughout the time we were together,
he is very good looking, the perfect height, his voice was the perfect level of deep, and
his demeanour was sublime. Everything about him just caught my attention, I didn’t think there
was anything that could ward me off from him. Following out resumption back to school the
following week, Tom and I got really close, in fact, I could say it took us a few days less
than a month for the both of us to become as close as we did at the time. It was really something.
We were practically inseparable. It came sooner rather than later, that is Tom asking me out. I
knew this was coming, because I have practically been hinting it to him in the most subtlest way
possible and I always knew he picked up on the hints. Anyways following the events that
happened and took place the coming weeks, he finally asked me to be his girlfriend and this
was the very beginning of our journey, together. We would occasionally go out on dates during
our free time, and I could ay this helped In boosting the current state of our relationship.
The realisation that he really was a handsome enough guy that I had started to notice that
he could and would most definitely be getting offers from other girls, as he was perfect in any
way physically possible, and to top things off, he was literally the perfect gentleman. I mean
what else could a lady ask for in a man. I even jokingly tried to tease him about it one of these
days we were hanging out together, when something happened. So picture this, we went out on a date
to one of our famous and regular restaurants for our usual dates, and after which we had already
placed our orders, we decided to take our usual spot at the corner of the restaurant and hang out,
only foe a lady to walk up to him and complement him om his beauty and how good looking he was.
He seemed shy bat first but after she had left our table, he seemed gleeful and really proud of
himself. I was happy my man was really this happy, and this perfect, but I did not fancy the idea
of another woman complementing him on his beauty, while I was there and even while I was not. But
he seemed happy about it, and I just tried to lighten the mood by teasing him about it, and he
almost snapped at me, trying to defend himself, by saying it was not his fault she came up t meet
him and all, and that what did you want from and for him to do when ever such a situation should
happen again. I just tried to lighten the mood, but it had seemed at this time that things
were starting to get heated and serious, so I just decided to drop the matter, and let us
enjoy the time we had to spend together that day. This was the first event that had happened
like this, and soon after being together with him for many years, I could say it
most definitely does not get any better, as it only gets worse and the more I tried to keep
quiet on the matter but it got to a point I just could not. Soon after graduating high-school
and college, we both were still together and strong for almost 4 years back then. So we had
decided to move in together with each other, because at the time this had seemed like
a not so logical but reasonable enough. We moved in together, and a few months after we
had moved in together, he decided to propose to me at the time. And I accepted immediately as I
loved him that much and I was fully willing and ready to be with him all my life at the time. Even
considering the fact that we still have not found out a reasonable and effective enough solution to
the problem of ladies approaching him and kill, which I thought would stop the moment he began
making it general knowledge that he was already happily married and taken. However the most put
of character and context thing happened one very day that crumbled the very foundation of our
marriage, and had thus led to both of us having second doubts about our marriage at the time.
So Tom had initially told me he was going to be away from home for just 2 days pending the time
he was going to be done with a certain work order he had to take care of at the time. I agreed to
him being away for the time he had requested, which was a full weekend, and I had expected him
back the very first day of the following week if everything goes as planned. But apparently unknown
to me, I had no idea about the things that had been happening in his life when I was not present.
So a little birdie told me, and by little birdie i mean my best friend, Anna, that she would like to
share a very disturbing image she had just taken at that very moment we were talking. And I got
confused for a moment, but I asked her to send it, knowing how hysterical and overly hyper she can
be, I just decided to go along with the flow, and she sent me a picture of Tom at the club
with another lady, and she asked whether or not she was seeing correctly as she wanted me to
clarify whether or not it was my husband in the picture. I couldn’t even respond as I was too
awestruck to even say anything anymore. I just hung up the phone and I broke down in tears. This
went on for a while, after which I had decided to compose myself and await his arrival to get his
own perspective of this image I had just received. He got back the following Monday, as planned
and when I asked how his work order was he began formulating a story for me om the spot, and
when I could not take it anymore, I brought out the picture Annie, had sent to me of himself
in the club with some other girls, having the time of his life apparently. When he saw this
he quickly switched up, as he got mad, asking why I had someone trail him when he was going
out and why I did not trust him to even leave the house by himself. Somehow he made himself
the victim in all of these. We couldn’t finish our conversation that say and even when he got
back I already noticed that he had no intention of coming clean and letting us resolve this as
adults. I decided to wait it out patiently, for him to finally come clan and apologise at the very
least. Unfortunately I waited for quite a while, as my waiting soon progressed quickly from
days, to weeks to months and ultimately years, 5 years to be exact. And at this point, I had
already gotten fed up with his attitude, as this was not the man I had fallen in love with and
gotten married to, and when I found out that he was still continuing with his activities, I just
decided I would get back at him in the very same way, but instead of heading out to the club and
picking a random guy, I decided to invite one of his buddies over and things got heated between the
both of us, and we got to do the deed, all while I was anticipating his arrival during the act,
but he soon came back home after the act, while we were cuddling. He was furious, near mad, as he
began to ask why I would do such thing, and with his buddy for that matter. I just nonchalantly
excused myself to the restroom to freshen up, as I looked at him and said straight to him while
looking at his eyes, “we are even now aren’t we?”. One might argue differently, when told that
establishing a business enterprise with a very close friend, partner or even brother, would be a
terrible if not bad idea but that was not the case with Jared and I. We both were successful owners
of our joint business, and things were going really smooth not until we got an offer for a buy
out, and Jared convinced me totally to at least take what they were offering as this seemed like
a more than good enough deal for our business. At the time I had no idea about the legalities behind
the deal, but I just decided to go along with Jared, since he was even more knowledgeable than
I was in matters like this. Unfortunately for me, I was too complacent and decided to let Jared
handle it, by trusting him completely. To my greatest surprise, he altered the deal to his
favour, and took the majority of the funds we were both supposed to receive as a result of
the deal of the buy out of our joint company. Jared’s story and mine go way back to when we both
were about leaving High-school. We had just been given the pep talk, about how we were to prepare
our lives for the challenges we were going to face having left the High-school environment and all,
and seeing as we were still very young adults, we were advices to get something going for ourselves
so as to get something working for ourselves right before we get into the college of our choice.
Back then, Jared and myself had not met even following the fact that we were both in the same
school and all. After our High-school, during my search for a decent enough college that could fit
my criteria of offering the course of my choice, has a decent enough learning and work environment,
and also not too far from my current environment, I would most definitely prefer one that was
available in my surrounding state, or within the surrounding vicinity. And when I finally found
one I fancied and the one that fit what I wanted, I immediately applied and went over there,
just to go and experience the environment first hand. I asked my parents to drive me all
the way to the college, because at this time, I had not gotten my drivers licence, and I
could not drive myself down to the college. The drive to the college was a 5-hour drive, and
at one point it had seemed like the journey would not end, because for one I had never gone on a
journey this long in my entire life, and secondly, I was not the one behind the wheels, and since it
was my dad, he tried as much as possible to take his time, seeing as he was just as slow a driver
as ever. Anyways we eventually got to the college at around past 11, as we left home really early
that day. We went straight to the orientation centre so that we can join the others during
their orientation programme. And as we got there, I thought it would feel kind of awkward seeing as
I knew next no nobody there, until I saw him. He looked very familiar, seeing as I rarely forget
a familiar face. I just had this gut feeling to try and approach him, and ask whether or not
he knew me and all. To my greatest surprise, when I approached him, he knew me immediately and
said my name right then and there on the spot. It was surprising because at this time, I still did
not know his name. Anyways he introduced himself and said he remembered me from our High-school as
we went there together and all. I quickly asked him if he cane alone and he went to find his Dad,
as he was the only one with him there that day, I quickly got introduced to his Dad, and when we
were done with the formalities and introduction, I took him and his dad over to my parents so
that I may introduce him to both my dad and my mum. While they were done with the introductory
formalities, we both left the adults to get to know themselves, while we went along with the
orientation guide, to get acclimatised with our soon to be new environment. Getting to know Jared
was a really fun experience as it was nice to have net someone you knew in a new environment and all.
The orientation programme was a really fun experience also as we got to go to every single
place that concerned us on the school grounds, but as fun as the experience may have been, it all
came to an end, a few hours after it had started and we were supposed to head back to our homes
the next day, but the drive home was a really long one and both our parents were too tired and
exhausted from waiting and sitting down all day, so both my parents and Jared’s dad decided
that we should all get a motel around the vicinity to stay in for the night, and we would
leave the very next morning. So as planned, they all went ahead to take a quick drive down
to the nearest Motel, which was directly outside the schools gate. And while they were checking
themselves in, Jared and I decided to take a quick walk around as we were not satisfied with the
ending of our orientation that day. Soon after, we found a relaxation centre, we settled down, and we
began getting to know each other. I asked what he wanted to major in and he told me Accounting and
Business Management. I also told him mine, and we began talking about what we both had planned for
when we left high school and all. I told him I had plans to try and set up a small scale business for
myself, as I seriously wanted to have something going for myself. We found common ground on what
we both wanted to do, while we were in college, but the first stage was to get accepted into the
school first. We soon went back to our motel room, as we wanted to get more than enough sleep,
as we had quite a journey ahead of us. The next morning , we left the motel as quickly
as possible, as we did not bring along a change of clothes, and Jared and I exchanged contact
with each other, as we both had planned to tell each other, when either of us got admitted. The
journey seemed shorter than it was when we were initially coming to the college. I had no idea
why, but the journey still came down to 5 hours, even though it seemed like we were going really
fast. Anyways, we got home safely and I texted Jared the moment I got back in. It almost seemed
like this was an experience I had missed out on, because seeing as how well Jared and I were
getting along, one would think that we were friends and have been friends for quite a while,
meanwhile we had just formally gotten acquainted with each other over the span of 72 hours max.
It took a little over 5 months before the college was done with the current session they were in,
and then the time for admissions were finally upon us, as we had both been very hopeful about getting
admitted together, since it would mean that the both of us would be very much able to get into
the same Dorm and all. The admission process was supposed to run for a little bit over a month, and
we were just in the second week and still nothing. At this point we were not at all too worried,
mainly because we had thought to ourselves, that there was still plenty of time before
the admission period was over. However we began panicking, when it was already a week left
for the admission process. At this point I had already thought to myself that it seemed like
we were not going to be admitted in that set, and I was even already on the verge of giving
up and trying to apply to another college, which was the second on the list of colleges
I made some months back, while seeking for the perfect college I could apply to, then it
happened, Jared’s admission finally came through. I was so happy for him as he was given the course
of his choice, and this was what we both wanted for each other. I on the other hand, was still
holding on to the last thread of hope I had, that my admission would pull through. And the
on the last day, after I had given up totally, almost om the verge of tears, in my room, a mail
notification popped up on my screen, and when I checked it, there it was, my letter of admission.
I was beyond glad, as I was also given the course of my choice. I had no idea why my admission came
this late and at the eleventh hour no less. Still though, I did not question it one bit. I just went
with the flow, as I had already prepared myself to break the news to Jared first before even telling
my family. Anyways after I told Jared the good news, he was as happy for me as I was for him.
Soon after the week for admission had passed, a notification was sent to every admitted student,
embedded in the mail, were instructions to resume the following week, and also detailed
instructions on what to do upon arrival, and how to go about our clearance and settlement
on the schools dorms. We were both so happy. What I felt at this moment was like I was
celebrating with my childhood friend after finally accomplishing my goals, ambitions and
dreams, even though this was just the stepping stone to my future. As instructed, we both
resumed as early as humanly possible to school, to finalise our admission, get cleared by the
admissions officer, and the finally get settled down in our dorms. Finally things were all
good everywhere. We resumed classes as usual, and things were going fine academically. I would
not say I had any problem with my classes, as most of them were pretty for me to understand, as I was
expecting things to take a boost in the difficulty level. Seeing as my academics were not affected a
single bit, and seeing as I was doing fairly well effortlessly, I decided it was finally time for me
to pursue my dream of finally owning a business, no matter how small I was going to start up. And
before I did this, I consulted Jared on possible business ideas ad strategies, as we had initially
discussed before, he had some ideas on what kind of business to start up with, taking into serious
consideration, the environment we were going to set up our business in, the capital needed to
start up said business and some other factors. Basically I needed him to give me some guidelines
and the go ahead plan to kick start my business, and after he had done just that, I
asked my parents for start up funds, as I presented the business idea to them. My
dad was absolutely impressed as he was most willing to invest fully into by business venture.
Basically we went with something simplistic and simple. Our conclusion on what to venture into was
a mini coffee stand, which would later develop in the coming weeks into a breakfast joint, as we
thought there were a lot of students that were looking for something quick to have before going
for their early morning classes and all. After discussing it with the schools management, we
were given a slot on the school premises to conduct our business, and I can proudly tell you,
that within a month of operation, we were well known all around the school for our perfectly
made coffee and also perfectly made bread, which I usually got from a local bakery outside of
the schools premises. It was really like a dream come true, seeing my dream of having a business
owned in and by my name come true but I couldn’t handle the whole management and finances alone,
and so I incorporated the help of Jared and the both of us together, managed our small business,
until we were able to afford an actual Shop on the schools premises. To my greatest surprise, we
were pulling 6 figures by the end of the schools semester. I was really proud with myself,
as this was really what I had wanted. I felt fulfilled with myself at this point. All these
and my academics weren’t affected a single bit. After establishing and running our business for
a little over 7 months, we were approached with a buy out proposal by some private investors,
who proposed we sell off our business to them, for 5 times its worth. I had not heard of
this immediately they brought this proposal, because I was not the one managing our finances at
the time, and Jared only told me that there were some people looking to invest in our business, and
they were looking to own a particular percentage in it. And this was what I had thought. So when
Jared brought up the contract they had brought for us for the sell out, which I had thought
at this time, was the contract for owning about 20% of the business, as Jared had said, I just
signed off on it immediately as I trusted him and that was that. We closed up early as I felt
really happy with how that day had planned out, and I took Jared out for dinner, as It was my way
of thanking him for everything he had done for me. It was not until the following week, that I came
to the shop, to carry out business as usual, that I saw a couple of guys already at the shop, I
was thinking it was the guys Jared told me about, that he was looking to hire at the time to help
out in the shop and all, but when I went in, I thought they would greet me, relative to the
fact that I was their boss and the owner of the business and all, but they welcomed me in
like a customer which was weird, but I didn’t pay it any mind at the time, and when I tried
to go into the backroom, where my office was, I was stopped by the guy that was initially
manning the register. To cut the long story short, I was basically kicked out of my own restaurant.
I got confused. What was happening right now. What was the meaning of all these, I was readily about
to throw a literal fit, until a guy came out of my office and walked me in through the back door. We
got into what qas my office and I already saw that he had already made the place totally different
from what it was. He sat me down and began answering my questions. After the entire session
I had with him, I was feeling a while lot of emotions raging inside me, the dominant emotions
were majorly, Anger, Rage, Disappointment, Betrayed, amongst others. I immediately called
Hared and his phone was turned off, but it was later reachable and he immediately told me to
meet up as he wanted to explain things to me in person. I was seriously looking forward to what he
wanted to say that would justify why he sold off m business. I met up with Jared back in our dorms
as I was already to mad at him to even listen to him request we meet anywhere else. While he sat me
down, he began explaining why he did what he did, and he tried to justify what he did by saying
that he felt like I would not take the offer, as he though it was a reasonable enough offer for the
business and all, that was why he did what he did. I was too mad at him for what he did, and when
I tried to make him understand that what he did was wrong in all manner of speaking, he Lashed out
and retaliated by saying he did it to help me and that if I felt any different, there was literally
nothing I could do, as he was the one in charge of the money he collected and if he wanted he could
make it so, that I never get anything from it. This really flipped something off In me, as I
left the room, I immediately packed my bags and left for home, as it was relatively not too
far, the usual 5 hour drive. And when I got home I immediately reported the whole incident
to my dad and all, he was furious as I also tried to add in some spicy and altered facts
about what happened , but basically my dad was threatening to sue him for everything him and
his family owned. Those were his exact words. I don’t really know the details of what really
happened legally or the legal process the went through for the entirety of the case in the court,
even though I as present for the entire thing, but one thing I do know, Is that my dad won the case
for me as he got a really competent enough lawyer, and we sued for 2 tines the amount he got from
the deal which was well over $2million dollars, I still couldn’t believe it, but this was the
current reality Jared HD to face for crushing my dream and what he did to me. Betraying the
trust of his only best friend. While we left the course room after the judges verdict, I looked
him in the eye and asked, “was it really worth it, doing what you did”. And I could see the look
in his eyes. I was pleased with what I had done.
