Love, Lies and Jealousy

A phone call woke Sam up. It was a Saturday morning.

“Hello, who is this?” he asked sleepily.

“Oh, you no longer have my number?” the woman on the other end asked.

Sam paused and looked carefully at his phone to see the caller ID. He hadn't paid attention to it before picking up.

“Aunty! Good morning, ma. I'm so sorry. I didn't pay attention to the caller ID. Your call woke me up.”

“Alright. How are you doing this morning?” Aunty asked.

“I'm doing great. Thank you, ma,” he replied.

“A quick one. I already spoke with your dad. My friend's daughter is coming to spend some time with you. She just got a job in the city and doesn't have a place to stay. I thought you'd be able to help her out since you're staying in that big house all alone,” she said, laughing.

“Okay, ma. No problem,” Sam replied, although he was already getting angry.

Sam lived in a three-bedroom duplex. His dad had given it to him because he got a job in the city, while his father was currently outside the country on a business trip.

Sam happened to be a playboy who brought different girls into the house. Obviously, he wasn't happy about having someone come to stay with him because he knew it would interfere with his plans. He wouldn't be able to bring different girls home as he used to.

He also had to start cleaning the house because it was terribly unkempt.

By evening, Sam received a call informing him that the girl had arrived. He gave her directions to his house, and when she arrived, he gave her a warm reception. He showed her to her room and prepared a good meal for her.

They had a nice chat, almost as if they had known each other for a long time.

Trust Sam; he always had a way of getting close to women.

That evening, while they were having a nice conversation, one of Sam's ex-girlfriends suddenly showed up.

Sam was confused and immediately begged her to leave, but she had already said enough things to make his guest uncomfortable. She called Sam's guest all sorts of names and created an embarrassing scene.

Sam eventually managed to get rid of her.

He returned to the house and apologized to his guest.

“I'm really sorry about all that drama. She's just a lost cause,” Sam said.

“It's fine. I understand. You only got what you deserved,” she replied with a smile.

Sam was confused.

“What do you mean by that?”

But she simply laughed and went into her room.

Sam's guest was named Rita.

Rita was a calm girl, fun to be with, and always smiling, but she could also be very strict.

It was Sunday morning. Sam woke up to the sound of movement coming from the kitchen. When he got there, he found Rita already preparing breakfast and tidying up the house.

“You're awake already?” Sam asked.

“Yes. I have to prepare for church on time, so I don't delay you. Which church do you attend? I can follow you there.”

“I don't go to church,” Sam replied.

“Ohhhh, my bad. I wasn't supposed to ask the devil which church he attends,” Rita said jokingly.

“Okay, okay, okay. I'll stop you right there. Who is the devil? And yesterday, you said something about me getting what I deserved. Now explain yourself.”

Rita smiled and began explaining.

“The girl yesterday could pull all the stunts she pulled because you've had your way with her, and I'm sure she isn't the only one. So tell me, how are you not related to the devil or even the devil himself?” she said, laughing.

Sam was speechless. He simply dropped his head.

“Oh, my dear, don't worry. I'm not judging you. You just have to be better, alright?”

“How long are you going to be staying here?” Sam asked.

“Oh, you're already tired of me?” Rita asked.

“Not at all. I just want to be mentally prepared and also put things in place,” he replied.

“Alright. I don't know how long I'll be staying, but once I'm able to figure things out and get a place for myself, I'll move out,” she said.

“Alright. You can stay as long as you want. No problem. You just take care of the cooking and cleaning, and I'll take care of the groceries, foodstuff, and other things,” Sam said.

“Alright, no problem. But one more thing,” Rita said.

“What's that?” Sam asked.

“Do not fall in love with me, and also do not bring any of your girlfriends here,” she replied.

Sam laughed.

“You don't have to worry about that. No feelings and no girls.”

“Deal,” Rita said.

A few weeks later, Sam returned from work and was relaxing and chatting with Rita when there was a knock on the door.

He rushed to the door and was shocked to see Anita standing there.

Anita was his first love. She had been away for eight months.

Sam couldn't speak.

“Aren't you happy to see me?” Anita asked.

Sam began to stutter.

“I... I... I...”

“Can we go inside so we can talk?” she asked.

Sam quickly replied, “No. I'm coming. Let me tidy up what I was doing inside.”

He rushed back into the house and lied to Rita, telling her that his attention was needed by his neighbor. He then dashed back outside.

“Who is inside with you?” Anita asked.

“No one. It's just me,” Sam replied.

“Then why can't we go inside?” she asked.

“Because you left me eight months ago. No calls, no texts, and now you're back and you want to enter my house? No way,” Sam said.

“I'm sorry. I really needed space for myself. I needed to think. You know how many times I caught you with different girls. I just needed to figure out my life—life without you,” Anita explained.

“So now it's obvious you can't live without me,” Sam said.

“I honestly don't know. But I miss you. You've been on my mind for a long time. I just couldn't resist coming back,” she said.

Sam was a playboy, but he had a soft spot for Anita. The love he had for her was still hiding deep down somewhere in his heart.

“Let me think about this. We'll talk some other time. You can leave for now,” Sam replied.

Anita hugged him and left.

The next day, Rita started acting strangely. She began giving Sam the silent treatment and hardly came into the living room. She spent most of her time in her room.

Sam noticed the change and asked her if she was fine.

“Yes,” she replied.

Another time, he asked again, and she told him she was having cramps.

One day, Sam hugged her from behind, but she pushed him away.

Sam was confused.

“What was that for?”

She didn't say anything. She simply walked away and went into her room.

Sam followed her.

“Why have you been acting strangely for a while now?” he asked.

She didn't say a word.

“Why are you like this? You were all nice and fun to be with, but suddenly you changed and became something else. You are beginning to disgust me,” Sam said angrily.

“I disgust you?” Rita replied harshly. “After showing me how dirty, loose, and promiscuous you are, you're here telling me I disgust you?”

Sam was confused.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You lied to me that you wanted to go and do something for your neighbor, but you were with a girl. And since then, you've always been talking to her on the phone. You don't even have time for me like before, I know she's your girlfriend” Rita said.

Sam couldn't say a word. He simply sat down and started laughing.

“So this is all about you being jealous?” he asked. “But you said I shouldn't fall in love with you, so why are you angry with me?”

“Leave my room now,” Rita said.

Sam left.

The next day, Rita packed her bags and was about to leave.

“Where are you going?” Sam asked.

“I'm leaving, of course,” she replied.

“But you haven't settled in properly yet,” Sam said.

“Don't act as if you care. Besides, you have your girlfriend with you.”

Rita picked up her bags and left angrily.

Sam stood there, watching her leave.

But one question remained:

Who was really wrong?

Was it Sam, for being a playboy and hiding the truth about his relationship with Anita?

Was it Rita, for falling for a man she had warned herself not to love?

Or was it Anita, for walking back into Sam's life after eight months and unknowingly creating a problem between them?

Maybe the truth was that everyone had played a part in the mess.