12th February, 2024

Dear Ifeoluwa,

Hi my love… sighs. I don’t know what to write to you and it feels sad to write all what you would see in this letter.

Ife, I know the first time I met you, it was like magic and I had the biggest smile on my face when you looked at me and smiled. A hundred butterflies burst in my stomach and my heart felt lighter than it has been in a long time. I thought I saw an angel when I saw you.

The twinkle in your eyes when you talk about your favorite sport, the ear-to-ear grin on your lips when I tell a joke, only you find funny 😉. The excitement in your voice when you speak about your studies and things you love. Moreover, when you talked about the man you loved then, when you told me about the good and bad times and how you kept loving him till, he proved to be a jerk.

I knew then that I fell for the right girl. I knew for a fact that if you love me, it would be genuine and beautiful. The past year has shown it and I am grateful for the times we shared together as a couple.

This valentine would have been better for us but it wouldn’t be because I have to break things off with you. Ife, I love you so much, so much that I want you to go, so much that I can’t stand the hurt in your eyes when you find out what happened. I feel bad for it but this is for the best.

I attached some censored pictures to this letter for you to understand why I can’t move forward with this relationship. Angela is pregnant with my baby and I know you would be hurt just knowing this. You told me it was best if you heard it from me and that’s what I am doing. Telling you first.

Just know that I will always love you and nothing would stop this longing I have for you in my heart.

Don’t call me, I made up my mind already, I hope you find the love you deserve.

Yours truly, Patrick

Ifeoluwa’s POV

By the time I finished reading the co-called letter I received from Patrick, my eyes were blurred with tears. My heart is shattered. My hands are trembling. My blood feels cold with the chills mixing with them. My lips quivered. My head is aching.

‘This isn’t my Patrick’ I convinced myself. It is not. I know my Patrick and he would never do this to me. He promised not to hurt me and he wouldn’t do something this grave to me.

“I will never hurt you. I will make sure to love you till I die. I knew for a fact that you will be my woman when I first met you and you are. You will continue to be my woman. Nothing will keep us apart, I will love you to the end” his words of assurance months ago rang in my head.

‘This is not my Patrick’

I didn’t care about the agreement we had, I will call him. If he wasn’t to break up with me, he should look me in the eye and tell me he doesn’t want me. He should tell me all that he wrote in that letter. He should look me in the eye, say my name and tell me he doesn’t want me and all the nonsense in the letter.

I am so hoping this is Angela at work and not Patrick saying this to me. It would break my heart if this is what he wants. I will not know what to do with my life anymore.

His phone rang severally but he didn’t pick up. I kept calling, I sent text but nothing from him.

My heart was already beating at an abnormally fast rate.

JESUS! My chest!

I threw my phone on the couch and sat on the floor, my face buried in my palms as I screamed. I am frustrated. I want to talk to him. I want to ask him if it’s true. My heart can’t take this heartbreak if it is.

“Patrick can’t do this to me” I said to myself, my voice cracked. I didn’t want to cry., it could be a false alarm. It is a false alarm.

I picked up my phone again, determined to keep calling till he picks up and hoping he would pick up my calls.

When I called the second time again, he answered and when he spoke, he sounded harsh. A tone he hasn’t used on me before.

“Ife, now isn’t the time” he said.

Tears gathered in my eyes again and I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Patrick” I managed to say, my voice heavy with emotions.

“Ife, another time. Now isn’t the time” he said then disconnected the line. Before the line went dead, I heard the giggle of a lady in the background and just like shockwaves destroys buildings and make things worse. The hurt shattered my feelings, my heart and I didn’t stop the tears.

I picked up the envelop and brought out the pictures to look at them. The sight there added more salt to my already opened wound. I feel really sad and I don’t know how I will be able to get past this.

I picked up my phone and texted him. When I hit send, I curled up in a ball, side-laying on the floor and crying my hearts out.

For the second time, days to valentine, and within a year, my heart is broken.