There are lies and then there are patent lies, so outrageous and boldly ridiculous, that you almost question your intelligence as you cannot quite comprehend the confidence it took for the liar to say them out loud.
This story is about a friend of mine and the man she loved.
When a girl is in love, we all know it’s the kind of love where the partner can do no wrong. Where even when her friends gently raise concerns, she defends him with unwavering loyalty. You get the picture? That was typically my friend. She glorified this dude, held him in such high regard that questioning his faithfulness felt almost like blasphemy. So, eventually, we stopped and it’s not because we were convinced but because it was clear love had drawn a veil over her eyes.
One night, another friend of ours happened to be at the same club as this perfect boyfriend. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched. And guess what she saw? Well let’s just say she did not see a man behaving like someone in a committed relationship.
There he was, very comfortable and unbothered, letting another woman grind on him while his hands wandered in ways they absolutely should not have after he had told his girl that he was going to bed and he had a long day. He didn’t even look confused. It was clear, undeniable betrayal. And because loyalty runs both ways, she recorded it and sent it to our group chat, and just like that, the illusion shattered.
The next day, my friend(his girlfriend) went to confront him. We were all on standby, receiving updates like it was some sort of emotional live broadcast. Now, this is where the patent lie makes its grand entrance because tell me why this man looked at evidence, clear as daylight and said, “That’s not me.” He didn’t even stutter.
According to him, the man in the video was simply someone who looked exactly like him. Same face, same haircut, same build, same clothes, mind you, clothes that were currently sitting in his own wardrobe. At this point, it almost became comical.
Now, his girlfriend, barely holding back sarcasm, asked if he had a twin and without missing a beat, he said yes. A whole human being that had somehow never been mentioned in the entire duration of their relationship. A man whose family my friend knew well enough to confirm did not, in fact, include a secret duplicate.
But he didn’t stop there. He went further to claim that his mother had sold this twin when they were younger. And perhaps that was the mysterious man in the video. In fact, he now needed to go and find this long-lost twin to familiarize himself.
At that point, it wasn’t even insulting, it was astonishing. Because how do you argue with someone who has committed so fully to nonsense? The audacity of it all. The sheer boldness of lying so blatantly in the face of undeniable truth. The sad part is that if had simply owned up to it, if he had shown even a shred of remorse, things might have gone differently. Forgiveness, while not guaranteed, would have at least been possible but nope, he chose the path of the patent lie. And with every added layer, he didn’t just lose credibility, he lost her completely.
The relationship ended, as it should have. It was painful but very necessary. And now, my girl is in a better place with someone who doesn’t require detective work or imaginative storytelling to be trusted. Someone who sees her worth and treats it accordingly. Because at the end of the day, no matter how elaborate the lie, the truth has a way of standing still while the liar keeps running.
My response to the Freewriters daily prompt