The Truth Unveiled

Before Raj could dive back into his story, Robert leaned forward, his stomach rumbling. “Who’s hungry? Shall we order pizza and talk while we eat?”

Oluwale, without missing a beat, waved him off. “Ayo, man, just order on Uber Eats. You and your pizza cravings.”

Gugu shook his head with a grin, motioning to Raj. “Raj, keep going, bro. This is gonna take a few days at this rate.”

Raj took a deep breath, visibly gathering his thoughts, and then continued, his tone shifting to one of frustration. “After Sofia and I got married, that’s when the problems started. That’s when things really began to fall apart.”

Oluwale, always quick with his assumptions, jumped in. “Ayo, see, I knew it! Billy’s behind all this, innit? Some people might look decent, but they can be real devils. I bet he didn’t like you ‘cause you’re brown and took his wife.”

Raj chuckled softly, shaking his head. “No, it wasn’t Billy.”

The room went dead silent. Gugu blinked, confused. “Wait… what?”

Raj took a drag from his cigarette, then let the words sink in before he spoke again. “It wasn’t Billy. It was Sofia.”

Everyone stared at Raj in disbelief. Oluwale sat back, a frown on his face, while Robert and Gugu exchanged glances, unsure what to make of this twist.

Raj continued, his frustration bubbling up with every word. “After we got married and moved in together, I started to see a different side of her. You know how us Indians are—there’s this expectation that a wife should have some basic skills, like cooking. But Sofia? She didn’t know a damn thing about it.”

Robert, still confused, interrupted. “Wait, so because Billy didn’t tell you about her lack of cooking skills, that’s why you’re upset?”

Everyone turned to give Robert a look, silently telling him to stay quiet. Raj ignored the comment and pressed on. “At first, it didn’t bother me. I didn’t mind cooking for her. I’m good at it, and she enjoyed eating what I made. But things started to change. She refused to cope with my culture, and I left my family home to be with her. I sacrificed so much, and for what?”

The room was tense as Raj continued to vent. “She wanted all these wild things, always going places, doing things. I was nearly bankrupt trying to keep up with her lifestyle. She didn’t want kids—didn’t want to ‘ruin her body,’ she said. She’s obsessed with what people think about her. She even started telling me how to dress when I’m with her. And all she could talk about was wanting a rich, sophisticated life.”

Oluwale shook his head in disbelief. “Bruv, that’s wild.”

Raj’s voice grew more intense. “It didn’t matter how hard I worked. I was working myself to the bone to provide, but it was never enough for her. She started complaining that I wasn’t spending enough time with her, that things weren’t the same as they were before. Even sex had to be exactly how she wanted it—there was no room for what I wanted.”

Raj leaned forward, his emotions boiling over as he spoke. “Her mood would change in an instant. One moment, she’s happy, the next, she’s not. I felt like I was living in a multiverse, man, like every day was a different reality.”

Robert, always with the misplaced remarks, chimed in, “Like the Marvel Multiverse?”

Again, everyone gave him a look, and again, he was ignored.

Raj sighed, rubbing his temples as he continued. “I was everything to her—a husband, a friend, a nurse, a therapist, a personal assistant, a provider. I did everything she wanted me to be, and yet she still complained.”

From the other side of the room, Billy finally spoke, his voice calm but cutting through the air like a knife. “You see, Raj, in love, we often give 100% of ourselves and then wonder why the other person isn’t happy. But the truth is, we can give our 100%, but we also need to give their 100%. Only then will it match.”

Gugu, staring at Billy, took a moment to process the words. Then, wide-eyed, he turned to the others. “I told you, man! This guy is a philosopher. Pure wisdom.”

Billy chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, I’m just a lover of life, that’s all.”

Oluwale, his voice rising in frustration, spoke up. “So, wait. If the problem is Sofia, then why did we kidnap Billy? Shouldn’t we all be having this conversation with her instead?”

The room fell silent again as Raj stared at the ground, his jaw tight. The weight of his frustrations was clear, but even now, there seemed to be something deeper—something still unsaid.

© Nil | 2024