Romance deceit.

Sandra came to spend a night with my friend. She was the third girl in that particular week.

I complained about the way that my friend objectified women and changed them like clothes. Whenever I lay any complaints, Kunle would laugh it off. He would tell me that the ladies were aware that he was not dating them for marriage purposes. I wasn't comfortable with all that.

Among the girls, I noticed a few ones that took Kunle as a sincere fiance. One of them was Sandra. She respected me as a friend-in-law.

We stepped out late in the evening to a bar. It was in our tradition to always do that on Friday evenings. We went to a bar a few meters away from our home. The bar was booming with music. We took our seats and ordered chicken barbecue and our favorite drinks.

About an hour into our sitting, Kunle left his seat to order more drinks.

Sandra whispered to my ears.

"Who is Kunle to you?"

I was surprised at the question. I believe that she should be the last person not to know that Kunle was my friend of more than eight years. I met Kunle in the year one of our university undergraduate studies. We graduated from the university and participated in the compulsory national youth services. Afterwards, we came together to stay in an apartment.

I went silent for a few seconds before responding.

"Kunle is my friend of course. I am surprised at this question. What's happening?"

Sandra drew her chair closer to the table. Looking straight into my eyes, she continued with the conversation.

"Pardon me for sounding strange tonight. Kunle is your friend and I believe that your friendship is built on sincerity. Right?"

"This is getting serious." I dropped the glass of wine in my hand. "Sandra, talk to me. Why all these questions?"

"I love Kunle. I am willing to be his wife but I am scared. Kunle is a man of multiple women. Do you think he loves me?"

The question was a heavy one. I had a discussion with Kunle the previous day during which I complained about his many girlfriends. He had the habit of giving false assurance to each of his girlfriends about marriage. I complained bitterly about such a level of deceit. I asked him emphatically about who among his girlfriends that he would propose to. He told me that he never met his wife. I was shocked.

"Not even Sandra?" I asked him.

"Don't go there. I can't marry Sandra."

I was dumbfounded for the rest of the day regarding the topic.

I reflected on all these while trying to answer Sandra's questions.

"I have to lie. Kunle is putting me in a tight situation that I detest," I complained to myself while thinking of what to say to Sandra.

"You are not talking?"

"Sorry dear. I have many things going through my mind. Regarding your question, Kunle loves you beyond your imagination. You don't have any reason to fear. I can't wait to witness the tying of the knot."

Her mouth twitches with a smile.

"I am back guys," Kunle cuts into our conversation.

I realized that Sandra's eyes were on Kunle for minutes. The more she looked at him deeply, the more she flicked a smile. My response to her question gave her reassurance.

I was intentionally reserved for the rest of our stay in the bar. It wasn't my character to lie in that manner. My friend was making me put my integrity on the line.

We finished taking our drinks and we returned home around 11 pm. Our house was a three bedroom apartment. I retired into my room while Kunle with his girlfriend entered his room.

I stayed awake for another hour. I was imagining Sandra to be my sister. I even imagined myself being a woman and falling into the hand of a deceiver like Kunle. I detest such kinds of situations.

Sandra left the house the following morning. She had woken up very early to prepare us a delicious breakfast.

Immediately we saw her off that morning, I sat Kunle down to tell him my grievances.

"I don't want to be involved in this womanizing escapade of yours. Lying is not my way and I don't want to start it now. These girls have emotions like us. It's not good to be deceiving them."

Kunle didn't realize how serious I was. He tapped me on my shoulder and told me to calm down.

"Don't give yourself high blood pressure because of these ladies that prefer iPhones to true love," he responded to me.

Later in the evening, he welcomed another lady. He ignored all that I told him.

I didn't relent. I continued to talk to him to change.

We stayed together for a few more months before I got a job in another faraway city. I left him with his many girlfriends.

I was in good communication with Sandra. It got to a time that she started complaining about kunle's attitudes towards her.

"Kunle doesn't hide her other girlfriends from me again," she wrote in one of her chats to me. She followed it with a crying emoji. "Kunle is rubbing it on my face that he's done with me."

"I am sorry for everything. If I were there, I am sure that things wouldn't degenerate into this. I will call him and talk to him."

I talked to Kunle to retrace his steps and show the lady the respect that she deserved.

"Sandra has everything that a husband needs in a woman.

"Beauty, good character, industriousness," I listed all her qualities that I knew. "Kunle, I advise you to marry that girl. If at all you don't want to marry her, I want you to handle the breakup more maturely. Don't hurt that girl."

All my interventions fell on deaf ears. Their relationship hit the rock and both of them moved on.

About a year after the breakup with Sandra, Kunle introduced a new girl, Joy, to me via phone call. Kunle rushed everything with the lady. For the first time, I could sense that my friend was truly in love. He proposed to Joy and she accepted. We started planning for the introduction in Joy's hometown.

My friend was very generous to his new found love. He showered her with gifts of different kinds. He began to post her pictures on his social media handles.

I was surfing my social media handles on a fateful evening when I saw a wedding invitation card posted by a friend. He was inviting people to his brother's wedding. I saw the pre-wedding pictures accompanying the invitation card and I became confused.

I asked Kunle later that day if his fiancee was a twin. He responded in the negative.

I paused and thought for a moment. "Could the name and physical appearance be a coincidence?" I asked myself. "Whatever it is, I need to let my friend know," I concluded.

I sent the invitation card and the pre-wedding pictures to Kunle. Kunle confirmed her as his girlfriend.

He was totally heartbroken.

"Joy left my place last week. She told me that she was going to visit her uncle. According to her, he would come back after three months.

"I gave her money to update her wardrobe. Who sent this wicked girl to me? Why are women like this?" Kunle lamented bitterly.

I spent a quality time pacifying him on the phone to take heart.

"Don't be too hard on Joy. Sandra moved on after the bitter heartbreak. You need to move on too."

"Maybe she collected her wedding gown money from you. You have been given a dose of your own medicine. Whatever the taste is, that is a lesson for you to learn from," I bluntly told him my mind.

Kunle spent almost a year before he could heal from the heartbreak.

He indeed learned from the experience. His attitude towards women changed for the better.