World Of Lies — my life is a puzzle

Gladys, my beautiful friend, never believed in herself. Self-love wasn't in her dictionary because she hated who she was and where she came from.

Every morning, she would stand before a mirror and wish she had never been born.

"My life is a puzzle," she would tell me.

Source

I met Gladys in church during Easter, specifically on Good Friday. I was drawn to her because of her appearance and calm personality.

I wanted to be her friend, and before I knew it, we were walking together, side by side after the morning mass.

It didn't take me long to realize that Gladys was a bit of a storyteller. She preferred living in her own made-up stories about herself.

"My uncle is this, my aunt is that," and so on.

She had a wealthy boyfriend who loved her so much that he would always kneel to beg her if he ever offended her.

"I like it that way, it shows he's deeply in love with me," she would tell me whenever I complained about it because I found it very irritating.

A few months into our friendship, she reluctantly introduced me to her family. They were really nice people, but not as rich as she had claimed. Her dad didn't have a car; he was just a secondary school teacher, and her mom was a petty trader.

"Gladys, you told me your dad was an engineer and your mom a lecturer," I couldn't help but inquire of her.

"Girl I'm sorry I lied to you. Now you've seen who they really are," she said in a very funny way and we burst into laughter.

I later found out that her relationship with Jason, her boyfriend, was built on serious lies. Jason didn't even know what his girlfriend was studying in university, or anything about her family or her true self. All he knew were lies.

After being together for a year, Jason proposed to her and expressed his desire to meet her family. She told him that her family had traveled abroad for her elder sister's graduation ceremony.
But that was another lie, because she's actually the first child, and her dad doesn't even have an international passport.

Jason started doubting her explanation and decided to investigate. He secretly followed her to her house and luckily spotted her dad from a distance. Based on the appearance of her house and her father, Jason realized that they were of below-average wealth. So why all the lies?

Jason confronted her, and they had a serious fight,

"I'm not sure I can continue in this relationship. You made a fool out of me for a whole year. You should have just been yourself. It's you that I love, not your family's possessions," Jason yelled.

"Really? Would you have even known me if I had shown my true self? Would you have dated me knowing I come from a different social class?" Gladys asked, tears streaming down her face.

"If destiny wanted us to be together, I'm sure it would have happened.
You just don't get it Gladys, I was attracted to your inner beauty, not your wealth," said Jason.

Gladys didn't believe him; she knew he was lying.
"So why are we having this conversation?" she asked.
"Because you lied!" Jason yelled and stormed out of the room.

That was the end of their relationship. Gladys tried everything she could to win him back, but it was in vain.

She then despised herself, her identity, and where she belonged once again.
"I knew he would leave me once he found out the truth," she said.
I didn't know what else to do, but I gave her all the advice I could think of.

“People won't love you if you don't love yourself. We're all different, and no one will hate you for not being wealthy”.
I did my best, and I was glad to see her regain her confidence and embrace her true self.

She realized she was blessed with so many things that others didn't have.
"I am sorry, Lord. The greedy me failed to thank you for all that I have," she prayed the day her father got a promotion.

Gladys married her dream man during her third year of university. It was important for her husband to solidify their bond before he left for his master's degree.

"I can't believe I did all of that just to be with Jason," Gladys said.
"Not only Jason. You lied to me too, you lied to everyone, Gladys," I said, requesting my own apology.

She said she didn't know how it all began. But she guessed it must have started with a small fib, then it snowballed into something much bigger.

And so every morning, she wakes up feeling this deep sense of regret, knowing that the fantasy version of herself will never become a reality.

“You know, I can't help but feel so sorry for Jason. I really wish he could find it in his heart to forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt him or deceive him. It's just that fear and insecurity got the best of me.” she said, a little bit more to herself.

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Gladys isn't her real name. But this soul is still my close friend. We did everything together because she didn't mind the age difference between us.