I had never imagined that I would ever cheat on anyone. It wasn’t me at all. Jeremy wasn’t the most outgoing person. However, he was still my boyfriend and I still loved him.  How could I have done this? 

When I met Paul at my office party, I didn’t know things would end up like this. He wasn’t even supposed to become a part of my life. But somehow, he just managed to charm me. He was so different from Jeremy. His ability to live life to the fullest was everything I wanted at that moment. I just didn’t think that my zest for life would land me in a cell. How could I have let him carry weed in the car? Who had I become?

“Sarah!” I heard a man calling from outside the cell which snapped me back into reality.  

“She’s in here.” Another man responded.  

One of the officers came and unlocked the door signalling me to step out. I walked out slowly and followed him after he locked the door to the cell. I looked back and realized Paul didn’t even look up to see where I was going. He was at the corner curled up into a ball.  

 “Sarah Mitchelle?” A lady in police uniform asked as she looked up at me. 

“Yes, that’s me,” I said as I looked at her and gave her a small smile.  

“Here.” She said while handing me a cellphone. 

“You get one call and I’m only doing this because you’re the accomplice.” She said as she walked away leaving me with the cellphone.  

“Accomplice” that word echoed in my mind as she was leaving. I was a bad person all because I couldn’t control my desires and now someone else was going to suffer because of me.  

“You have five minutes young lady!” The woman who gave me the phone yelled from the corridor.  

I stood in silence wondering who I could call to help me. My mum was not a choice because she liked Jeremy and this would have broken her heart. Calling my best friend was also not a choice because she was jobless. The rest of my family would have made this the highlight of the week in our WhatsApp group chat. Jeremy was my only choice and as hard as it was to admit I had to call him. I dialled his number and waited anxiously as it rang. 

“Hello?” Jeremy answered in a sleepy voice.  

“Hi, Jer it’s me, Sarah,” I responded while trying to pull back my tears.  

“Sarah? What are you doing up so late and why are you calling from this number?” He asked.  

“I’m at the police station, I was arrested a few hours ago,” I responded. 

“What? Why?” He asked. 

I realized at that moment that if I told him the whole story over the phone, he would not bail me out.  

“Could you come to pick me up I’ll explain everything when you get here?” I responded. 

“I’m on my way.”  He said as he hang up. 

I walked over to the lady who gave me the phone and handed her back her phone. 

“Have you called someone who can come pick you up?” She asked. 

I gave her a small nod as I was looking at the ground.  

“Evan, come and take her back to the cell!” She shouted.  

The man who had opened the cell for me came and took me back. Paul was still sitting in the corner.  

“So, who did you call?” He asked a few minutes after I sat down.  

“Jeremy,” I said in a soft voice.  

“Woman gets bailed out by her boyfriend after being arrested alongside her lover.” He said as he laughed. 

“You think this is a joke?” I said angrily. 

“No, I just think it is ironic that you called your boyfriend to bail us out after what happened.” He said in a serious tone.  

“You have quite the nerve to talk seeing that you’ve been crying in a corner since we got here,” I said to him bluntly.  

“Wow, you were just waiting to snap at me, weren’t you?” He said still laughing. 

“Paul you are the reason that we are in here in the first place!” I snapped.  

“Point of correction, we are the reason we are in here Sarah.” He said as he moved closer to the wall. 

I sat back and thought about what he said and he was right. I couldn’t claim to be a victim because I was well aware of what he did. 

A while later, Evan walked toward the cell gate and opened it.  

“Get out the both of you.” He said as he paved the way for us to walk out. 

I stood up and walked out first. Evan signalled me to go to the entrance of the police station. I walked towards the entrance and saw Jeremy talking with the lady I had spoken to earlier. He looked very disappointed. 

I took a big breath and walked toward the policewoman. I stood beside her and turned to face Jeremy.  

“Babe I’m so sorry this happened, I don’t even know what to say,” I said as tears rolled down my cheeks.  

“This isn’t the right place to have this conversation, Sarah.” He said bluntly.  

“Evan, bring the young girl’s belongings.” The policewoman said as we stood there in silence.  

Evan approached me and handed me a bag of my belongings.  

“Let’s go, Sarah,” Jeremy said to me as he walked towards the car leaving me at the entrance. I followed him close behind and entered the car. Jeremy sat in silence with his head laid back on the seat.  

“I thought we were leaving?” I said.  

“We’re waiting for Paul.” He said.  

“Wait? How did you know his name and why are we waiting for him?” I asked surprisingly. 

“Oh, so now you don’t want to see your lover?” He snapped.  

“Just respond to the question,” I said. 

“I am in no mood to talk to you right now so just please let me be.” He said. 

We sat there in silence for a few minutes. I kept looking back to see if Paul was coming out. Thirty minutes later, the back door of the car was opened. Paul first placed his belongings on the car seat and then proceeded to enter. 

“Hey, Jeremy,” Paul said in a soft voice. 

Jeremy looked back at the both of us and shrugged. He started the engine and drove out of the police station.  

“So, there’s a lot of tension here, should we talk about what happened?” Paul asked. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you and Jeremy knew each other?” I asked.  

“He didn’t have the chance to, seeing as his only priority was to get you into bed,” Jeremy said in a cold tone. 

“That’s not true and you know it,” Paul said as he turned to me. 

Jeremy pulled over to the side of the road.  

“You decided that this would be your moment of revenge?” Jeremy asked as he turned to look at Paul. 

“What do you mean by revenge?” I asked.  

Paul looked at me and sighed.  

“Why don’t you tell her the real reason you have been spending time with her?” Jeremy said.  

“Jeremy and I liked the same girl in university and we both made a promise that we wouldn’t date her,” Paul said. 

“Okay and?” I asked still confused.  

“She came up to me one day and started flirting with me. I tried to tell her I couldn’t be with her and she got upset. Later that day, she went and told Paul that I slept with her.” Jeremy said.  

“You did sleep with her, don’t lie to Sarah!” Paul said angrily. 

“She made you believe that I had slept with her. She came to my hostel and she took photos of me and her together. Paul found out and he said one day I will pay for betraying his trust.” Jeremy said as he sighed.  

“So, all this time you were using me as payback?” I asked Paul who had refused to look at me.  

The rest of the ride was silent. When we arrived at my apartment building, Jeremy got out and escorted me to my doorstep.  

“I’m sorry about what Paul did to you,” Jeremy said in a soft voice. 

“I don’t know what to say right now. Anyway, I’ll come over to pick up my stuff tomorrow afternoon.” I said to him as I unlocked my door.  

Jeremy gave me a small nod and left. The next day I went to get my stuff. Jeremy had texted me and told me to find a key under the doormat. When I opened the door, I realized that he had already packed up all my stuff. I didn’t know what hurt the most, the fact that my relationship was over or that I was used for revenge. That day taught me to always do a background check on the men I date.