IN THE NAME OF LOVE AND LIES

Sienna

“Will you marry me?” He was down on one knee. That was the only thing about the proposal that had been in my dream plan. His crappy apartment ridden with rodents and the left over pizza in between us was not romantic in the least.

Yet, my heart leaped with joy at the proposal.

“Yes, yes, I will!” I squealed in excitement.

He looked relieved and happy too.

I smiled as he slid on the cheap ring he had bought for me.

I knew that better times were coming. I only had to be patient.

“I can't wait to tell my mum!” he said excitedly as he picked up his phone. I wanted to protest. I wanted to tell him to wait a bit and allow us to enjoy this moment, just the two of us but I did not want to ruin the mood.

His mother had been like a torn in my flesh all this time.

I had given my all to Denzel. He was my highschool sweetheart and I was crazy in love with him.

We had only started dating in our senior year but he had meant the world to me. He had finished high school as valedictorian and he had been so passionate about studying journalism afterwards that it had become his second love after me.

He would often say to me after we made love, one day Sienna, you are going to watch me win the Pulitzer.

I would cheer him on and assure him that he would win without a doubt since he was so smart.

However it turned out that being valedictorian at a crappy school was not enough to get Denzel the full ride scholarship he needed to study journalism.

I had seen him fall into depression when he had to sit out a year because things had not gone as planned for him. I had encouraged him, telling him to go for a cheaper school or take a student loan but he had looked at me like I had suggested he eat shit.

He had said to me then, If I have to work ten years before I can afford college then I would do it.

He could not defer his admission to NYU further than a year and I knew that it fell on me to do something about it.

I dropped out school only after completing my freshman year and began working three jobs just so he could go to school in the spring of that year.

Somehow we had raised the money for his tuition and a few other things. I had to continue working while he was in school to support him.

You should come live with me. We can save on rent that way.

Housing in New York was expensive so we had rented a tiny studio apartment with thin walls and an abundance of rodents.

Still, I had endured it all with a smile.

Denzel’s dream was more imminent.

When he finished his course and became a journalist, he would marry me and we would spend the rest of our lives together.

And when he did win that Pulitzer because I knew that he would, he would dedicate the prize to me.

“She said yes!” Denzel's excited voice filled the room as his mother answered the call. He had put the phone on speaker, wanting me to enjoy the excitement he assumed his mother would receive the news.

What Denzel failed to notice was his mother's cold disposition towards me. She had never been kind to me even though I had shown her that I was ready to give it all up for her son.

“What? Who said what?” her bitter voice filtered through the phone.

“I told you I was going to propose to Sienna on her birthday. She said yes,” he sounded slightly disappointed that his mother would forget such an important detail. What he did not know was that it was only important to him and not his mother. His mother hated my guts and I knew that she did everything in her power to stop me from marrying her son. However, I was not going to let her get to me, after all, love conquered all.

“And you remember what I told you! I do not want that bitch bearing our family name,” her voice rang out with bitterness and hate.

“Mum! How can you say that?” he screamed into the phone in a frustrated tone.

“I said what I said. If you're expecting me to congratulate me, I have no such intention!” she screamed back into the phone.

“I would not be a journalist today if it were not for her…”

“So thank her for her sacrifice. Why would you marry her when you can clearly do better?” her words broke my heart to a thousand little pieces.

I made to stand up from where I sat beside Denzel but he pulled me into his arms.

“We're getting married whether or not we have your blessings. I love Sienna and I am going to spend the rest of my life with her,” he said before ending the call.

He kissed my ear and whispered, “don't worry about my mother. She'll come around eventually.”

I wanted to tell him that in the six years we had been together, she had never come around. So why would she do so now? What magic did he want to perform now that would make her come around? However, I kept quiet and smiled.

“You're quiet,” he said quietly.

“Did you get me a birthday present?” I asked him, trying to forget about his mother.

“Of course! Can't you feel it?” he teased as I felt his manhood pressing through my clothes.

“Don't be naughty,” I said with a giggle as he planted wet kisses on my neck.

In seconds, we were kissing passionately and our clothes had begun falling onto the floor but before we could become more intimate our phones rang at the same time.

We groaned but ignored the call.