The Wife He Faked- Loved

The first time Amara Adeyemi saw Ethan Cole, the rain was pouring so heavily that students were running in every direction, trying to avoid getting soaked. Amara stood beneath the roof of the Faculty of Social Sciences, hugging her books tightly against her chest. She glanced at the dark sky and sighed. She hated the rain. Growing up, her mother often joked that the slightest drizzle was enough to leave her sneezing for days. "You know," a deep voice interrupted her thoughts, "if you keep waiting for the rain to stop, you might miss your next lecture." She turned and found herself staring into the warm brown eyes of a tall, handsome young man with a mischievous smile. Tiny raindrops clung to his neatly trimmed beard, yet he looked completely unbothered by the weather. "I'm Ethan," he said, extending his hand. For a brief moment, Amara forgot the rain entirely. "I'm Amara." Their hands met. "So..." Ethan smiled. "Are you always this afraid of the rain?" "I'm not afraid," she replied with a laugh. "I just don't enjoy walking around looking like a drowned chicken." He burst into laughter. "I've never heard anyone describe themselves like that." She couldn't help laughing too. That five-minute conversation became the beginning of something neither of them could have imagined. Over the next few weeks, Ethan seemed to appear everywhere. He waited outside her lecture hall after classes. He carried her books when they became too heavy. He bought her lunch whenever she forgot her purse. Sometimes he even walked her to the bus stop, even though it meant taking a different route home. Amara had never met anyone so thoughtful. Every conversation with him left her smiling long after he was gone. One afternoon, as they sat beneath a large almond tree overlooking the football field, Ethan looked at her thoughtfully. "What do you want from life, Amara?" She smiled. "I want to build a successful business one day." "A business?" "Yes." "So you're ambitious." "My parents have sacrificed too much for me. I want to make them proud." Ethan nodded slowly. "I like that." "What about you?" "I want a beautiful family." She laughed. "You've already planned your future?" "I have." "And where do I fit into that future?" He looked directly into her eyes. "Hopefully... beside me." Her cheeks grew warm. She quickly looked away, pretending to be interested in the football match happening nearby. But inside, her heart danced. For the first time in years, she felt completely seen. Not everyone shared her excitement. A few days later, her best friend Kemi pulled her aside after class. "I heard you're spending a lot of time with Ethan." Amara smiled proudly. "He's a really good person." Kemi didn't smile back. "You should be careful." "Why?" "He has a reputation." "What kind of reputation?" Kemi hesitated. "The kind no woman should ignore." Amara frowned. "People say he dates several girls at the same time." She laughed. "That's impossible." "I'm serious." "People gossip." "My cousin dated him." Amara's smile slowly disappeared. "And?" "He cheated." Silence settled between them. Kemi reached for Amara's hand. "I just don't want you getting hurt." Amara gently withdrew her hand. "You don't know him the way I do." Over the following weeks, the warnings continued. Her roommate mentioned hearing similar stories. A classmate casually joked that Ethan collected girlfriends the way some people collected shoes. Even a lecturer laughed one day during class and said, "Some young men are experts at making promises they never intend to keep." Several students exchanged knowing glances before quietly mentioning Ethan's name. Amara refused to believe any of it. The Ethan she knew wasn't like that. He prayed with her before examinations. He remembered little details about her family. He called every morning just to wish her a good day. He couldn't possibly be the man everyone described. Love has a strange way of making us believe only what our hearts want to hear. Three months after they met, Ethan invited Amara to the lakeside café just outside the university. The evening breeze was cool, and the setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange and gold. Ethan seemed unusually nervous. He reached into his backpack and carefully brought out a single red rose. "I know this isn't expensive," he said quietly, "but I wanted today to be special." Amara's heart began to race. "I've met many people in my life," Ethan continued, "but none of them make me feel the way you do." She stared at him without saying a word. "I don't just want you as a friend anymore." He stood before her and held out the flower. "Amara Adeyemi..." He smiled nervously. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Tears filled her eyes. She had imagined this moment countless times. Yet standing there, hearing the words from his lips, felt even more magical than she had dreamed. With trembling fingers, she accepted the rose. "Yes." Ethan's face lit up with the brightest smile she had ever seen. He gently pulled her into a warm embrace. Neither of them noticed the young woman standing several metres away. She watched the couple quietly before taking out her phone. "So..." she whispered to herself, "...he's found another one." The young woman looked at Amara one last time. There she was, smiling with complete trust, holding a red rose from the man she believed would never hurt her. The stranger sighed softly and disappeared into the crowd. Completely unaware that her happiness had just become the subject of another woman's pity, Amara rested her head on Ethan's shoulder. She believed she had found the love of her life. She had no idea she had just become the newest chapter in his long history of broken promises.