Friendship and Love |- The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #142

Irene lay in her bedroom on her bed with a huge smile in her eyes as she stared at the photo album. As she flipped through the pictures with a smile on her face, she reached a back page that turned her smile into sorrow. It was a picture of her and parents. Remembering the happy moments made her share tears.

Irene had been a single young lady searching for true love after she lost her parents in a terrible accident at a very tender age. With a soft heart, she needed a true love and Josh came around with all proof he was the one meant for her to spend her eternity with. The blank pages of her love life were beginning to look different. Her grandma was happy for her but her grandma was skeptical.

"Irene, you know I love you as my grandchild and I want the best for you. I don't want you to give all your heart to this man, try to pretend like you are poor and see if he will still stand by you."

"Granny , have been with Josh close to a year now, he doesn't even know where I live, he's a nice man. Well mannered and responsible. What else does a woman need in a man?"

"My love, he might not know where you live. But you take him to expensive places, wear expensive things, those are enough, besides who knows he must have done his own background check."

"Granny, I know you care so much about me and I appreciate that so much but Josh and I are fine and his love for me is genuine."

Josh and his friends had driven out to have a drink in a bar when he sighted one of his old time school mates.

"Hey, Ben!. Isn't that Aisha. That my baby back then?

"WOW, what a small world, of course she is. What's she doing here?"

" Excuse me, hey! Excuse me, Aishy...!"

"Do I need an eye check? Josh!!!"

Without waiting for answers she hugged him tightly like a loved birds who have gone missing.

"I can't believe we meet again after our high school. I returned to town a few days back and heard of this new sit out."

"Hey, Aisha, enough of our vibing. Have you forgotten Ben? I know you guys had issues back then but it's been a long time. Too long for you too to have set the differences aside."

"Can we not talk about this? Can't he greet first if I don't?"

"Josh, I'm out of here. We talk on the phone."
With a change of mood he left the two and went home.

"Aisha, I thought I could forgive you but seeing you again brought back the memory into my head. There are many ways to catch a rat."

Immediately he rushed home and took out his photo album and began searching for the most recent picture of Josh and Aisha. Luckily he found the exact picture that depicted what Irene would believe without thinking twice once he told her Josh is cheating on her.

Ben, Josh and Aisha used to be three best friends who had gone to places together, held secrets together. Secrets , that one thing that late to a breach in the trio's friendship. Ben had a fiance who he was serious with only to find out that Aisha had been going behind his back to destroy their relationship. Filling the young lady with so much lies.

Lies that led to distrust and separation. That had led to a strong hatred between the two.

"Hi Irene. I know you know me to be a good friend but I can't be that good friend if I see what my own friend is doing which is bad and I'm silent."

"Hope there is no problem.?"

"There is a problem. There is this Josh's ex-girlfriend that he reunited with today and with what I witnessed, your relationship with Josh is at stake.?

Irene, whose love for Josh has clouded her head that she refused to believe what she had heard about Josh.

Three months after the reunion, Josh was ready to make his relationship with Irene official. It was a planned event, in a beautifully decorated room was a bed, with beautiful Flowers littered on the floor, with beautiful decorations.

Surprisingly, Irene walked into the room only to see Ben, Aisha with others.

"What's going on here? Who is soon to cross the isles?"

Immediately, Josh walked in through the door. Received a warm hug from his finance.

"Okay, I think we are complete now, I'm seeing romance in the air. Ben, break the ice."

"What if I told ..."

Without allowing Ben to complete his words, he knelt gently and brought out a beautiful ring and stretched it towards Irene who was blushing with a beautiful smile planted on her face.

Source

"My love, would you marry me?" With so much joy, she accepted the proposal.

"Babe. Meet Aisha, my high school friend."

"Hold on? Aisha?"

"Yes, do you know her? "

"Yes but not Ben should be able to explain better."

"Irene, Josh. I'm sorry. I was selfish and stupid. I thought my plan would work but it was opposite of how I planned it. I know I hated Aisha and I got jealous when I saw Josh sounding nice to her the day we met her in a sit out. I didn't know what else to do but to lie against them, thinking you will believe me."

"Guy, how could I? This is the least I expected from you. You wanted to betray our friendship because of Aisha."

"Alright , I Know sometimes I can be full of myself even when I know I'm wrong. I know I caused the enmity that existed between us. Ben, forgive me and forget what I did. I'm sorry."

"Babe, don't take it too hard on Ben, we can be tempted at any time in life, " Irene told his fiance."

As the friend toasted to the engagement,they also tasted strong and healthy friendship with no enmity.