PICTURE PERFECT
Picture Perfect – Episode 2
© Christabel Nwoko
Olivia gave in to Fred’s demands when he threatened her with a divorce, She fell into the illusion that they were perfect because of thier online presence.
“Money is not everything, so what if I’m giving him my money, he is my husband after all” She told herself
No matter how bad things got or how intense arguments became, Olivia believed that they were truly the perfect couple because everyone on the outside looking in thought they were, even her best friend Kate wished for a man like Fred. She had thought that Fred was a successful man and her friend Olivia was lucky to have a man like Fred as her husband.
Olivia fell into this character mindset of who she was online instead of who she was in real life with Fred. Online they were perfect and Fred was the wealthy husband who spoilt her with expensive gifts, gifts that she sometimes bought for herself to show off.
Olivia posted frequently because she felt she needed to prove that her life was better than what it was in reality.
The more she posted, the worse things were behind closed doors. Posting her glorified happiness made her feel as if the chaos that actually existed was minor or all in her head.
Olivia had always been such a romantic person and she had spent half of her life searching for that big and deep love story. Because of this, she struggled to admit that her marriage was anything but a fairytale. She thought the more she wrote about it online, the more likely it’d be to come true. Obviously, that didn’t happen.
In no time, Kate found love too but she was skeptical about giving her new love a chance. Kate met an hardworking but struggling, fine, young man named Victor, He was so in love with Kate, They had known each other for two years and Kate kept him in the friend zone because he was not as wealthy as her best friend’s husband. But when she found out that she was in love with him too, they started dating, Kate was so ashamed to introduce him to her Friend Olivia. She dated Victor secretly. They were both in love, everyday Victor worked harder and little by little he began to make little progress and was ready to settle down.
When Victor finally popped the question “Will you marry me?”.
Kate hesitated before she accepted. She had thought she was making the biggest mistake of her life by marrying a man who was not wealthy but when she thought of the love she had for him and his zealousness, She was not so scared. She managed to introduce him to her family and her parents gave thier blessings. Kate didn’t introduce Victor to Olivia, her best friend, because she believed that Olivia had a perfect life with a perfect husband and Victor was no match to Fred.
“Olivia would laugh me to scorn, if she finds out that I’m getting married to a man like Victor, I know that we love each other but Victor is still struggling” She thought
When Olivia learnt about Kate’s engagement and her wedding which was few weeks away. She was surprised. She wondered why Kate didn’t post anything about her engagement and upcoming wedding online or tell her about it, She decided to give Kate a call.
When Olivia finally called her friend Kate, She congratulated her on her upcoming big day and then She said
“you didn’t even post your man online, so the whole world would see how happy you are” Olivia uttered
“Olivia my friend, I have stopped posting every important details of my life online, who I’m I impressing, I love Victor so much and I’m happy with him and I don’t need to prove that on social media” Kate replied but deep down she knew that was not the reason.
Olivia had always heard that best relationships doesn’t need to prove anything on social media and the first time she heard that saying, She thought it was just what jealous people said of the love they didn’t have themselves, but hearing the same statement from her best friend, she went into a deep thoughts . “When your love is real, pure, and truly happy, you won’t have the time to post every single detail and glorify every small thing because you’ll be too busy enjoying and experiencing that joy to feel the need to prove it to your online world”Olivia thought she silently dropped the call. She may have seemed happy and head over heels in love with Fred on social media, but it was far from the truth. She concluded that Kate had found the perfect man, she wallowed in regrets , “My life has become a charade and it has continued far too long, I post happy selfies, when I’m dying inside but what would I do, My husband deceived me, my life is not perfect, My marriage is not either but I have to look for a way to make myself happy and feel fulfilled” She told herself.
The problem with Olivia’s marriage was that Fred, her husband was a narcissistic man, falling for a narcissistic man is that they make you question your instincts and your own sanity. Olivia believed that she needed to show her husband Fred more love, try harder, and give him constant ego boosts to improve what they had.
She decided to go on a trip to Paris with her husband with all expenses paid from her bank account to celebrate their second year wedding anniversary
“This trip would strengthen our relationship and heal our marriage” She had thought.
Fred agreed at once to go on the trip and they started the processing and in few weeks they traveled to Paris.
Of course she posts photos of thier PICTURE PERFECT family on their trip to Paris and her friend Kate almost died of envy, she wondered if her life would be as perfect as Olivia’s with a man like Victor in her life. Kate was not as wealthy as Olivia, She was the first daughter of her family and all the money she made was not for herself alone as she tends to send money to her parent and for her younger ones school bills and upkeep. While Olivia was the last child of her parents, her parents were pensioners and she barely sends money to her parents.
End Of Episode 2
To Be Continued
