After falling for an online scam, Kay’s trust was shattered. But true love came when she least expected it…
Taking a deep breath, I explained my travel plans to my sister.
‘I had a dream where
I was in Nigeria,’ I said.
‘I was sitting by this stream, and it was just so peaceful. I think I’m meant to
go there.’
‘Isn’t it dangerous?’ she asked. ‘Please make sure you’re safe.’
I was determined and even though
I didn’t have much experience of travelling, I set
about arranging
a trip the following year with members
of a local church.
It had been a difficult time for me. My husband had left me for a much younger woman leaving me heartbroken.
And all my kids had their own families so I felt very lonely.
I’d retired from my job as a nurse and was left feeling directionless.
Facebook and mobile games kept me busy, and I ended up chatting casually with people all over the world.
But six months after my dream of Nigeria, disaster struck.
Someone I’d met online had persuaded me to invest in Bitcoin, and it had turned out to be a scam.
I’d lost a lot of money, and it had also completely shattered my faith in humanity.
How can I ever trust anyone again? I thought.
A short time passed when my phone buzzed with a message.
I only vaguely recognised the profile. It was a guy named Ablack who’d liked a post of mine a few months previously on Facebook and we’d swapped a couple of messages since.
How are you today? he wrote.
I’m actually in
a really bad place,
I replied.
Hold on, I’ll FaceTime you,
he said.
I was really touched that
he cared.
When I answered, I just burst into tears and the whole story spilt out.
'Have you put a spell on me?'
Ablack was reassuring and sympathetic.
‘You need to be more careful,’ he said.
We chatted for over an hour and afterwards, I thought I’d have a look
at his profile picture.
He was very handsome and much younger than me, at only 25.
He’d probably get along great with my grandkids,
I thought.
Ablack kept checking in on me which was lovely, and soon the two of us were chatting everyday.
It was as if we had gone from strangers to best friends overnight.
When I fell ill with the flu, he was on the other end of the phone trying to cheer me up.
Ablack was a musician, and he’d sing down the phone to me to help me get to sleep.
He even rang my sister to let her know I needed someone with me.
Ablack told me all about his life in Nigeria and I couldn’t help thinking about my dream and my plans to visit.
‘I’m actually coming to Nigeria in summer with a Church group,’ I said.
‘If you need showing around or somewhere to stay, I can help with that,’ he replied.
My sister was reassured when
I told her there would be someone
there looking
out for me.
Over the months leading up to my trip, our relationship began to turn romantic.
‘Have you put a spell on me?’ Ablack asked. ‘All
I ever think about is you.’
‘Me too,’ I replied. ‘I wake up thinking about you every morning. But what about the age difference? There’s 43 years
between us.’
‘Age is just a number,’ he reassured me.
When I told my kids about Ablack, they were concerned.
‘Are you sure you’re not just going to get scammed again?’ asked my daughter.
However this felt like the real deal.
But on my flight over, I was full of anxiety.
What if he’s not there when I arrive? I worried. What if it’s some kind of set up?
But when I arrived at the airport, I was met by a member of staff who led me through immigration.
Then, as we headed down some escalators, I spotted him!
‘Oh my god, you’re real,’ I said, as I threw my arms around him.
I couldn’t stop myself from crying.
‘Calm down,’ he said, patting my back. ‘We’re
together now.’
Then we kissed for the very first time.
His touch was electrifying.
The following couple of days were a whirlwind.
Being with Ablack made me feel like being a teenager again.
I stayed with him in his house in Lagos.
On the third night of my trip, he took me out to dinner in a restaurant overlooking the city.
We were standing on the balcony admiring the view, when I turned to find Ablack down on one knee.
‘Will you marry me?’ he asked.
I was totally caught off guard, but my answer was instant.
‘Of course I will,’ I said, pulling him in for a kiss.
The other restaurant diners cheered us on.
We planned our wedding for October, just three months away.
I’d originally meant to keep travelling after visiting Nigeria, but now I’d found my new home.
'I know what we have is real'
A few days after the proposal, Ablack and I were intimate for the first time.
‘I’m worried what you’ll think of my body,’ I confessed.
‘This is what a real woman looks like!’ he reassured me. ‘You’re beautiful.’
And being with him felt amazing.
This is what I’ve been missing all these years, I thought.
Over the next months, we had the best time together.
Ablack was so caring.
‘I’ll treat you like a queen,’ he told me.
Whenever we went out shopping and he spotted me eyeing up a piece of clothing, he’d take it straight to the till.
He’d pay for my manicures and pedicures and I never had to clean
or cook.
But beyond that, I could tell that he was such a good person. Every night, he kneeled down by the bed and prayed.
I knew that for Ablack, marriage was for life.
After what had happened with my ex-husband, it really meant something to me that he took it seriously.
In the run up to
the wedding, I met
Ablack’s father.
Though I’d been worried about it, he was actually incredibly kind and friendly.
‘This is God’s will, or it wouldn’t be happening,’
he told me.
Sadly, no one on my side could be there with me on the day.
While my sister and grandkids were supportive of my marriage, they couldn’t make it to Nigeria.
As for my kids, they still weren’t convinced.
But Ablack’s friends and family were so welcoming that it didn’t feel as though
I was getting married alone.
The ceremony was held at the government ministry of marriage.
‘I’m terrified,’ I confessed to Ablack as we headed in.
‘So am I,’ he agreed and squeezed my hand.
But then we started posing for photos and I found myself looking up
into his eyes with butterflies in my stomach.
I knew we were meant to be together.
Afterwards we went back to our house in Lagos for an intimate dinner.
But things soured slightly when, after uploading some wedding pictures to social media, they went viral.
Some people were horrible about me.
One comment called me
a granny and said I was just using him.
‘But it’s simply not true,’ I told him, tears in my eyes.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I know what we have is real and that’s all that matters.’
My kids haven’t met Ablack yet, but they’re less suspicious of the marriage now they see how happy I am.
Truly, I’ve never felt love like this.
Kay Perea, 68