Readers share Valentine’s Day horror stories

He called me a gold digger in public - Christine

I had been dating this guy who was flashy and obnoxious but had many other redeeming qualities. Being at that age when eligible guys in my age group were few, my friends advised me to overlook his weaknesses and enjoy his strengths.
So we started going for comedy shows together, where he would obnoxiously deconstruct every joke, movies, concerts and even a few dates where we went out to the club to have fun. He decided to have our first fancy dinner date at a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day.
He gave me a heads up to what we were going to do prior and I was absolutely ready but not ready enough for what transpired. We had a great dinner and conversation and then the bill came. He checked in his pants as if reaching for his wallet and made a face. He excused himself and went outside, only to comeback looking sheepish. He told me he was embarrassed not to be able to pay our bill because he had left his wallet in his other Range Rover.
This was before the era of mobile money and yet I knew I did not have that amount of money in my wallet. I told him I needed to go to the bank to withdraw some money. That is when all hell broke loose; he started shouting at me saying I just wanted to run away from the bill and what kind of woman was I? “You should be ashamed of yourself for being a gold digger at your age,” he shouted.
Now all the diners were staring at us.
The manager came and asked us to keep our voices down because we were inconveniencing the other diners. He just stormed off and left me at the table with the unpaid bill. I explained to the manager what had happened, and he courteously said I could go and bring the money. I found him in the parking lot talking to someone on the phone saying he did not have money to waste on old women.
“She should be paying me to sleep with her. Besides she has the money and no one to eat it,” I overheard him say. My heart really sank. I pretended I had not heard his conversation and asked him to drive me to the bank. At the bank, I intentionally gave him my card and pin number and asked him to go and withdraw quite a substantial amount. I knew he would not resist checking out my bank balance which was healthy.
When he came, he handed me the money and tried to apologise. I told him it was okay. He drove me back to the hotel where I paid the bill. I thanked him for the date and told him I wanted to be alone. He kissed me on the cheek while all the time apologising profusely.
When he left, he started calling me incessantly so I switched my phone off. For the following weeks he tried calling, texting even coming to my office but I refused to see and talk to him. I am happy to say the story ends well because I met someone special that night at the bar who became my true valentine.

She hooked up with my best friend on our date - Donald

Do you know when you suspect something but it is too awful for your mind to accept? For a while I had suspected my girlfriend was cheating on me with my best friend. I do not know if they had planned it or they just could not continue with the charade. We always did double dates on big days.
But on this Valentine’s Day, Roger, my best friend, said his girlfriend had cancelled so he would be coming alone. My girlfriend then decided to invite her best friend so that Roger would not feel out of place.
When we went to pick them up, Roger and my girlfriend first stood behind the car whispering. Then she decided to sit with “poor Roger” leaving her friend to sit in the co-driver’s seat next to me. At the restaurant, the whole dinner conversation was awkward and there were glances and giggles between the two.
I could not wait for the agony to end. Then, my girlfriend excused herself to go to the bathroom. A few minutes later Roger received a text and excused himself too. We were left at the table looking abandoned so I decided to go for a quick smoke. As I looked for a safe distance to smoke from, I saw two figures hugging and kissing passionately. I did not want to inconvenience them so I decided to look for another spot.
As I turned to go I heard laughter that I could identify from anywhere. I walked and stood behind them, I will never forget the shock on their faces when they saw me. Without saying a word, I walked back to the restaurant, paid our bill and asked her friend to come with me.
All the while they were pleading with me to say something, trying to explain but I could not trust myself to speak. We went to a bar and then to a nightclub where we danced until morning. I ended up marrying her friend and this Valentine’s Day we will celebrate 12 years ofmarriage.

He said I put a curse on him - Mary

There was this guy I had a huge crush on. I was more than excited when he started noticing me. Soon enough, we were texting every day. He finally asked to take me out on Valentine’s Day and I agreed. He had planned a trip to a fancy upcountry resort.
He picked me up in the morning looking like a dream and smelling delicious enough to eat too. When we hugged I felt my insides melt. This should have alerted me but I was too overwhelmed by feelings to think straight.
The journey is still a blur to me as I was enjoying the attention he was lavishing on me. We checked into the resort and he asked if I needed my own room but I said we could share. We took a shower, changed and went to the bar for drinks and later for dinner. Again, the whole evening was a blur because I was having the time of my life.
Back in the room, when I went to the bathroom my heart sunk; I had started my period. In my compromised mind, I decided we had to make love immediately before the flow increased. So we did. I heard a scream as soon as he entered the bathroom.
Alarmed, I rushed to see what was going on. He asked me angrily if I had just got intimate with him while on my period. I did not know what to say. I thought of lying to him that I had been a virgin but I knew he would not believe me. So I feigned ignorance.
“This is taboo in my culture. You could just as well have murdered me! Do you know what I need to do to cleanse myself of this curse! How could you do this to me? Were you sent by someone to destroy me?” He kept asking without giving me a chance to explain or apologise. I realised his anger was just gaining steam. I did not wait around to see it at its fullest, I dressed up, picked my bag from the room and left. I booked myself into another room and left early. It has been years and I never heard from him again although I see him on TV and read about him in the newspapers. At least I know my period did not put a curse on him.