I thought I knew what love was.
I thought I’d found it in Daniel.
We met in the most banal way possible – through mutual friends at a party.
He was charming, funny and had such a confident charisma that people were drawn to him.
At first, being with him was like living in an affair.
But as time went on, something started to go…wrong.
It started with little things, almost imperceptible.
A caustic remark about the way I dressed.
A joke about my ‘weird’ way of speaking.
At first I just laughed.
‘That’s his humour,’ I told myself.
But then the comments got worse.
One day we were at a bar with his friends and Daniel decided to play the part of the comedian.
‘Yeah, Emma’s so bad at cooking, I swear she’d even burn water,’ he joked, pushing his friend Mark.
The group laughed.
I strained a smile.
It wasn’t pleasant, but I told myself not to be too sensitive.
Then, another time, we were at his best friend’s dinner.
Someone mentioned career aspirations, and before I could say anything, Daniel interrupted:
‘Emma wants to start her own business but, let’s be honest, she changes her plans every fortnight.’
Everyone laughed.
I sat there, feeling my stomach and chest clench.
Then I started to notice a pattern.
When we were alone, he was sweet – attentive, affectionate, supportive.
But in front of his friends?
I was becoming his private joke.
At first, I didn’t say anything.
I tried to convince myself that I was exaggerating.
Maybe he didn’t mean it.
Maybe I was being overly sensitive.
But the more it went on, the more I felt like a joke, not a girl.
The turning point was a game night with his friends.
I was learning to play chess, and Daniel asked me to play.
I was nervous, but excited.
Halfway through, I made a wrong move.
‘That’s why I always have to explain everything to her,’ he said, shaking his head.
Laughter rolled through the room.
Daniel’s friend Josh even patted him on the back.
I felt my face burn.
I wasn’t just embarrassed.
I was humiliated.
I looked at Daniel, expecting him to notice how much his words had hurt me.
But he was too busy enjoying his laughter.
Then I made the decision that enough was enough.
I didn’t react immediately.
Instead, I smiled, supported him, and pretended I wasn’t hurt.
But inside, I began to formulate a plan.
If he wanted to turn me into a joke, I would teach him a lesson.
The next week, I asked him to invite his friends over for dinner.
He was thrilled.
‘I love that you’re finally starting to bond with them,’ he said.
‘Ouch,’ he said, not even trying to hide his smile.
‘Card Player.’
I was on the verge of losing my temper when I heard a chuckle from down the corridor.
Leah, Dave’s newly blushing fiancée, was standing there, looking like a cat that had caught the cream.
‘Is this seat available?’ – She purred and sat right on Dave’s lap.
Well, I’m not a prude, but the way they were acting, you’d have thought they’d forgotten they were on a plane full of people.
The laughter, the whispering, those… other sounds.
It felt like I was in a bad romantic comedy, only without the ability to change the channel.
I tried to concentrate on my book, my film, or, at the very least, my safety instructions-just to avoid listening to these lovebirds‘ performance.
But after an hour of their antics, I couldn’t take it anymore.
‘That’s enough,’ I muttered, waving to a passing stewardess.
‘Time to fight fire with fire.’
As the stewardess approached, Dave and Leah continued their sweet numbers, even louder than the fake ‘smiley faces’ and sweet words.
‘Is there a problem, sir?’ – The flight attendant asked, giving us a look full of concern and distrust.
I took a deep breath, ready to tell her everything.
This was going to be good.
‘A problem? Oh, where do I start?’ – I said loud enough to be heard by the surrounding passengers.
‘These two have turned this flight into their own personal wedding suite.’
The flight attendant raised an eyebrow, her gaze travelling between me and the couple snuggled together.
I continued, counting down on my fingers:
‘We’ve had incessant coughing, a film without headphones, a rain of snack crumbs, and now…’
I pointed to Leah sitting on Dave’s lap, ‘this ladence situation.’
Dave’s face turned red.
‘We just got married!’ – He objected.
‘We just want to sit together.’
The flight attendant’s professional smile disappeared, giving way to an expression of annoyance.
‘Sir, Madam, I understand that you are celebrating, but there are rules we must adhere to.’
Leah winked coquettishly.
‘Would you mind making an exception? It’s our special day.’
I couldn’t resist the remark.
‘It’s been their ‘special day’ for an hour.’
The flight attendant straightened her uniform and turned to the lovebirds.