I haven’t watched “No Other Woman” yet but basing from its title, the movie’s theme is about infidelity, betrayal of trust and loving someone at the wrong time. The nature of an affair seems exciting; you seem to be that damsel-in-distress waiting to be saved by her knight-in-shining-armour. But when does the excitement begin and stop?

They say that affairs are not actually the “cause” but it’s rather the “effect.” For instance, when two people who have been married for a decade have lost the “magic,” they are prone to seeking that “magic” on someone else. In this case, the “cause” of the affair is the lackluster relationship of the married couple and it’s “effect” is the affair itself.

Affairs are exciting at the start. It gives you butterflies in your stomach. Everything seems right though it’s quite obvious that everything about it is just not right. Affairs are just too tempting like a strawberry ice cream in the middle of a desert. Why are some people prone to having an affair while some can resist the temptation?

I try to think of an instance when I nearly had an affair and I realize that it happened six years ago. I was in an unhappy relationship when I met this young man. Affairs usually begin with physical attraction. I was lonely, he was attractive—what a good combination to spark an affair! We had a brief chance of getting to know more of each other ; I didn’t mention about my then boyfriend. I was inspired and happy with him. Suddenly, somebody made me feel special again. Actually, I was ready to leave my boyfriend for this young man; anyway, I was not happy with the relationship anymore. But something hit me hard; I realized that I was just unhappy with my relationship with my boyfriend but I was still very much in love with him.
The scenes leading to my aborted lover’s discovery about me having a boyfriend were just like pieces of old photographs that I could vividly remember. It was the night when I finally gathered up my strength and would have informed my supposed lover about how big a mistake he must be committing for pursuing a woman who’s already taken. But circumstances played ahead of me; he and his friend saw me with my boyfriend on that night. He sent me a corrupted text message. I didn’t reply back; I was not sure if the message was nice or not.

At the restaurant, my boyfriend surprised me with a new phone. Since it’s a phone from Smart, I could not use my old Globe SIM card, my number that my aborted lover knew.My boyfriend took my old phone and I felt that I was trapped. Anyway, my boyfriend never knew of that aborted affair. The affair ended before it had a chance to start. Gone were the late night texting with the aborted lover, the emails, the phone calls and the brief encounters; my life went back to being boring yet I had a clear conscience.
A month after the incident, I chanced upon my aborted lover. We exchanged pleasantries before minding our own businesses. Something was missing in his voice, the excitement and admiration. I was hurt then but everytime I recall how he brought back to me the feeling of being in love, the hurt turned into nostalgic sighs.

Fast-forward, a year after that brief yet aborted affair, my boyfriend called it quits with me. I was thinking if I made the right decision of choosing him and staying with him rather than taking chances with my aborted lover.
I guess, the happy family life that I have now is just God’s way of making up with me for all those unhappy times that I had in my previous relationships. And yes, a wiser and older me is no longer interested on affairs!