Émilie tried to move closer to him. “Baby, I’m sorry. I did not mean to. I thought she was some crazy woman from the neighborhood.”
Cyril stepped back coldly. “It is not only to her that you lied. You lied to me too. You made up a story so I would fire an innocent employee. You manipulated the truth.”
Émilie clenched her fists. “It’s because I love you. I wanted to protect you. That girl disrespected you.”
“No, Émilie. It is you who disrespected everyone. My mother, me, the truth.”
He took a deep breath. “I cannot marry a woman this cruel.”
Émilie felt her world collapse. She screamed, “Cyril, you cannot do this to me after everything we’ve been through. You’re going to throw me away like an old shoe?”
“You threw yourself away, Émilie. Get out of my house immediately.”
Émilie stood there trembling. “Cyril, I love you.”
He turned his eyes away. “But you do not love what is good. You do not love what is right. And I have nothing more to say to you.”
Émilie grabbed her handbag, tears in her eyes, rage burning inside her. As she opened the door, she threw one last insult.
“You are a mama’s boy. You will never find a woman like me.”
Cyril did not reply. He remained still, staring into the emptiness. The door closed, and silence fell.
An hour later, Cyril was still sitting in the living room, staring blankly ahead. He felt drained. He was sad, but also relieved. He had just cut ties with a toxic woman. He had lost a fiancée, but found the truth again.
His mother came out of the room, fresh and rested. She sat down beside him and gently placed a hand on his knee.
“My son, now you see why I do this kind of test.”
Cyril nodded. “You were right, Mama. Émilie was not the right one.”
His mother looked at him tenderly. “But there is another. One who has already shown that she has a pure heart. One who sheltered me, fed me, protected me, even without knowing who I was.”
Cyril slowly raised his eyes toward her. “Mireille?”
His mother smiled. “Yes. That girl has gold in her heart. She spoke to me about you without knowing who you were. She told me she wanted to meet you first, to get to know you. She did not chase money. She simply wanted to see the man.”
Cyril smiled softly, then his look became more thoughtful. “But I want to be sure, Mama. You know many people pretend. Then when money appears, the masks fall.”
She nodded slowly. “So what are you going to do?”
Cyril straightened up. “I want to meet her as an ordinary man. Not as a CEO. Not in this house. I want her to see me as she believes I am, a simple worker. If she loves me that way, then I will know it is real.”
His mother looked at him with admiration. “That is a wise decision. But then she must not come here, otherwise she will discover everything.”
Cyril pulled out his phone. “Give me her number. I’m going to call her. I’ll ask her out, and I’ll play my role to the end.”
His mother gave him Mireille’s number. Cyril wrote it down, took a deep breath, then dialed it and waited.
After a few seconds, a gentle voice answered, “Hello?”
“Good evening. My name is Cyril. My mother has spoken a lot about you. She gave me your number. I would like to meet you.”
“Oh, Cyril. Yes, she told me about you too.”
“I would really like to see you, if you agree.”
“Of course. When and where?”
He thought for a few seconds. It had to be somewhere simple.
“Do you know the little public garden behind the central market? It’s quiet. We can talk peacefully there. Tomorrow at 2 p.m.”
“That’s perfect. I’ll be there.”
“Thank you, Mireille. I’m looking forward to meeting you.”
“Me too. Good evening.”
“Good evening to you too.”
He hung up, his heart beating fast. His mother, still sitting beside him, looked at him with a knowing smile. “She accepted without hesitation.”
Cyril nodded. “Tomorrow I will know everything.”
The next day, Cyril got up early. He wanted everything to be perfect in its simplicity. He chose modest clothes: slightly faded jeans, a plain T-shirt, and old sneakers. He left his high-end phone at home, took an old, worn-out one, and removed his luxury watch. He had to look like the man Mama had described to Mireille: humble, simple, without means. He wanted the truth, not a performance.
Around 1:40 p.m., he arrived at the public garden, a small shaded park behind the market, with a few wooden benches, a peaceful corner, and banana sellers nearby. He chose a bench under a mango tree, sat down, and waited.
At exactly 2 p.m., Mireille appeared. She was wearing a simple light-blue dress with flat sandals. Her hair was tied in a bun. She stopped, looked around, then their eyes met.
Cyril stood up and gave a small wave. She smiled and walked toward him.
“Hi. You must be Cyril.”
“Yes. And you’re Mireille.”
They sat side by side on the bench. A short silence settled before Mireille spoke with a light laugh. “Do you know you have the same name as my former boss, the one who fired me?”
Cyril laughed softly, pretending innocence. “Really? That must be a troublesome name. So what did he do to you?”
Mireille sighed, crossing her arms. “He believed his fiancée instead of listening to me. She chased an old woman out of the office, a woman I had helped that same morning in the rain. I defended the poor woman, and he fired me without even checking, just to please his girlfriend.”
Cyril nodded. “That’s terrible. A boss who doesn’t listen is dangerous.”
Mireille nodded too. “I don’t regret it. I may have lost a job, but I kept my dignity.”
He looked at her with admiration. “Mireille, you have a big heart.”
She shrugged. “I just try to do what is right. But enough about that, tell me about yourself. Who are you really?”
Cyril took a deep breath, still in character. “I’m just a simple guy. I do odd jobs here and there. I’m trying to survive. It’s not easy, but I keep hope. One day I’d like to start my own business, something that lasts, something my mother can be proud of.”
Mireille smiled. “She already is, I think. Just the fact that she raised you like this…”
He nodded, touched. “She sacrificed everything for me. I would be nothing without her.”
Mireille looked at him for a long moment, then said softly, “That’s why I agreed to meet you. A man who respects his mother is a man you can respect.”
Cyril felt warmth spread through his heart.
