14/07/2025
đ âThey Laughed When I Bought a Coffin Instead of a Wedding Dress â But I Knew What I Was Buryingâ
Written by Rosyworld CRN
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PART ONE â THE ENGAGEMENT THAT SHOOK MY FAMILY
2021 | Benin City, Nigeria
I was 28, in love, and finally engaged to the man everyone warned me about.
> âKelechi is too secretive.â âWhy does he always borrow money?â âYou sure say this one no go use you finish?â
But love⌠love can blind a hawk.
I paid no mind.
I planned the wedding.
Paid for our apartment.
Even sponsored his tailoring shop.
I told my mother:
> âHe may not be rich. But he loves me.â
She sighed.
> âLove without truth is a knife wrapped in velvet.â
I didnât understand.
Not yet.
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PART TWO â THE PHONE THAT NEVER STOPPED RINGING
Three weeks to our wedding, things got strange.
Kelechi was always âbusy.â
I caught him whispering on calls.
One day, while he was in the bathroom, his second phone rang.
I picked.
A womanâs voice asked:
> âYouâre the tailorâs sister, right?â
I said nothing.
She continued:
> âTell your brother to stop calling me. Iâm married. He was just a fling.â
A knife twisted inside me.
A fling?
I waited for him to come out.
But I didnât confront him.
Instead⌠I started watching.
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PART THREE â THE THINGS I FOUND
I went through his wardrobe.
Found receipts in another womanâs name â hotel bookings, jewelry, spa treatments.
All dated after our engagement.
I sat on the floor.
Crying like someone who had swallowed stones.
Still, I didnât cancel the wedding.
I just⌠paused it.
I told my family we needed âmore time.â
And Kelechi?
He got angry.
> âSo because of small issues, you want to disgrace me?â
I replied:
> âNo. I want to bury something before I marry you.â
He laughed.
> âYou wan bury who? Me?â
I looked at him.
> âNo. My own foolishness.â
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PART FOUR â THE DAY I ENTERED THE COFFIN SHOP
I walked into a coffin shop.
The man looked confused.
> âSorry, madam⌠who died?â
I smiled.
> âThe part of me that used to beg for love.â
He blinked.
I pointed to the plainest brown coffin.
Paid in full.
Wrote on it in chalk:
> âHere Lies My Delusion.â
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PART FIVE â WHEN THE NEWS SPREAD
Benin is a small place.
Before long, people started whispering.
> âShe cancelled her wedding and bought a coffin.â
> âMaybe she did money ritual.â
> âThat girl don kolo.â
But I didnât explain.
Because pain doesn't need validation.
Only release.
I locked myself indoors.
No makeup. No Instagram. No distractions.
Just healing.
I cried.
Wrote letters to myself.
Deleted old pictures.
Then, on the day that was supposed to be my wedding, I dressed in whiteâŚ
And went to bury the coffin.
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PART SIX â THE BURIAL OF A PAST
No choir.
No guests.
Just me, a hired gravedigger, and a pastor who owed me a favor.
He asked:
> âAre you sure you want to do this?â
I nodded.
As they lowered the box, I whispered:
> âI forgive you, Kelechi. But I choose me.â
The pastor said a short prayer.
> âMay everything that was buried here never rise again.â
I smiled.
> âAmen.â
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PART SEVEN â THE RISING
Six months later, I launched my bridal brand: COFFIN TO CROWN.
I made dresses for women who had survived betrayal, divorce, heartbreak, and widowhood.
We didn't just sell gowns.
We sold redemption.
I went viral on Facebook when a post read:
> âShe buried her shame⌠now she dresses survivors.â
Orders flooded in from UK, US, Ghana, Kenya.
The woman they mocked?
Now ships 50+ dresses every month.
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PART EIGHT â WHEN HE CAME BACK
One rainy Thursday, Kelechi showed up at my office.
He looked thinner. Hollow.
> âYou dey successful now.â
I didnât respond.
He handed me a note.
> âIâm sorry.â
I smiled.
> âI already forgave you. But you canât resurrect what I buried.â
He left.
That was the last time I saw him.
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PART NINE â THE WEDDING THAT FINALLY HAPPENED
2024.
I met someone kind. Steady. Transparent.
A widower with a daughter who adored me.
When he proposed, I said yes.
But this timeâŚ
I didnât wear white.
I wore gold.
Because I had already been purified.
Rosyworld CRN