Dear GhanaWeb,

I’m a 26-year-old woman, and for the past seven years, I’ve been in love with my cousin. He’s 30, handsome, successful, financially stable, and one of the most respected people in our family.

Everyone admires him because he has built a good life for himself. He has a thriving career, owns his own home, drives a nice car, and takes good care of those around him.

To everyone else, he seems to have life completely figured out. The only thing they believe he’s missing is a wife.

At every family gathering, the conversation somehow finds its way back to him, with aunties and uncles teasing him about settling down.

The truth is, we didn’t just wake up one day and decide to be together. Over the years, our bond grew into something much deeper than family.

We became each other’s closest friend, biggest supporter, and eventually, we fell in love.

I know many people will judge me for saying this, but I can’t pretend these feelings don’t exist. What I feel for him is genuine. It’s not infatuation or a passing emotion.

I’ve loved him for seven years, and not a single day has passed without imagining what life would be like if we could openly be together.

He tells me he loves me too. But unlike me, he is constantly afraid. He’s terrified of what our family would say if they found out.

He worries about rejection, criticism, or even being cut off by the people who raised us. He fears becoming the subject of gossip and disappointing everyone who looks up to him.

Because of that fear, our relationship has remained a secret. Sometimes I wonder if I’m asking too much by wanting him to choose me publicly.

Lately, the pressure on him to marry has become overwhelming. Every family event ends with someone asking when he’s bringing a woman home.

Some relatives have even started suggesting potential wives, telling him it’s time to stop waiting and settle down.

I’ve spent years hoping that one day he’ll find the courage to tell the truth about us, but that day never seems to come. Seven years is a long time to keep a relationship hidden.

Part of me wants to keep waiting because I truly believe he is the love of my life. Another part of me feels I’m wasting the best years of my life on a relationship that may never have a future.

If you were in my shoes, would you continue waiting for him to stand up for your relationship, or would you walk away before someone else is introduced as his future wife? What do I do now?


FG/EB


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