I Borrowed 250k from My Best Friend's Mother for a Business I Never Started. Three Years Later, She Still Greets Me at Church.

This happened back in 2023, when I was 27 and living in Warri. I had just lost my job at a filling station and rent was due. My best friend, Efe, his mother was a petty trader who sold provisions at the market. She had saved small small for her daughter's wedding.

I went to her one evening and told her I needed a loan to start a phone accessories business. I said I had a supplier in Benin and the profit was guaranteed. She looked at me with those tired eyes and said, "My son, I trust you because you and Efe grew up together." She gave me 250,000 naira cash. No paper, no witness. Just trust.

I paid two months' rent with 80k. The rest went to feeding, transport, and one thing led to another. I never bought a single phone case. The business never started. I kept telling myself I would pay back when things improved, but every month the money just disappeared like sand through fingers.

Efe's mother still calls me "my son" at church every Sunday. She asks how the business is doing. I smile and say it's growing. She has never asked for her money back, not once. But her daughter's wedding was postponed twice. I know why. I just cannot bring myself to say it.

I have a job now. I have saved 90k so far. I plan to return it before the end of the year, even if it takes me two years to finish paying. But the shame is that I lied to someone who only showed me kindness. This thing has taught me that debt is not just about money , it is about the trust you kill.