21sᴛ Mᴏɴᴅᴀʏ, 2020.

It was 7:00ᴀ.ᴍ... Just like every other morning, Imade opened her eyes and woke up to daylight. Staring at the sunset standing like a hanged bulb in the sky, her lazy body slowly watched the swirling twilight mixing with dark purples and oranges and the red sun to make a spiraling masterpiece. She sighed with content, propping her up with the heels of her hands. Imade tilted her head to the wall clock to see what time it was.

‘Omg! It’s already morning!’ She stretched her lazy bones out of bed, trying to remember what happened last night.

“Well, I feel so sound right now. I just want to work.” A voice muttered in her head.

Listening to the pounding outside, her weak eyes widened in search of Dele. Right then, Imade threw on a white striped T-shirt and a black jean shirt. She stepped outside to our cooking spot, and I saw Dele pounding pepper and making yam porridge.

‘Wow! This guy is at it again.’ Imade smiled to herself, trying not to let him see her. So, she tiptoed back into the room and stretched her twitching muscles that were pushing her back to sleep. Well, Imade didn’t sleep well last night all because of that stupid nightmare, but right now, it’s nicethinking about it.

Imade took off her clothing and went to take a morning bath. She quickly got into her beautiful Ankara print jumpsuit and put on light makeup. Combing through her natural kinky hair felt a bit painful until Dele walked in.

“Wow! You’re awake.” He muttered.

“Yes, darling. Good morning.” Imade greeted me with a bright smile on my face. Watching the reflection of how beautiful she was in the table mirror.

Dele dropped the pot in a corner and gave her a back hug, folding his arms around her waist in love and affection.
“Thanks a lot for yesterday, my love. You saved my life-“ he gently placed his index finger on Imade’s lips as she paused between her words.

“Say nothing, my love. You’re my responsibility.” Gazing into her eyes like a scientist studying a gemstone, he held her face with his thumb and middle finger at each side of her chin. She couldn’t help but stare back into his dark night eyes as he moved closer.

Slowly placing a soft kiss on her lips. Imade wasn’t so surprised any longer, as were already getting used to each other.

As she felt his lips on hers, he pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss and his fingers between the nape of her neck and chin. Imade loosely wrapped her long arms around his built shoulders, feeling his rough hands slide up her back. Bamidele helped support her upright. Cautiously moved Imade's hands up to his face, and eventually the crown of his head.

Just then, she swooped towards him with her lower lips parted and capturing his upper lips. It felt so magical. All her pains and worries faded just that minute. Like two hungry lions fighting for a piece of meat, Dele and Imade, in the motion of exchanging kisses, made romantic contact. She ended up lying on top of his built, sexy body.

With her youthful body on his, Dele took advantage of the moment; running his hands to the back of her jumpsuit, unzipping it, and taking off her black, netty bra. His touch made Imade move her slender hands under his shirt and up his back. Finally, they broke apart, breathing heavily and lying on top of each other.

Still lost in these. Imade tried to move away from him, but he held her back.

“Where are you going? We have an unfinished business here.” He reminded her, looking so puzzled.

“I’m so sorry, Darling.” She held his soft, shiny beard and gently raked a finger through it to calm him down.

“I really need to open the shop right away. I’m running late. I’ll make it up to you tonight, I promise.” Imade begged in her usual whiny voice.

His gaze dropped as if he was disappointed.

“Awwwwn. You know I love you, Dele. You’re my lifesaver. We’re going to have forever, okay?” She muttered in like it was an appraisal.

Ridiculously, Dele’s eyes rolled to hers, and his lips curved into a crooked smile.
“I love you too Imade, and that isn’t even debatable.” He hugged her and finally let go.

“I’ll have to go right away.” Imade swiftly pulled up from his body and put on her clothes.

“Not yet, darling!” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer.

“What is it again?” Imade ended up staring at his handsome face.

“You need to eat and use your drugs. You’re not feeling fine, I think... The injection helped, but I don’t want you to come back all stressed out and worked up. Have you tasted my porridge?” He asked, knowing well that I hadn’t.
“Come and eat before you leave.” He persuaded and ridiculously he pulled her to a seat.
“I added crayfish, thyme, turmeric, and scent leaves. I’d put a lot in this cooking and I’m sure you’ll love it!” He winked at the love of his life as he seared her breakfast.

Imade couldn’t help but blush at his words. Dele is so loving. He was all she had ever wanted in a man. Now why should she ever object...

Bamidele placed her food on the table, along with a silver spoon and a cup of water. He brought out the drugs and sat beside me to feed her, spoon by spoon. She felt admired though, but Imade later collected the spoon to complete her delicious meal. He handed her drugs and she gulped them down her throat with water. One after another. It was six tablets that morning, 2 each for the three drugs.

“So, am I good to go now?” She asked him, adjusting her lipstick.

“Yes, sure.” Dele the word a satisfying smile. “You’ll have your second injection later in the evening and the last one early tomorrow morning. It’s an 18-hour interval.”

“Okay, darling.” Imade smiled and grabbed her handbag.

“Aren’t you coming along with me to the shop?” She turned to him with a curious face.

“Ummm... I’ll be here in a while. I need to clean up this place, take my shower, and eat as well.” He answered earnestly.

“Okay, well then... I’ll be going now. See you soon, my love.” She gave him a bear hug and placed a side peck on both cheeks before leaving.

“Bye.” He waved at her.

“Bye...” Imade uttered as she closed the door beside her and went to her saloon shop with a wide smile on her face.

Imade had never felt so happy in years.

‘Bamidele is my husband. I mean, he accepted my past, and he’s ready to support my present and encourage my future without second thoughts. I’ve been so lucky to have him indeed.’ The thought played through her mind, vividly.

Just then, Imade noticed Lateefah’s door was locked.

‘She must have traveled to Kogi for her introduction, but who cares? She didn’t even inform me, whatever. I’ll soon do my wedding too, anyway.’ Imade hissed mentally as she passed the corridor. Going outside, she greeted her neighbors and passersby as she walked out of her compound.

Getting to her shop. Imade unlocked the doors and swept everywhere. Hale and healthy, she started attending to her customers. About 4 came that morning. The hairstylist washed her hands and rested for a while.

‘I wonder why Dele isn’t here. Maybe he divided to rest... Whatever!’ Imade rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone. Checking her Samsung, she decided to message her mum about WhatsApp.
‘I know I haven’t had time to discuss properly about Dele but she’s still my mother, no matter what.’ she pondered.

***

ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ

10:14 𝙰.𝙼: 𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚊’𝚊𝚖𝚒

No reply

‘She didn’t reply? Well, I guess she’s still angry with me. Should I close my shop to visit her?’ I thought. ‘No! She’s just going to keep giving her annoying lectures again, as usual. You know how she’s adamant about your marriage with Baba Fegbemi.’ a voice cried in her head.

10:40 𝙰.𝙼:
𝙸’𝚖 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚗𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚢 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞.😩

No reply.

10:42 𝙰.𝙼: 𝙸’𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚖𝚒.

10:42 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞?

10:43 𝙰.𝙼: 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚖𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊.😢

10:44 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚂𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎?  𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚕?😒🙄

10:44 𝙰.𝙼: 𝙸’𝚖 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚖𝚒, 𝙳𝚎𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜.

10:45 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝?! 𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐?! 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢! 𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛?!

10:46 𝙰.𝙼: 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚖𝚒. 𝙼𝚢 𝙱𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎. 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝. 𝙷𝚎’𝚜 𝚊 𝚍𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎. 𝙳𝚎𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚗-𝚒𝚗-𝚕𝚊𝚠.😭🙏😭

10:48 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚙𝚒𝚍, 𝙸𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎! 𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚎!! 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚗 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚊𝚛. 𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜?...

10:50 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚊𝚖𝚒. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎. 𝚆𝚎’𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝙳𝚎𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝙰𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝙺𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚊 𝚘𝚛 𝙸𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎.

10:53: 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜, 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎. 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐?! 𝙸𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚠. 𝙸’𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚊𝚋𝚊 𝙵𝚊𝚐𝚋𝚎𝚖𝚒 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍...𝙸𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚜𝚔? 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙳𝚎𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚐𝚞𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎, 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝙼𝚊𝚍!

10:54 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚆𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚖𝚒. 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸’𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚢 𝙶𝚘𝚍’𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎. 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚖𝚒 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝙶𝚘𝚍’𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗. 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚒 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝙸 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘?  𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝙳𝚎𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚎, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍’𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕?💔💔💔

10:56 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚂𝚑𝚞𝚝 𝚞𝚙 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚢 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕! 𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚋𝚋𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚍. 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎.

10:58 𝙰.𝙼: 𝚁𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝙸’𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚖𝚒. 𝙸 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕. 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍.

Feyi fell silent on the last message. She was tired of convincing her daughter already.

11:00 𝙰.𝙼: 𝙱𝚢𝚎 𝚋𝚢𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚖𝚒. 𝙸’𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝.

***

Just then, a customer walked in saying she wanted to make cornrows. Imade began with the job, making her beautiful style. About to finish, Dele came into the shop. They laughed and talked for hours. What a perfect couple, indeed.

***

Later That Evening,
6:43: p.m.

Imade came back from work. Tired and stressed. Bamidele was home preparing dinner before her arrival.
As she got in, she met him sitting at the cooking spot outside the building. At first, he cooked the yam until soft. Then he fried the onion and garlic for 5 minutes before pouring the raw egg into the frying pan. The smell of the frying eggs made her mouth water as she walked into the compound...

‘Omg! Dele has exceptional skills in cooking. He sure knows how to make a woman happy.’ The thought went through her as she went to meet him.

“Good evening, darling. You’re back.” He greeted, welcoming her with a warm cuddle and a kiss on her cheek.

“Yes, my dear. I see you’re already preparing dinner. It smells exquisite.” She complimented.

“Thank you, my lady.” He bowed and collected her and bag. Imade couldn't help but to chuckle at his attitude.

“And what’s that all about?” She rolled her eyes at him with a smile face.

"You’re my Queen, Imade. You make me want to treat you better, every day." He joked.

“Hmmm... That’s good, but in case. I’m nowhere close to royalty.” She explained. "I'm just... Me."

“But you are, to me.” He replied to her back with a heart-warming smile. And they both burst into laughter.

Just then, something dropped from her nose. She felt its wetness as she grabbed her head, facing down. Dele rushed to her in fear as her breath deepened. Imade was nervous and curious about what was happening to her as her thin hand trembled to touch her nose. It was blood dripping down her nostrils.

***
16.04.2021.