Rita's POV

The loud, shrill sound of my alarm wakes me up and with a small groan, I turn on my side, my hand shooting out only to be met with cold, bare surface.

I immediately sit up, the duvet wrapped around me, as I look confusedly at my husband's empty side of the bed. Slowly, our 'argument' from last night comes back to my memory and I roll my eyes deeply at the fact that he really didn't come home.

Kissing my teeth quietly, I groggily make my way off the bed, tossing the duvet off my body.

Honestly, I can't even be bothered by Cameron's childishness right now. He'll be back so I didn't understand his need for dramatics.

However, I have a meeting to attend so it's probably good that he isn't around. At least I won't go into it in a bad mood because if he were, there's not telling the conversation that would've ensued this morning.

I quickly hop into the shower and after taking care of all my hygiene, I begin to do my make up, using my power red lipstick that made me feel confident. I needed it for today. Afterwards, I get dressed in a thigh length suit dress, with a material that almost looked like Ankara.

I slipped on a pair of low heels and looked myself in the mirror with a small reassuring smile. I was ready to kill it. With that thought in mind, I made my way out of my home.

As with most businesses, I needed investors. I didn't want too many investors in Haus Fashion, however. I needed just one, so Temi and I will still hold majority shares and what not. Which is why we ended up going with just one prospective investor, Mrs Ireti Doyle. She was very experienced as she has been in the fashion business for several years now, and has invested in several businesses, she also owns her own fashion house so I had the feeling that she would be a suitable investor.

Also, she is a friend if my mother which made it easy to set up a meeting with her in the first place.

I begin the drive to her office in Ikoyi, speed dailing Temi's number on the way. The sound of the line ringing echos in the car as my phone was connected to the Bluetooth. On the fifth ring she picks up.

"Where are you?" My best friend's voice is immediately head over the speaker asking.

"I'm on my way now, just a few minutes away. Did you pick up Shay?" I ask.

"Here." I hear Shay's soft voice say.

"Alright guys, just checking in. I'll be there soon." I say before hanging up.

I arrive in a few minutes and I see Temi and Shay seated in Temi's car which is parked outside the compound, waiting for me. We all head into the building together and in no time, we are being introduced to Mrs Doyle.

At first she looked unapproachable, but then she smiled and made a few jokes putting us all at ease. I admired her greatly. Even in her early 50s, she looked like she was barely about 45. Her vibrancy and easy going nature immediately reeled me in to her.

An hour later, the documents both our lawyers had drawn up were signed and we all headed out in high spirits.

"I think I'm going to go to spa, just to check up on things." Temi says. "Should we do lunch after?"

Now that this meeting is done and over with, my mind now once again goes to Cameron. "No, some other time, babe. I have some things I need to take care of." I tell her.

"Okay." Temi says before pecking my cheek quickly. "I'll see you later. I'll probably just go see Tosin afterwards since he just got back from a trip."

"Go see your man, girl!" I hype as she enters her car. Temi shakes her head at me as we share a laugh.

Once she leaves with Shay, I get into my car and as I settle behind the wheel, my hand immediately goes to my lightly aching forehead.

Cameron's behavior from last night didn't sit well with me. The man I know and married didn't flare up over things like this so it's either he was mad about something else, or he really meant what he said and felt strongly about it. If it was the later, then I didn't understand where that was coming from.

Before we got married, we had spoken about this and had come to the conclusion that we would only start trying for a baby a year after marriage. What changed? Coming to think of it, I was the one who suggested the timeline of 1 year. Did he only go ahead with it to make me happy?

I shake my head at the train my thoughts are taking.

Although I knew there was no way he'd be home by this time on a Friday, I still didn't want to go home. That was how I found myself in the mall, surfing through the many racks of lingerie at a female store.

I didn't want Cameron and I fighting, I never liked it. I also know that the one thing that man cannot remain mad at, apart from my naked form, was me in a lingerie. So I decided to get myself a few new pieces.

Sex wasn't the answer to everything, that much I knew, but at least in this case, it'll make him stop being upset. He wants a child and if he puts in the work, he probably thinks he'll get one. I didn't plan on telling him that I take birth control shots every three months. Let the man think what he wants.

My mind was so occupied with these thoughts that I bumped into someone. It was just a shoulder bump which caused no damage so I simply looked down at the lady I practically walked into, to apologize.

"I'm-" I began, my words halting as I stared into the eyes of the woman who Cameron was having a conversation with on Sunday at the Adeleke's party. I gave a small hesitant smile, tilting my head as I said instead, "Oh hello."

"Hey, Rita!" She greeted jovially like we were friends. I found it very odd but I maintained my smile regardless.

"Toke, right?" I asked although I remembered her name very well.

"Yeah. Fancy meeting you here." She said still grinning.

"I could say the same." I retorted easily as I looked at her properly. She was dressed casually in white pants, a white button up crop top and red Chanel sneakers. She looked nice, but I didn't miss the fact that she was dressed so informally on a Friday afternoon when she was supposed to be at work with my husband.

She looked uncomfortable at my words for a millisecond, her smile wavering before beaming once more.

I immediately got the vibe that she was a type of person who often hid how she really felt behind a fake smile and forced joviality. I was never one to judge, but that was simply how she came off.

Fortunately for me, before she could voice a reply, the sound of my phone ringing was heard and I was glad for the opportunity to politely excuse myself from her presence. "It was nice to see you again, Toke." I lied before walking off.

I took my things up to the check out counter and as the woman began billing them, I spared my phone a glance to see who the caller is. Seeing it's my sister, I accept the call.

"Rita! Thank God! Please I need a huge favor." I hear the panicked voice of Rachel say through the line.

"What is it now?" I ask her as I roll my eyes lightly.

"I need you to come pick me up from somewhere. I'll send you the address." She says and immediately hang up.

Soon after, my phone pings with a message and I look at the address sent of a place around Oniru Beach. The place isn't too far off from the mall so after paying, I begin the drive there. What should've been a ten minutes drive extends to twenty due to the afternoon traffic.

Once I arrive at the outdoor restaurant, I send Rachel a quick text notifying her I was here because I didn't want to get out of the car.

In no time, she rushes out of the building and gets in.

I spare a long glance at my sister who is dressed in what looks to be a beach cover up, and I can see the orange colored strap of a bathing suit peaking from underneath the dress she has on that is almost see through. I give her a sharp look. "Why did you ask me to pick you up?" I ask sternly.

Rachel has the decency to look embarrassed before explaining slowly. "I went for a party at Oniru Beach and, well, things got out of hand after a fight broke out. People were talking of the police coming because it's private beach, you know, so I had to run away with a few of my friends."

"Were adults at this party?" Is the first thing I want to know and she nods in reply. "Did you drink alcohol?"

Rachel looks down before making an almost unnoticeable nod. "But it was only very little." She says lifting her hand and putting a little distance between her thumb and her forefinger to signify how little.

"Yeah, very little. You smoked more weed than you drank alcohol, innit?" I ask with a scoff as I look closely at her red eyes.

This time, she has no response, instead turning her head to look out of the window. I shake my head at her before driving away from the restaurant.

Knowing that I'm taking her home, Rachel immediately begins begging, "Please don't tell mommy! It was just this one time."

I ignore her, keeping my eyes on the road. After almost an hour, we arrive at my parents Banana Island mansion and I didn't want to go inside so I park the car outside the tall, black gates.

I stretched to the backseat and pulled out two medium sized bottles of Nestlē water from the packet that I kept handy. I threw one in Rachel's lap. "Drink this." I instructed. "Water helps reduce the redness in your eyes."

She immediately snatches off the cap of the bottle, guzzling the water down her throat and taking a break occasionally. Once she's done with that, I hand her the second bottle. "You can be sipping on this as you go in." I tell her.

"Thank you." She says softly. I nod.

"Rach," I begin. "Look, I'm all for you enjoying yourself before you go to university, hell, I want you to have fun. And mom and dad give you the freedom to do just that. However, with freedom comes great responsibility. There are boundaries to things you can do. Smoking weed, drinking alcohol; you aren't old enough for that, Rachel! No one is saying you can't have fun, but there should be limits. And if you go to these parties with your young friends and you don't think you can reject these things when they are offered to you, why go? There are sooooo many other options of things you can do, safe, age appropriate things that are still fun. Think of that, please. You know our parents, slip up once and dad will have you under house arrest. You don't want that, and I don't want that for you either. Okay?"

She looked like she's tearing up as she nods vigorously and I just shake my head at the situation. "You can go. I'll call you later to check in."

"Okay." She says in a small voice before stretching over the console to engulf me in a tight hug. "Thank you."

I pull away and hold her face. "You're welcome. I really just want what's best for you."

Soon after, she gets out and once I'm certain she's in the house, I drive off. When I get home, unsurprisingly, Cameron isn't there yet.

Regardless, I'm determined to make things right between us so after getting dressed, I busy myself with cooking one of his favorite dishes for dinner, Cajun shrimp and rice.

It's an easy recipe so the meal is ready in record time. I go take a shower and dress in one of the lingerie pieces that I bought which is a red two piece with a satin push up bra, and lace panties and a lace girdle like area. I'm looking myself in the mirror when I hear the sound of the front door being slammed shut.

Releasing a soft breathe, I make my way downstairs to see Cameron entering the kitchen. "Something smells good." I hear him say to himself.

Not wanting to move from the spot where I stand at the edge of the staircase, I wait for him to leave the kitchen. When he does, his eyes immediately go to me where I stand, his steps faltering as his eyes hungrily take me in.

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What did you think of this chapter?

Toke appearing in the same store as Rita, do you think that's a coincidence?

Hope you enjoyed this update, and if you did, don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts above.

Until next time, stay safe.

[P.S: something I want to point out about Rita's character rq, idk if you guys noticed but in as much as she's a passionate person, she's also very stoic. Sth can be really bothering her and she can be very curious about sth, but she doesn't react or ask questions quickly. Rather, she'll wait it out. She's also very observant.
Just saying this because the second half of this book is approaching and I need you guys to understand this if you don't already.]