Uti

One, King was a horrible dancer. Two, he was very, very overprotective and insanely jealous. I suppressed my laughter when he cocked his head in my direction. The guy in front of me still held a hand out for a dance. I smiled at the guest mainly to provoke King. It was the only way I could get back at him.

From the corner of my eye, King dumped his glass of wine on a nearby table and excused himself from the group with the groom and his best friend. He reached us in no time and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Babymama," he whispered loud enough for the guest to hear. My lips were spread in a smile. I loved this big head. "I missed you."

Jealousy. We were together minutes ago.

The man mumbled something under his breath and excused himself. I didn't feel so bad for him because he didn't strike me as a trustworthy person. Come on, who would ask a pregnant woman with a visible bump and a ring for a dance? Only sneaky men.

Music filtered in and out of my ears. People danced around us but he was the only one I wanted to listen and dance with. I turned in King's arms and he scowled. "Really, Uti?" 

"What did I do?" My best baby face was on. I stroked a hand through his beards. "Smile for maami." King laughed. He leaned closer for me to kiss him. "You're so jealous, ehn."

"Ehenehen. Are you not my baby mama?" His nose wrinkled as he searched for the guest who asked me for a dance. "I don't want anybody coming close to you." Placing his hand on my belly, he continued, "I don't know if this is not enough sign. You're off-limits."

"I'm not off-limits oo. Not until I marry."

It took him a second to realise I was joking, then he relaxed. I giggled. With King, it was easy to feel relaxed, like a teen girl falling in love for the first time. I bopped his nose and he smiled. The lights surrounding us caught in his eyes and it felt like staring into a star filled sky. I kissed my man without thinking.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you times one million," he answered.

Holding my hand, we walked back to the dancefloor where his friends were having fun. The DJ switched the song to something more loud and the guests went wild. As the older one, I frowned a little too much when Faith tried to jump in the 'gbe body' style.

My best friend dragged me away from King and started dancing on me. Moving her body this way and that way so she could work, work, work like Rihanna's voice booming from the speakers asked.

"You cannot even smile, Uti. Be doing face like rat." If I was looking like a rat or less beautiful than she was, then it was her fault. Because she made me up. A smile lighted up her face and her finger brushed my nose. "I'm so happy for them." We glanced at the couple cuddled on the dance floor and excitement exploded inside my chest. Soon, that would be me and King. "Can't wait for your turn."

Me too. I couldn't wait to be Mrs Daniels and to spend forever with my zaddy. Left to King, we would have gotten married on Monday but I wanted his mother and stepfather to be present. Faith hugged me without warning. I didn't know why I wrapped my arms around her.

"We won, Uti. We won for Emma."

There were tears in her eyes when she pulled back, she dabbed them carefully so they wouldn't mess up her makeup. I blinked back the tears that gathered in my own eyes. The best thing that happened this month was his confession. Umoh made it so easy. If I was ever thankful for anything, it was for that.

"We did," I whispered. "We won, baby girl."

Faith beamed. She spun me in a circle and pretended to dip me in a courtesy. My heart skipped. I almost rammed my elbow into her sides and she pulled back laughing.

A familiar figure approached us. King locked an arm around my waist because he couldn't do without touching me for a second.

"Faith, why are you making my woman cry?"

My best friend of life rolled her eyes and flipped her hair. Her long, blonde hair that belonged to another person. The wig was real human hair. Bone straight and very expensive. But Junior didn't care for the price.

"Instead of you to be happy," Faith replied. I didn't expect anything less from her. Give her one and she would give you ten. "Better do and marry her. It's not by saying baby mama up and down or holding her waist, boss."

Laughter zipped out of my lips. Faith was savage but sometimes I forgot how savage she could be. King scoffed, pulling me away from her. Faith stuck out her tongue and Junior came right in time to whisk her away.

"Your friend is horrible," he murmured.

The happiness in the air made it hard for anyone to be sad. Even King didn't look so offended. "She will be the chief bridesmaid."

"Are you sure?" he teased. I placed my hands on his shoulders as the song changed. My feet ached from standing and walking about in these platform heels but it was worth it.

The wedding started exactly at 8 am. There was no African time. The pastor was present and it went smoothly. I might have cried and smiled knowingly at King who reciprocated the gestures.

Our turn would come. We wouldn't have such a big ceremony but we would have the most important people to us present as witnesses of our love and the start of our new life.

King slipped an arm around my waist and my head lowered to his shoulder. John Legend's song was playing. Something soft and sweet and loveable. Our eyes locked and it felt like we were in a world of our own.

Uti and King.

Until something tugged on my gown. Not something, her. My daughter. Esther. She was among the flower girls. I squatted to pinch her cheek but King swept her off her feet. Since Esther got back to Abuja, she had been more outgoing, more curious, more friendly. For most part of the wedding, she had been with her grandmother, Grace, who King got his overprotectiveness from.

Since our wedding is sometime next month, she has refused to leave. She wants to help. I didn't mind. I didn't have a parent to help.

"Mummy," she said and stretched her arms for me to carry her. King moved closer to him, hands hanging loosely around us. He worried too much. Esther touched my jaw, then my fake lashes. "I want to eat cake."

On cue, our heads turned to the giant cake at one corner of the stage. It wasn't time to cut it yet. I shook my head but King disappeared to return shortly with a saucer of chocolate cake. Esther struggled in my arms till I set her down. We walked together to the table set apart for the bridal train. My heart flipped when she sat gingerly on King's laps without any prompting from him. They had grown so much. She had the best stepfather on earth.

King fed her. When he caught me staring, he stretched a forkful of cake to me. I refused the cake. It would make me throw up. I was still smiling as I stared up the stage. The couple were back to their seats, the thrones on the stage. I could imagine me and King in a similar position. Since white was his favourite colour, he might wear a white suit while I wore a blue gown. Maybe both of us could wear white like Tomiwa and Lola did today. Something to signify new and purity.

I caught Cynthia's eyes and she raised a glass of wine that never met her lips. Uche snatched it from her before she could drink out of it and a frown twisted her lips. I had never met someone who enjoyed drinking as much as she did. It was always a hassle with them.

Her pregnancy was obvious. Big bump. Her due date was next month. King would have loved for the wedding to happen after her delivery but in his words: He couldn't wait anymore. He didn't want to be single again.

Esther was done with the cake. She poked King's cheeks and stared at him for so long he looked to me for an explanation. I didn't have one. I couldn't read her mind but I knew she was about to ask him something not nice.

"Is it true you're now my daddy?"

I averted my gaze. King was alone on this one. Despair leaked from his pores and I slid my hand under the table to give his a small squeeze. He looked up to me and smiled.

"Yes."

"No more Uncle King?"

"No more Uncle King," he whispered. Esther said nothing. A thick silence fell over them. Minutes later, she hugged him and hid her face in the curve of his shoulder. "Do you like it?"

Esther nodded. Her head tilted towards me and she smiled. Her face lit up as her grandmother strolled to our table. Grace hugged me, then dragged a seat close to Esther who hopped onto her lap. She was getting too friendly with them. Whatever happened at Abuja made her love Grace. I was a bit jealous. She was loving everyone and I wasn't ready to compete for her love.

King's mother took one look at our table, at the bottles of wine and directed a frown at her son. She called a server and gave him the bottles. It wasn't for us alone. We were sharing a table with Junior and Faith, so the drinks were theirs. Where did those two go?

"No alcohol even for you," she told King. I smiled because I liked it. If I couldn't get any, he shouldn't be allowed to drink too. Her arm locked around Esther's waist, the other touched mine. "How are you feeling?" She looked down at my belly. "How's our boy?"

King hissed. He had accepted we would be having a son but he still expressed his annoyance sometimes. We ignored him.

"He's fine." I rubbed a hand over my belly. He had not yet started kicking. Because of my statue, my bump wasn't as big as Cynthia's had been when she was in the same trimester. To King, it meant I wasn't eating well but I understood my body better than he did. "How was your flight? How's your hus–"

Grace laughed before I could complete my statement. Her makeup was flawless, her attire the same. It felt wrong to call Gabriel Sir but it also felt wrong to call him by his name. King called him whatever he liked. Gabriel or Sir. They were never close but they had grown a tad closer since the case ended.

I didn't like thinking or talking about the case. I wanted to put it behind me. But sometimes in my dream, I could see Umoh's eyes. The way he stared at me before confessing.

Why did he do it?

I guess I would never know. But justice had been served and that was the most important bit.

* * *

It was tomorrow. Our wedding. The girls would be coming to carry me away because King wasn't allowed to see the bride before the wedding as it was bad luck. But before then, I had a gift for my husband-to-be.

I opened the laptop and checked my phone to see if I had the details from Junior. It was intact. The link was present. I opened the link on my laptop and my smile was instant.

This was the least I could do after everything he had done for me and our babies. Once the demo site opened, I walked out of our room to find him. Esther was visiting Faith. King was also not allowed to see her until tomorrow. Of course it was Faith's idea and my mother-in-law agreed. They ganged up on us.

King was lounging on the floor in the parlour, legs crossed and eyebrows crunched in concentration. His laptop was in front of him. He looked up when I walked in. Shifting to create space on the floor beside me, he motioned for me to hurry. I sat on the cold tiles and placed my laptop beside his.

His hands found mine. "Are you nervous?"

"For tomorrow?" I asked. He nodded. "No. I'm excited." Bringing my hands to his face, he smiled sheepishly at me. "I can't wait."

"Me too." Our eyes lowered to my stomach. I chose a flowing gown to hide my bump. As if remembering something, he frowned. "When are they coming to take you away from me?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's just for this night, King."

We both smiled thinking about the future.

Our future.

The honeymoon destination. We would leave immediately to Seychelles. For now, I was allowed to travel by air. Esther had enough options and people to take care of her in our absence. She was yet to decide between Faith or her grandmother.

"Is it necessary?" he asked with a pout.

"Yeah."

What he didn't know was that his friends would come later at night to take him out. They would have their bachelor's night while I had my hen's party. I touched a finger to his lips before he could say another word. I had to show him his gift before I left.

"What were you working on?" I asked, tilting his laptop towards me. It was a blueprint for his company. He wanted to launch it next year. But for now, we had decided he should consult online till the office was available. I smiled at the notes on his screen. "Not bad."

My chest swelled with pride. When we met, I thought of him as a spoilt, rich brat with too much money to spend. But in truth, he was a spoilt rich brat with a heart so big and kind with enough love to give everyone. I liked him in all shades. I loved his kindness. His sexiness. His smiles. His pet names for me.

"I was thinking of doing something different with my company," he said. There was a hint of doubt in his voice and I smiled to assure him. King launched into an explanation of his plan and ended it with, "What do you think?"

"Different is great, King. I love it." He made to speak but I cut him off. I crawled into his lap and his arms locked around me. My back melted into his chest. I opened the link and muttered, "I want to show you something."

Confusion clouded his face but he managed to keep quiet as I showed him the link. It was similar to what he did for my fashion store. But this was different. King wanted to start a company, to help people find their dream homes and I wanted to help him achieve it.

So, Junior's expertise came into good use. We created a site. As he had been planning, he would work only as a consultant. Working from home and only meeting with clients at certain locations to give them what they want.

I tapped on the menu and scrolled down to the end of the homepage. My favourite part. A teaser video Junior made for clients to have an idea what they will be getting into by choosing King's Homes.

Under Contact Us was written: My Husband. His phone number was in brackets. King laughed with reckless abandon, his face lighted up like a child getting his favourite present. One second, I was in King's lap, body thrumming as his chest vibrated with laughter. The next second, I was pinned under him with my bump separating us.

His eyes blazed with desire. "I love it, Uti," he said before I could ask him. "And I love you more." He kissed my nose twice and I melted a little. "Have I told you I want to marry you?"

I tapped a finger to my jaw. "Well, at first, you wanted me to only be your baby mama."

He chuckled and placed another kiss on my lips. "I was so stupid then. I didn't know anything."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now I'm grown." He showed his toned arms and I snickered. Growth wasn't by gaining muscles but I loved his sexiness. It always had heads turning to us. "I'll marry you and love the hell out of you and our babies." 

With his teeth, King pulled the straps of my gown. I couldn't help smiling at him because I knew he would do exactly as he promised.

* * * * * 

We have come to the end of Kuti's journey. Thank you for reading. I'm going to post a cast chapter like I did in the first book. So if you have any questions directed at the characters, do ask away and they will answer it.