Obiageli sat on her bed with one of Ifeanyi's letters in her hand. She had placed the pink box on her lap and had picked one of the letters - Ifeanyi's precisely.

She had read all of his letters she had in her possession countless of times, to the extent she knew the wordings by heart, yet she still couldn't stop.

She knew she shouldn't be with Ifeanyi's letters anymore and she had tried many times to get rid of them but had failed woefully.

She knew she couldn't keep holding on to the past when she should look at the future which was with Jideze; he deserved all her love and attention. It was a shame she still held onto past and lingering moments.

She had once thrown the letters by the side of the road while returning alone from Jideze's shop. That day, Jideze had asked one of his sales boys to drive her home but she had declined for she knew what she planned to do.

She had crumpled the letters in her handbag and had made up her mind to throw it into the nearby bush, never to look back again.

However, she had ran back into the bush in search of the letters immediately she threw it.

It was funny she hadn't been scared of snakes or other harmful animals rather she had been scared of losing the letters. It was like the Letters were what kept her sane.

She made a promise then never to indulge in such rough play anymore when she found the letters at last.

She knew she couldn't live without those letters. It was clear to her: they were her comfort each time she felt sad, angry, and nostalgia. These feelings were common ever since she left Ifeanyi. They came to her everytime Jideze placed his lips on hers.

Back then, when they had been together before all the ordeal and disasters, Obiageli had savoured Jideze's lips always; she had craved it like she craved freshly baked bread. They had tasted of milk and honey; every good thing she could think about. They had been like home for her; her solace.

She had always been eager to slam her lips on his but this had changed and she wondered why: Why did she despise those lips like they were scorpions? Why did she detest them like they were spiders? His once sweet lips tasted like gall in her mouth.

Each time Jideze tried to kiss her, she resisted. Even when she grudgingly gave in, her mind wandered to Ifeanyi; thinking about him and wondering how he was, if he had gotten over her and had moved on with his life, if he still waited patiently for her to return to him. It was with his picture in mind she could endure kissing Jideze.

Once, she envisioned Ifeanyi while kissing Jideze only to open her eyes unintentionally and see Jideze upfront. She had screamed her lungs out then and Jideze had been worried thinking he had bitten her during the kiss.

Jideze's touch felt so distant; like she was being touched by a stranger. It felt like a crab was climbing her whole body each time he touched her at sensitive places.

She was confused but she had no one to talk to. She couldn't contact anyone. They had all given her wrong advice and had driven her into this mess.

If they had listened to her and had not tried to make her look stupid when she said she was waiting for her boyfriend, she wouldn't had involved herself in a new relationship. She would never had known any other relationship apart from Jideze's.

There would have been no need to compare and contrast. She would have been happier with Jideze without having another man in mind.

Even her sister whom she thought would be of help had joined in ruining her life. She didn't want to talk about her mother: the prime destroyer.

She still couldn't get all that her mother did out of her mind. It would take a long time before she would finally be able to do so. She had refused to collect the letter her sister sent from the post man. She had asked him to do whatever he wanted with it.

What else would Dinma say? That she was sorry? How would her apology help or even solve her current dilemma? If only she could rewind the time, she would have stuck to her principles; never bending to whatever people told her.

Obiageli heard loud footsteps, snapping her out of her reverie. She got up immediately, fidgeting with the pink box; her hands were sweaty and shaky.

She quickly placed the letter inside the box and covered it. The footsteps were getting louder; it was clear he was closer to her bedroom. She quickly placed the box under her bed and jumped on the bed, shutting her eyes tightly in pretense of being asleep.

The door creaked and she knew he had entered into her room. She laid still, facing the wall with her eyes clamped shut.

She heard a deep sigh and then the door creaked again. Thinking he had gone, she sat up quickly, breathing hard like she had been in a marathon race. She heard the deep sigh again, startled she turned only to see Jideze standing by the door, looking at her intently. Her heart began to beat rapidly as she looked at him.

"I thought you were asleep?" He asked more like stated with his arms folded and his eyebrow raised.

Trying to cover up, she lied, "Yes, I was. But the sound of the door woke me up." She hoped he bought her lies. He looked at her strangely, like he was trying to rip out some answers from her forehead. His gaze was intent; piercing into her soul. She shifted uncomfortably on the bed, trying to keep a straight face.

"Mmmm. I see." He said after a while, still staring at her.

Obiageli got up from the bed immediately. "Welcome home, I prepared your favourite." She held his arm and dragged him gently out of her bedroom and to the dining.

Meanwhile, Jideze was in deep thought as he followed her. He knew she had pretended to be asleep when he walked in - he had seen her legs shake slightly - and that was why he banged the door again to check if he had been wrong.

This had always been the way he caught her each time she had tried pranking him in the past. Her legs shook involuntarily, always. He knew instantly when he saw her legs shake that she was pretending, but the question was why? Why was she pretending to be asleep instead of being excited that he was back after a whole day of being apart?

Honestly, he had noticed voluminous change in her ever since he met her again. She was very different from the Obiageli he had left behind.

He had left a sweet girl who smiled frequently and who loved him dearly. He was already confused if the lady in front of him loved him like she had before. She talked and acted strange. Was he only imagining things or were all these real? Even though they were true, how would he find out the truth? Should he confront her about it?

The other time, she had pulled away from his kiss and had claimed she was tired and needed rest. Who did that? This new Obiageli was a distant person he didn't know.

She had even refused to go with him to Abia state to see his parents meanwhile she had been eager to see them before. Right now, she claimed she needed more time; to her, she wanted to properly organise herself before meeting his parents. Who again did that?

A slight touch on his hand jolted him from his reverie.

"I was talking to you." She told him, looking him in the eyes.

"Sorry. I just drifted out to space." He tried joking but his face told a different story from his mouth.

"Did anything happen at the shop?" She asked, truly concerned. It was times like this Jideze got even more confused. Periods when she displayed genuine concern.

"Nothing much. Only that sales are going down." It was quite true. The sales they had made that day was very poor. It was one of the reasons he had stayed in shop so long, trying to sought things out. "But it's fine. We will survive." He told her and she nodded.

"That means I can't go to the market tomorrow then." She shoved a spoon of rice in her mouth.

"You wanted to go to the market?" He asked her. He had lost his appetite for food so he only played around the food with his spoon.

"Foodstuffs at home has almost finished. I was thinking of replenishing them."

"Oh, if that is the case, you have to go. It's not because of poor sales, we won't eat. Chike will take you there. Okwia, Chike?"

Chike who had been sitting quietly nodded his head without raising his head up to face them. Obiageli ate her food in silence. She didn't even notice that Jideze was not eating. She was deep in her thought too. It was good Chike was driving her, she would be able to achieve her plan without any disturbance. She had worried Jideze would offer to take her.