The first meeting.

"To be your friend was all I ever wanted; to be your lover was all I ever dreamed.”

– Valerie Lombardo.

Three years back. Lagos, Nigeria.
Leticia.

Inhale... Exhale...

Inhale... Exhale...

She paced about in her room, following the action until she realised that she had to stay still if at all she wanted to carry out the exercise.

Collapsing on her bed, she counted one to three and began the action again.

The door swung open and she abruptly stood up to see the light-skinned girl barging into her room. "Why are you still here, Letty?"

Leticia dropped her gaze with a soft sigh.

Michelle took relaxed strides towards her, a finger on her chin, peering as she inspected her features with her coloured eyes.

Shaking her head, she moved closer and loosened the belt fastening Leticia's midriff and flapped it, throwing it on the bed, far away from Leticia's reach. Leticia was on a silver-coloured flared gown with V-neck and shoulder cut arms. The top half of the gown was fitted, while the rest of the material to just above her knees was flared.

She had worn the belt to make her waist look smaller, even though Michelle was against the idea.

"I've told you to stop spoiling this beautiful gown with that horrid belt. It fits you! No need to tie your intestines because you want your waist to look smaller. My brother will love you the way you are so chill."

Yeah, she was meeting her husband for the first time. They had been married for nearly nine months —on paper. Their marriage was arranged, but he had been in England taking care of some business, and so she had never met him face to face. Well, that was about to change in a few minutes.

Because of that, she was very nervous. What if he rejects her? What if he finds out? Different scenarios were playing in her head and–

"Alright, that's enough now!" Michelle huffed. "Enough with your inferior thoughts Letty. How many times have I told you that you are beautiful, you shouldn't worry about my brother liking you or not. You're an amazing girl, I'm very sure that Maverick will love you."

She nodded at the statement, even though she was scoffing inside. Love her? Only when objects become weighty in space will that happen.

"Leticia..." Michelle groaned, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Why can't you just be confident for once in your life?" She shook Leticia in annoyance, already getting red-faced.

The door opened again and her mother stepped in. She stood straight, shaking off Michelle's grip and dropping her gaze.

"Darling are you ready?" She asked and Leticia nodded with vigour. 

"Michelle, how are you?" Her voice was laced in a cheerful tone as she spoke, to which Michelle mumbled a reply.

"That's nice. You both should come down now, he has arrived." After the statement, she gave a little smile and left the room.

Behind that smile, the warning look in her eyes was not missed by Leticia. It spelt 'misbehave and I'll deal with you'.

"I can never like your mother. And my dislike for her is increasing every day. If you had ended up with that guy old pervert, I would have cursed her for the rest of my life," Michelle commented with the side of her lips tugged up, rearranging her hair.

Leticia had no response to her statement. 

"There, you're good to go, young lady. Let's go meet your husband," she said in a sing-song manner.

At this point, her feet did not want to move.

Michelle grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the room. Together, they trudged down the stairs.

The muscles of her ankles were throbbing already because of the 5-inch heels strapped to her feet.

She was itching to bend down and tug it off, but for the sake of her husband, she couldn't. She had to look at least presentable, according to her mother.

"Ricky!" Michelle squeaked, letting go of her hands. She ran towards the direction of the two-seater in the parlour. Since the couch was backing her, she couldn't see the face of the man but she could notice how thick and curly his dark hair was. No soothsayer was needed to tell her who he was.

He rose to his feet, accommodating Michelle with his two arms apart. She threw herself on him, lips stretched to display her full dentition.

Leticia cleaned her sweaty palm on her dress, contemplating whether to move forward or just run back in and lock herself in her room. The latter was not an option at all as she had an idea of the consequences that would follow.

"Leticia." The smooth baritone suspended her surging thoughts, diverting her attention to the owner who was standing in front of her with a considerable space between them.

The coloured eyes that stared back confirmed her suspicion even though there was nothing to verify. Her heart rate increased, the butterflies in her belly making their appearance as she took in the live version of the man whom she had only seen in pictures.

His not-so-lank body was clad in a long-sleeved collar shirt and tucked in a chinos trouser. The skin of his face was shades lighter than Michelle's, and smooth. He had light stubbles covering his chin and above his moistened full lips. Standing up close, she could see the scar that rested above his heavy eyebrows.

"I'm Maverick, Maverick Olumide Wagner. Your... Husband." He stretched his left hand forward.

She hesitated, then lifted her trembling hands to meet with his. His palm felt very soft to the touch, and Leticia found it quite hard to released his hand.

Aldrick Wagner's genes were strong. She had known Michelle's father, a white man who married a Yoruba woman. He was wonderful. He loved his family to pieces no matter how wealthy and busy he was. Unfortunately, he was murdered some years back.

Maverick was his carbon copy, his both children were. The only difference was their complexion; they were not as white as he was.

"I think you should introduce yourself too. Don't you think so?" 

Her heart jumped out of its place when he spoke again. Leticia realised that she had not released his hand. She withdrew her hand and moved back, shifting her gaze across the room when she remembered that she had not answered his question yet. Not wanting to make things more awkward, she replied to his question and led him to the dining room.

The aura during the dinner was quite uncomfortable, but Michelle was there to lessen the effect with her blabbering. Maverick had told her 'table manners' six times already.

Their mothers had left them alone to themselves with the mind of them forming a relationship.

"So, Leticia..."

She looked up at Maverick who was almost done with his meal. The jollof rice in his plate was cleared up, leaving only the beef and a few grains of rice.

Setting his cutleries down, he picked a piece of the serviette tissue and wiped his mouth after which he drank some water. She watched as his adam's apple bobbed up and down when he swallowed, his lips becoming even moister than before.

"...Leticia. Hello?" Light pressure on her hand dragged her out of her daze.

She met the squinted eyes of the man who sat across her, clearly confused as to what it was that got her out of it.

If she was light-skinned, she was a hundred per cent sure that her cheeks would be flaming red.

"I-I'm sorry, I kind of got carried away. What were you saying?"

Maverick acknowledged her apology with a slight smile and nod. "It's okay, I was just asking if you were aware that you're going with me tomorrow?"

Inside, she was scolding herself for the lack of attention, his speech then occurred to her. How could she forget? Living with her mother was not a pleasant experience, but she was used to it.

However, to move to a different place with someone she barely knew was not something she looked forward to.

"I-I am."

"That's nice. I'll come and pick you up at..." He glanced at his Rolex wristwatch and looked back at her.

"Ten in the morning. Is it okay with you?"

When had she ever been asked for her opinion? Did it even matter whether or not she was okay with it?

She nodded regardless. Not like she had a choice.

"Are you sure?" He questioned.

"Yes. I'm okay with that time." Giving him a small smile, she resumed nibbling on her meal.

"I'll help you pack up this evening, sister-in-law," Michelle teased with a wink.

The knots that were twisting in her stomach did not allow her to respond to Michelle.

After the meal, they all moved to the parlour, awaiting their mothers. Shortly after, Mobolaji came to the parlour, regarding Leticia with a wide smile.

"My baby," she said, pulling Leticia in for a hug. "You'll be fine, I promise. My son may be rough around the edges, but with time I believe you'll work something out, okay?" She whispered in Leticia's ear.

Leticia nodded. She had no idea why, but the tension and anxiety she had been feeling dissolved. That had always been the effect the woman had on her. How she wished Mobolaji was her biological mother. Sometimes she envied her best friend so bad.

"Okay..." Mobolaji pulled away from the hug, clasping her hands together. "Let us pray."

**********

"Leticia!" She scurried towards her mother's room, hoping and praying that she hadn't done anything to warrant consequences.

"Ma."

Victoria gave her a once over, gesturing for her to stand in front of the bed to which she obeyed. She cleaned her face with a piece of cotton wool and discarded it, then dabbed a fresh piece in the cleanser and wiped her face over and over again.

"You came down late and made him wait for you. Let it never repeat itself, I hope I'm clear."

She bobbed her head up and down, surprised that she didn't shout or rain curses on her. That was very unusual.

"You'll be going to your husband's house tomorrow and I'd like to speak to you about a few things before that."

Leticia shifted her weight on one foot, knowing that she was going to be spending a long time there.

"First of all, obey your husband. Whatever he tells you to do, do it. Know that you have no right to oppose him, and he can hit you whenever he's upset with you. It's normal, so I don't want to hear you complaining if he does."

"I, uh–"

"Shut up! I'm still talking. Are you mad? You want to interrupt me?" Victoria paused her cleansing and gave Leticia a hard glare.

Leticia shook her head, bending her knees in apology. "No ma, I'm sorry."

"You're very lucky you're leaving tomorrow, if not I would have taught you a lesson this evening," she replied with her lips pulled up into a sneer, discarding the last piece of cotton wool and putting the cleanser back in its place.

"I'm sorry ma," Leticia repeated.

"Sorry for yourself." She sucked her teeth and adjusted her sitting position before bringing her piercing gaze back to rest on Leticia.

"As I was saying... Respect him; always greet him, wake up and prepare his bath and meal before he wakes up. Make sure his outfit for the day is picked out, and in a clean state."

She nodded at her mother's statement.

"Good. Now onto the most important part; sex..." Leticia's stomach sank further in as she couldn't entertain the thought of sex with him. To make normal skin contact was hard enough, not to talk about going that far. She might as well end up screaming or shoving him off if he initiated it.

"On no account should you deny him sex; he is your husband, he owns your body. Whether you're tired or whatever is wrong, never deny him access to your body. Am I clear?"

Had her mother forgotten? Asides from the fact that she could not bear contact, he was going to find out her darkest secret. How was he going to handle that?

The stinging sensation she felt on her shin brought her back to the present.

"Idiot. What are you thinking about when I'm talking to you?"

"I'm sorry ma," she apologised, rubbing the surface that was now swelling.

"Stupid girl, get out of my room! Fool!"

From her stance, the woman was ready to beat her if she stayed any longer. It seemed like moving in with Maverick wouldn't be a problem at all. Leticia closed the door to her mother's room and leaned on it, letting out a sigh of relief. She put on a normal countenance to about questions from her friend and moved to her room.

On entering her room, Michelle was seated on the bed with a sly smile.

"Come and see what I got for you," she said, standing up to reveal the pieces that lay on the bed.

"Oh my God, Michelle, what sort of atrocious clothing are these?" She whispered, bending to gather them away.

Michelle swatted her hands away. "They are called lingeries, madam. LINGERIES. Besides, you're married to my brother, there's obviously going to be some bedroom action–"

"Urghh... Michelle!"

"Don't Michelle me abeggi. Virgin forever."

If only she knew...

"Look, men like it hot. What are you going to wear if my brother wants it? Those your mary-amaka nighties? Please don't embarrass ladies okay?"

"Mich–"

"Don't!" Michelle covered Leticia's mouth with her palm, muffling her remaining words. She let her go after a few seconds when she seemed sure that Leticia wouldn't protest anymore, then grabbed Leticia's box, folded the lingeries into it and zipped it close.

"Please, Leticia, I got these last time I went for a shoot in Los Angeles. Don't disappoint me, okay?" With a pat on the back, Michelle disappeared into the restroom.

"Oh, and I caught you red-handed ogling my brother today." Before she could counter Michelle had withdrawn her head back into the restroom.

Leticia plopped on the bed with a sigh. It was inevitable anyway, the only thing she should pray for is that he won't notice. She scoffed at her thoughts. When he wasn't blind how would he not notice?

"I've packed everything for you, you just shower, rest and anticipate tomorrow."

Leticia sighed again.

"Chill now, don't be so nervous. I'm sure you're my brother's spec." Winking, Michelle grabbed her handbag that was on the bedside table.

"I'm going to my house abeg. Come and see me off," she said.

Standing up from the bed, Leticia wore her palm slides and followed after Michelle. It couldn't be that bad. She would anticipate in peace. All will be well.

With that thought, she stepped out with her friend, looking forward to what the next day was going to bring.

That tomorrow was the day it all started; the journey of an unfortunate, tragic, draining emotion called love behind the steering wheel of a car heading to destination destruction. All was not well, and it might never be.

The third update for today🤭🤭
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