#TENDER_BEAUTY_2 (Life after the wedding)
EPISODE 1
My wedding night was the best night of my entire life, one that I would never forget even when I am 100 years old. It was terrific, superb, and a bit edgy because I had no idea what I was doing, but altogether, it was mind-b!owing. Asides the love, care and pampering, Richa-rd gave me a br@nd new BMW car as his wedding gift to me. I had never driven a car so Richa-rd made it his responsibility to teach me. I, on the other hand gave Richa-rd a priceless gift which cannot be purchased with ha-rd currencies. I had been extremely scared and nervous that night as I changed into a small lingerie dress in the matrimonial bathroom. Prisca had asked me to purchase that s£dûçt!veblazing red lingerie for this p@rticular time and now that I had it on, I was scared to death. My hair was let loose around my shoulders and I summoned enough courage to step out of the bathroom. My breath was taken away instantly, as I stared at what was before me; the room was softly illuminated with red light which transformed everything in the room, giving the room a highly charged ro-mantic glow. I felt shaky instantly but the room was not the reason; Richa-rd sat on the be-d with his shi-t un-bu-ttoned looking breathtaking. It was almost always impossible to resist him, he is so masculine and during our courtsh!p, it took a lot of self-control from my end to keep us from going overboard especially when we were alone. Looking at Richa-rd now with his muscle-filled che-st fully expo-sed to my hungry eyes made my f!ngerstingle and I could not help but feel protected with him around. I returned from my reverie and noticed that he was alre-ady on his feet and with the way his eyes bore into me, I instantly felt self-conscious. I remembered my look even without looking at myself and all I wanted was to escape from the room in order to breathe properly. I started picking my manicured f!ngernails furiously; something I do whenever I am very nervous. Richa-rd must have noticed this because he slowly moved towards me. Every step he took made me more nervous and my eyes travelled from my f!ngersto my toes.
“You err…” he coughed slightly, clearing his throat. “… you look dishy”, Richa-rd said breathlessly.
I nodded, unable to say anything at the moment. He moved closer and raised my chin; I was unable to meet his eyes and he smiled softly.
“I won’t do anything if you don’t want me to, heart”, he said softly.
“It’s… it’s not that. It’s just, I am scared and nervous. I don’t even know what to do”, I said in a fainted voice looking at his che-st.
“Just be yourself honey, I am fine with that”.
I looked into his eyes and smiled shakily, “I don’t even know how to do that”.
He laughed a little, “Why don’t we both follow our hearts? Right now, I just want to devour you”, he said tea-singly and slowly lowered hisl-ips against mine.
My heart beat accelerated and in a few seconds, my shyness was out of the window and our instincts took over. Everything after then was magical and exquisite but what I would never forget was the look in his eyes when he severed the barrier guarding my purity. It was a look of extreme surprise, adoration and respect. He had asked me twice during our courtsh!pbut I had changed the subject both times because I wanted it to be a surprise and my gift to him. With the look in his eyes, I felt on t©p of the world and I thanked the Lord in my heart for helping me hold on till this time.
********************
It is our second year anniversary and our palace-like sitting room is filled with people ranging from parents, siblings, colleagues, friends and so on. It had been a splendid two years journey and I am so grateful to God for the man I married. I married ‘my husband’. Love truly is something everyone should have because there is no happiness that can rival the one you feel when someone loves you with all his heart and you love him in return.
I moved from one person to another, welcoming them in my exquisite go-wn. My parents, Richa-rd ‘s dad, Tony and Prisca, Prisca’s brothers who were also my step brothers, Mr. Badmus and family; and a host of others were pres£nt. I felt so loved and honored to have all of them with me.
Best Results Hospital (BRH) had now ris£n from being the best in Lagos state to being the best in Nigeria. Its br@nches now spre-ad across the entire country maintaining its headquarters in Lagos. Tony decided to stand on his own two months after our wedding after much planning and his own hospital is now ma-king waves. Due to the fame and connectivity of my husband including of course my exemplary work in BRH as the great psychologist, I am now a regular face in the papers, blogs, TV programmes and what have you. A separate building has been devoted to handle Psychological cases due to expansion and regular demands for my attention. I loved it because I did not really fancy working together with my husband in the same building – we would be doing more personal stuff at work…
One thing seems to be the problem though…
“Pat, st©p it …… Pat …….” Prisca said as she moved quic-kly to gr-ab the breakable furniture with her one year old daughter. The one year and three months old Patricia is the exact replica of a doll. She has excess beauty thanks to her parents, and just like her mother, she has hair as black as midnight. She is very lively and energetic that you miss her when she is not around.
Prisca replaced the furniture and carried Pat the way only a mother can. I could not contain my envy. Though two years is nothing compared to the stories I hear from people, I still feel like I have spent a whooping ten years without a child. Bloggers did not miss this emblem, thus the numerous rumors and gossips.
I threw away my blind misplaced jealousy and took Patricia from Prisca; she is just so adorable. By carrying her, I had a feeling that my child is on the way. Richa-rd noticed my mood-swing and c@m£ to hold me affectionately. Everyone started ranting about the displ@yof love not noticing my mood. Just when the p@rty was about to begin, the door creaked open and before me stood a stunning woman who should be in her mid-fifties. Everyone turned towards her and Richa-rd ‘s mood took a downturn.
“What are you doing here?” he yelled.
We all stared at the gorgeously dressed woman who obviously has had a taste of luxury. She reeked of wealth from head to toe. She looked vaguely familiar in a strange way but I could not remember ever seeing her. I wondered where I must have seen her but nothing c@m£ to mind. I stared at Richa-rd who was busy glaring at the visitor, clenching his fists like someone in a boxing competition. Why he was so angry was lost on me, he had never been this furious for no apparent reason. No one uttered a word and I stood there not knowing what exactly was amiss.
“I asked you a question. What the hell are you doing here?” Richa-rd growled with his fists clenched.
I gr@bb£d his hand to calm him down a bit. “Calm down honey and show the woman some respect plea-se. Who is she?” I asked quietly but he did not answer. He did not have to anyways. He was only this angry whenever he talked about one person. I looked at the woman and got my confirmation – the blue eyes could not be mistaken. Those piercing blue eyes which could do a lot of things by just staring at you were exactly the same as Richa-rd s. I looked from Richa-rd to the woman and back, noticing the striking resemblance.
“Richie honey, is this your mother?” I asked quietly.
Richa-rd ‘s hand immediately left mine as he turned his glare towards me. “She is not MY mother” he said stressing his words.
I got my confirmation in that statement. The subject matter just stood there speechless and could have been mistaken for a deaf and dumb.
Richa-rd looked at his father knowing that this was his doing. “I don’t know what she is doing here and I don’t want to know but one thing I know is that I don’t wanna see her here when I get back”, he said and stormed out of the sitting room towards the masters’ be-droom.
The entire room was as though no one was inside as no one made a single sound. I don’t know why I did not st©p Richa-rd from leaving the room but I guess my professional instincts made me realize that he nee-ded a little time to himself. I felt his pain and knew just what he must be feeling as I had experienced something similar before. What is with our parents for God’s sake? I raised my eyes to stare at my newly found mother-in-law but she seemed to be in tears. Richa-rd has told me everything that happened with his mum and I cannot begin to imagine just how hurt he must be feeling.
Her voice shattered the silence in the room. “I told you James. He would never forgive me and he has a right not to. I was so callous and wicked to him”, she said obviously to Mr. br@nson as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Everyone started murmuring one thing or the other while I wondered what Richa-rd would be doing inside the room. “I should leave now”, my mother-in-law said and made to leave but Richa-rd ‘s dad st©pped her.
“Wait, let me talk to him first”, he said.
I startled, “No… I mean… why don’t you allow me do the talking sir, although I cannot promise anything for now”, I said immediately.
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement and I was instantly grateful that we did not include strangers in the ceremony; the gossip would reach the press fas-ter than a sniper’s bullet. For the very first time, Richa-rd ‘s mum looked at me and said, “You must be his wife. You are very pretty and I am sorry for disrupting your p@rty. plea-se forgive me”. Her foreign as-s£nt was undeniable. I nodded and made for the room. I surely would not talk to her until I am certain that my Richie is ok.
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 2