I do and I do

Bonus chapter 1

Kennedy

That day, the smile on my face stretched further than ever before. I was at my happiest as I watched her dance into the hall alongside her bridesmaids. Her traditional attire, accompanied with the loveliest make-up on made her the prettiest. It wasn’t just her beauty that made me feel like the proudest man on earth, it was everything about her. The fact that this smart and intelligent woman was going to be my wife contributed to my pride. I love Adesuwa. I’ve always loved her since the first day we said hello to each other.

Our traditional wedding was beautiful. Friends and family from both sides were present, basking in their own attires. Asoebi of various. Instead of a DJ, a live band was present. The hall was decorated in pastel colours. 

I shifted my eyes to Adesuwa who knelt beside me in front of our parents. It was a moment but it felt longer than that when her eyes met mine and her smile widened on her face. It truly felt genuine and even her eyes gave away her love for me. The feeling of it was magnificent.

Now, I look at her sitting on the sofa right in front of me. The smile I craved for was nowhere to be seen. She barely steadied her gaze with mine, almost as if she didn’t want to look at me. Every second that I lowered my eyes from her, my heart felt hurt. Perhaps, I should be gratefully that in the end, I got her to sit in front me. Ever since she left Adedayo behind and came home, neither her mother nor I was able to get her mingle and sit with us. Every day for the past one week, I came by in query of her and her mother made attempts to get her out of the room but she never budged. 

To be honest, I didn’t want to rush her. It was clear that everything was a lot for her to take in. Would I love to see her look at me in the same way as she once did? Yes, very much but I’d patiently waited in the past and nothing was going to change that now. Our greatest hurdle was her memories. The lack of her initial memories caused our rift. It had to be fixed.

I sat up and steadied my gaze on her. “How are you doing?” 

“I’m fine.” Her reply was low and unsatisfactory for me.

For a while, I stared at her, wondering how to make her comfortable. To me, she was no stranger but to her, I was definitely a stranger. “I understand you’re going through a lot but time… time will heal everything and it would seem like that part of your life never happened.”

She raised her head and fixated her gaze on me. “I don’t want to forget… again.”

Even though it seemed like she was referring to her amnesia, I knew she meant him, Adedayo and, it bothered me. I wished she would fight to keep the memories of me instead of his. But it was taken away from her without her asking and now, I’m not sure who or what to be upset with. Again, I reminded myself to be patient. 

“I don’t want that either. Can I… let me ask. Do you have even a faint memory of me? Anything?”

She shook her head. 

“And your mother?” Again, she shook her head. For a moment, the air around us felt sullen. 

Like a fool, I forced a simple smile. “Don’t worry, we’re going to make sure it comes back.” I stood up from my seat and hastily took a seat on the empty space beside her. Maybe it was a reflex on her part but she’d slightly shifted right away and I felt hurt that she’d done that. 

“You don’t need to be afraid of me.” I told her and she wouldn’t meet my eyes. “You’re my wife and I would never hurt you.” This time, her eyes met mine. I searched and was yet to find her love for me. It felt rather strange. Her feelings for me had nothing to do with her memories. They shouldn’t have disappeared completely. Even if her memories conflicted her, her heart should’ve been able to assure her that she was safe with me. Did Adedayo completely take over her heart? I refused to believe that our love was so trivial that another usurped the space in a sparse of weeks.