Her Boyfriend, My Husband

CHAPTER 52

Yo there reader, if you don't play the song attached above and read this chapter while listening to it, then you're missing big time.

Yusuf's POV

Two weeks, two days and seventeen hours. The amount of time I've been separated from Maryam and what a bitter period of time it has been.

Bringing her back home was something I didn't want to push, I wanted it to be natural and that eventually, she'd make her own decision to come back because I knew our love was strong enough. That was why I had gently persuaded Umma out of talking to Maryam's family and getting her to come back even though Umma insisted on maganar manya being more effective at a time like this.

I used to believe that Maryam would come back at her own time but now, I couldn't help that belief wavering and being replaced by the fear of that never happening. Sharing more than a year with her had taught me how head strong Maryam could be.

I understood her despair and guilt over thinking she was responsible for Zainab almost making the reckless decision of taking her own life. But this was beginning to get too much, especially after I'm now in the situation of having to marry the said Zainab as my second wife.

Polygamy had never been an attractive idea to me. I see it as only being an option when the first woman you married was lacking in what you needed to satisfy you both emotionally and physically. Maryam had more than enough, so why would I ever need anyone else? But I had no other choice but to sit back and watch what my parents will decide to do with my life.

I'm not a chauvinist, but it's common sense that with more women that you have to share yourself equally with, comes more migraines. One woman was just enough if you didn't want to drive yourself crazy. Two were trouble, three was a problem and four was a calamity I couldn't even imagine how other people handle and I would rather never ever find out.

It was a few minutes past 9 am and the sun was out with the sky a pure blue without a single fluff of white suspended in it. My sneakers scrunched against spades of glass as I walked over to where Mr. Herbert jumped out of his golf cart with an enthusiasm that belied his seventy something year old body. He approached me with his hand outstretched and a big grin on his face.

"Yusuf my boy!" he grabbed my hand and shook it firmly, "It's been too long!"

Kayode Herbert had been Baba's lawyer and the head of the company's legal affairs for as long as I could remember and basically, he watched me grow up. But when I started scaling through heights as an army officer instead of joining my other brothers in the family business, we lost touch.

"Yes sir," I returned my hand back into the pockets of my white three quarter trousers. "I'd received the wedding gift you sent me, I'm sorry I'm just getting to thank you now."

"No, no need for thank yous my son." He smiled warmly and I saw he was the same kind old man he had always been.

I nodded and let him walk me to where a table and a few foldable chairs were set. The golf course was quite with flocks of people who were in groups appearing only now and then and tiny golf carts driving by once in a while. The last time I had played golf was a long while ago and now I know I had grown rusty but I still was a moderately good player. The sereneness of the game was what made it my favorite sport.

When we sat down, I noticed for the first time the young man that had been carrying Herbert's golfing gear in a large bag. He was dressed in a casual polo shirt and trousers and had a face cap on just like I had. He removed his golf gloves and set the large bag down before sitting next to me.

"This is my youngest son, Korede." Herbert introduced me to the boy that didn't look to be more than seventeen or eighteen and I gave him a hand to shake.