Ten years ago...
Ijeawele was in her third year at the University of Lagos. Her hair was neatly styled into corn rows made with hair attachments. Her attire was loose denim trousers and a cream-coloured shirt. She stood in her department hall, her eyes glancing through the various information on the bulletin board. A coursemate who was close enough for her to call a friend had dragged her along. The young woman needed to see a lecturer. Ijeawele waited patiently outside.
"Hello."
Ijeawele shifted her eyes to the young man by her side whose smile was wide and inviting.
"Hello." She replied, showcasing a warm smile of her own.
He stretched out a hand for a handshake. "I'm Kingsley. What's your name?" His voice was husky and the tone didn't put her off.
"Ijeawele." She accepted his handshake without putting much thought into it. Right when she was about to return her gaze to the board, he interrupted.
"I've seen you around a few times. Do you belong to this department?"
She nodded all while unintentionally repeating his first sentence in her head. He'd been watching her? Was that a good or bad thing?
"Cool. I hope you don't assume I've been stalking you or anything of a sort. It's—You're hard to ignore. You're very pretty."
Ijeawele's eyes widened a little at his words. Her head gently nodding. All the same time she made her best effort to suppress a smile while her eyes drifted to her sides away from him for a moment unable to match his steady gaze. His boldness was admirable.
"I'm not being too forward, right? I would hate to pass up another opportunity to speak to you." Kinsley added, his words even sweeter and she gently shook her head.
"It's fine. I appreciate the honesty."
He smiled his widest showing off his perfect teeth. His happiness appeared genuine and she could read it in her eyes. Ijeawele was impressed. He wasn't the first guy to try and charm her but his sincerity got him her attention.
Kingsley placed a hand on his chest. "Final year accounting. You?"
"Third-year business administration."
He raised his brows as he nodded to her answer. "You know, I guessed a commercial course. It's nice to be right."
Ijeawele nodded, her smile faint. "Yeah."
"Ijeawele." Her friend called. Ijeawele looked past Kingsley to the young lady a little behind. The woman's gaze lingered from Ijeawele to the young man she was talking to. Ijeawele knew her friend's presence meant it was time to leave.
"My friend is here. I have to go." Ijeawele started, her steps heavy with each one she took away from him. "It was nice meeting you, Kingsley."
"Wait." He called; his hand stretched out nearly taking hold of hers. She stopped to listen to him.
He wore his smile, his usual charm. "Can I have your phone number? I would like to get to know you."
Ijeawele hesitated to give her reply. A good part of her was willing to give up that information and the other part, the morally built overthinker unwilling to seem loose believed it was not a good idea.
"Sorry. Perhaps, if we meet again." She replied a glint of mischievousness in her eyes. Almost like she meant something else with those words. He was quick to read the meaning behind them. Although he was rejected, he didn't feel that way. He felt challenged. Much more determined to pursue her. The excitement in his heart was a breath of fresh air. One he was excited about and looked forward to exploring.
"Who's that?" Ijeawele's friend asked her the moment she met up with her.
Ijeawele gave him one last look. While a shadow of a smile hovered over her face, she replied. "Hopefully, someone interesting."
Kingsley watched while they walked away. He felt proud of himself. Somehow, he was sure everything was going to work out between the both of them.
The present...
"Kingsley. Kingsley, did you hear anything I just said to you?" Maria asked, having felt like she'd been talking to a wall for the past few minutes.
A quiet sigh left his lips before he took off his flip-flops and buried his legs in the duvet, letting his head rest on the pillow. He shifted his eyes to Maria seated on the bed, staring at him with the tale of disappointment all over her face.
"Let's talk tomorrow. I'm tired." Kingsley stated and brought his right hand behind his head. He shut his eyes.
Maria looked away, her gaze drifting from left to right all while suppressing the urge to lash out at him.
"We never talk anymore. You're always tired. I'm your wife, not a prostitute. Believe it or not, I want our marriage to work. You have to help me, Kingsley."
He opened his eyes and turned, laying on his side. Kingsley stared at her. She couldn't phantom what his thoughts were.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Maria blinked a few times. Finally, he was asking her and she couldn't gather her thoughts into words at the moment.
"Anything. I want to know how your day went and I want you to ask me how mine went. Show a little interest in my life. I'm not just Ijeawele's replacement." Maria rolled her lips in and guiltily looked away from him, regretting her last sentence. When she returned her gaze to him, his expression hadn't quite changed but she could tell he was a little upset.
Kingsley sat up; his expression haunting. "I left Ijeawele and I chose to marry you. You think of yourself as her replacement... maybe it's true. Maybe it's not. Maybe we'll never move past the premise surrounding our union. But it would be better for you if you quit nagging all the time." He threw his head back on the pillow and turned his back to her.
"If you have another woman outside, just let me know. I promise to handle it calmly." Maria ranted ignoring her husband's words and instead allowing her insecurity to propel her behaviour.
"Maria, leave me alone. I won't repeat myself." Kingsley warned before he closed his eyes, hoping sleep would whisk him away sooner rather than later.
With a frown between her brows, Maria stared at her husband loathly. She hated the fact that she wasn't having her way. She felt he was taking her words and feelings too lightly. The least he could do was comfort and ensure her that everything was all in her head. He was secure with her and would never betray her. Maria couldn't understand why making her feel safe was so hard for him. There were times she didn't feel love from him and there were times he made her satisfied with the decision of marrying him. Maria wondered if he ever treated or spoke to Ijeawele differently at the onset of their marriage. Was he only different from her? The thought of it ate at her.
Maria lay on the bed. She hoped things would get better one way or another. It had to. She was depending on it.
Ijeawele carried a glass of water from the kitchen to the living room where she handed it to her sister-in-law.
"Thank you Ije." Gift appreciated and went ahead to gulp down half of the water.
She felt much better than when she arrived. Her gaze met Ijeawele who had taken the seat next to hers on the same sofa.
"Is everything fine? I didn't expect to see you this late."
Gift nodded, her face, a canvas for being okay. "Everything is fine. The kids are asleep and I told Ebe that I was going to buy some sanitary pads."
Ijeawele raised her brows. "You lied."
A light chuckle left Gift's lips. "Yes... If I told him I was coming here then he would've said no, it's late... I wouldn't be here."
Ijeawele nodded in understanding. She knew her brother and was well aware of how controlling he could be. So, she always admired Gift for always being understanding towards him.
"Is there something going on that he doesn't want me to know?"
Gift shook her head. "It's not like that. It's just..." She spaced out for a second, wondering how to put her thoughts out there using the right words. "... I want to go back to work but Ebe doesn't think I should. David is eight, Josiah is six and Ugo is three. They're off to school every day. I think it's okay for me to start working, don't you think?"
Ijeawele gradually sucked in a deep breath. Gift always appeared understanding. She didn't know or ever expected any sort of conflict from both of them.
"Um..." Ijeawele wasn't sure what to say. She would hate for her advice to be the reason their conflict escalated any further. "... Did both of you ever agree on this in the past?"
Gift's sigh was loud as she lifted her eyes, browsing through her memories.
"There were times he said he would prefer to be the sole provider. I didn't see anything wrong with that but I see now he meant he doesn't want his wife to work. At first, it was okay. Lately, I don't think all I want to be is a housewife. Ebe doesn't understand. He thinks I'm underestimating his capabilities. I just want to be able to stand on my own."
Ijeawele nodded, listening carefully to all she had to say. Something about this case reminded her of her marriage. Instead of comparing the two and allowing her ill feelings from the past to cloud her judgment, she pushed the thought aside. She was aware her brother would flip if he knew Gift was telling her all this. Ijeawele knew Gift wasn't a tattle tale. At best, she was good at keeping her marital affairs away from prying eyes. It made her understand how frustrated she must feel that she came to her house at night.
"Do you want me to talk to him?"
"Ah no oh!" Gift exclaimed in rejection. "Don't say anything to him. I don't want him to think..." Her eyes held guilt as she looked at Ijeawele.
"You don't want him to think I'm coaching you on how to get divorced," Ijeawele pronounced, her gaze never leaving her guilt-ridden sister-in-law.
"Ije, it's not like that. I don't have anything against you. I'm not judging you at all. All I want is to make Ebe accept my decision without breaking off my marriage."
Ijeawele's lips stretched into a thin line while she shifted her eyes away from her. At this point, it wasn't as annoying as it used to be. They were not just family; Gift was also three years older, so she used to believe she would be more understanding of her than anyone else.
"Please Ije, don't be upset. I'm not here to make you relive the past. I just... I..."
"You don't want to make the same mistake you think I made."
"Ije..."
"It's fine." Ijeawele sprung to her feet. "Honestly, I don't know how to help you without speaking to Brother Ebe and I have to be careful with what I say to you so it doesn't backfire."
She shrugged her shoulders. "I can't help you unless you tell me how."
Gift stared at Ijeawele, her eyes pleading. However, she knew deep down that Ijeawele was right. If she was determined to stand her ground, she would have to be willing to shake the table. The outcome of this would determine whether she had ruined everything or only fixed it. Gift slumped back into her seat, feeling more disoriented than when she had arrived.
Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I believe it would be helpful to provide a different perspective, which is why I took the time to write this chapter. Please leave a like or comment to let me know how you feel about it.