When the sun rose from its deep slumber and the colour of the sky shifts from deep blue to orange, neon pink and a lighter shade of blue, tinting the clouds before they become a clear shade of white and fluffy forms, it announces a new day. The city awakes to another day with people getting off their beds for different missions. The birds sings into the majestic sunrise, many grateful for witnessing another day. Powerful beams of sunlight torrents over the land illuminating every vane of the morning dew glazed meadow, giving the flowers a chance to bloom, some people a chance to live and change their decisions about life and others a chance to live life the way they think it was.

Rays of light streamed in through the little window onto the marble floor of the bathroom. Lola sat on the edge of the tub, head bowed as she looked down at her hands. Sweat dripped from her face, little hair sticking to her damp forehead. She was immobile like a statue but the little rise and fall of her chest indicates she still had life in her. Her skin was dirty and wet from sweat which she got from spending too much time on the yoga mat. Her eyes were lost and distant with her mind far away from the present.

She had woken up some minutes to six due to her usual nightmare. This time, it was scarier, more heart wrenching and felt so real. He came for her. He got her even when she ran far away from him. This time when he had his hands on her, she had no chance to run. He trapped her. He caged her and at the end, he wanted to kill her. She woke up before he could strangle her. Joshua was sound asleep next to her snoring into dreamland. She got out of bed, knelt down by the bed and prayed before heading to the living room for her normal daily yoga.

Now, she sat at the edge of the bath tub, too lost in the past to sense the present. Her hands had the blood of the innocent on them. None was intentional but that does not change the fact that two people had lost their lives due to her inner demons. But she was trying, trying hard to fight her inner demons but they seem to have more power over her. After she had stopped her medications in California with the thought that she was well and her psychiatrist had pronounce her well, she had another episode again a year later. This time, she was at home with a friend. The white chick had annoyed her and she had thrown that chick over the glass table which shattered into pieces. In order to cover her deed, she made it seem like an accident. That was when she knew how good of an actress she can be. She acted the grieved friend of the victim and escaped going to prison or getting charged for murder.

But that was all in the past. She willed herself to return back to a life she cherished so much. The past will never be back. She got to her feet. But was that true? Will the past always be in the past? Fear wrenched her chest. She has a very busy day ahead. She need to visit Osasere so that she can check on Esosa, visit the spa and change her hair.

Joshua was still asleep when she stepped out of the bathroom. He had the sheets tangled around his body, face buried in the pillow with soft snores emitting his gapped lips. The sight was cute but what caught her attention was the black ink on his left arm. The spitting dragon was something she needed to ask him about. She liked the tattoo on his arm. She had no reason to it but knowing the good boy was once bad really fascinated her. She was yet to know where that tattoo ends.

Lola had given orders to the housemaids when Joshua dragged his lazy body out of the bedroom. The pleasant smell of toasted bread and egg wafted through the house. The housemaid who cleans the house was mopping the lobby and the other should be in the kitchen. Lola has never cooked though and she does not cook. She was seated in the living room, watching a film on the television. She had her laptop next to her and her phone in hand. How many things does she want to do at the same time?

"Good morning" He husked out.

"Morning" She answered without looking back.

"How was your night?" He groaned as he stretched.

"Fine and yours?"

"It was good" He turned over to sit down. Lola shifted her eyes from the television to glance at him. Joshua yawned and stretched. Such a lazy ass, Lola snickered.

"I hope you did not forget we are to visit my family today?"

"You heard me last night. I am not going" Lola replied as she typed on her phone.

"Maami wants to see you"

She snickered. "And I am not interested in seeing her" Lola rolled her eyes, put her iPhone away and picked her laptop.

"She misses you"

"Do I look like I give a fuck?" She typed on her laptop. "And she barely know me. Why will she miss me?"

"You speak like you don't like my mother"

She kept the laptop aside and snapped around to look at him. "I actually do not like her. You wanna know the truth, I actually do not like any member of that your family except your elder brother and nephew. I don't even know what I feel for your brother but your nephew, the kid is adorable. Your sister is just annoying. I don't know why but to keep it less insulting, she acts like a rural girl. Your mother, I just have a natural dislike for her and your sister in law" She blew out air. "It's something from the past. We just hate one another"

There was a long silence. Lola knew whatever she had said about his family must have pissed him so she tried not to look at him. He stood in front of her, his eyes hard and anger contoured his facial features. "You know it's my family you are speaking about that way"

"So? I can't pretend to like them" She gave a nonchalant shrug.

Joshua gave her a long stare. She really does not care about how people feel. She had said words that had hurt him, make him bleed in the heart and just acted as if it was normal.

"I think it would have been better if you did because I won't feel the way I feel now"

"Duh" She rolled her eyes and threw a hand. "Like I care. Listen to me Josh, I don't want to know you fucked up family and I will be grateful if they don't know me. This marriage is not to get familiar. It's just.....let's keep things the way they are. I can't play the nice and lovely daughter in law. Your family should stay where they are and I will stay where I am"

"How will you feel if I speak about your family the same way?"

She hissed. "My family is fucked up already so telling me won't hurt me. I have a place to be at today and I can't cancel it for anything" She got up, took her laptop and phone. She had started to the room when she turned back. "Joshua, I might not have said this before but this house is a rabbit hole. It's the entire size of my bedroom, closet and bathroom. The closet is worse. Is that a Janitor's closet or a closet? The décor is nice. I love it but the size is just terrible"

"So what are you trying to insinuate?" He wrapped his arms around his chest.

"That you search for somewhere else"

He chuckled, a dark one. "You knew what you were going into when you agreed to marry me. Deal with it, Lola" He spat then headed for the dining room where the maid had started to serve food.

"Bastard" She grinded out then continued her journey to the room.

-----

Friends over the years had thought her a lot of things. They had come like men had done. She had been gullible in friendship the way she had been in her relationship with men. There had been one when she entered university.

She met Tinuke during her first year in the university. Osasere had failed jamb that year. So she won't sit at home, her mother had suggested she apply for admission into a private university. She had not wanted to attend a private university. She really had no reason for not wanting to attend it. It might be because she wanted University of Ilorin or any other federal university. Her mother had a lot of reason to make her agree to going to a private university. Reasons like there will be no strike, she won't spend extra years in school, the school will be able to monitor her, she won't live a loose life, there will be better facilities the private university will offer her than a federal university. She was still strong headed about not going to a private university. Her mother got angry. She said Osasere can write JAMB the following year and if she fails, she will sit at home.

"By the time you stay at home for five years, you will come back to your senses" Itohan barked, leaving Osasere disoriented and angry.

Her father was rich. He owns a merchandized farm, one of the largest in West Africa. She was from a wealthy and influential family. She has never lacked anything in her life. She had everything at the snap of her fingers. Being the only child made things easier since she lost her brother to sickle cell anaemia years ago. Osasere had the life she wanted. She went out of the country for vacations every break she had from school. Three years after her father's death, her father had willed the farm to her mother and given Osasere a good amount of fortune that will last her a life time.

After so many thoughts and quarrels, Osasere agreed to attend a private university. She had to do a program named JUPEB because her JAMB score was too low, one hundred and fifty two. She will get into university as a direct entry student if she passes JUPEB. Osasere met Atinuke in the class. After few encounters, they became friends. Tinu was saucy and somewhat proud. She had an arrogant appearance. Many disliked her at first meeting because she was always giving a rude remark or bad attitude. Osasere liked her despite Tinu had not treated her right and for who she was.

They passed their first year with a series of fights and despite she treated Osasere like a piece of shit, they were still friends. Whenever they went to the cafeteria to get food and Osasere meets someone she knows on their way back, Tinu was always too impatient to wait for Osasere's acquaintance with people.

"Why do you have to always greet people?" Tinu would shout. "I have something to do in the hostel. I will leave you" And she will. Osasere, who disliked making her friend angry would leave the person and rush after her.

But when Tinu meets someone she knows on the way, she can spend the whole day there without thinking she was keeping someone waiting. Osasere, too scared to speak to avoid Tinu's anger, would wait.

She was naïve. She could not say no to Tinu. Osasere was blind to realise she was mostly in Tinu's shadow. She barely met people and knew people. It was always Tinu. The guys Osasere knew were through Tinu. The guys who asked Osasere out knew Tinu before they noticed Osasere. It was Atinuke who told Osasere which guy to give attention and which she should not. Osasere listened to her.

How stupid had she been? How could she have allowed someone ride her to that extent. They passed JUPEB and entered as direct entry students. Finally, other students won't call them secondary school pupils. They started to know more people. It was then Tinu changed. She wanted to move with those who will make her more popular than she was. She did meet them. They were her roommates. How can she forget their names? Mowa, Jamila and Regina. They were big girls. Many knew them in school. Their fathers were well to do. Despite she moved with them, Tinu never left Osasere. Quiet right, Osasere and Tinu have helped one another during their times of need but she had not been fair to Osasere in many ways.

An example was when the school organised an excursion during their second year. They had agreed they won't go for the excursion. On the excursion day, Tinu had come to Osasere lend her money because she was going for the excursion. Osasere was hurt but she could not talk because she had not wanted to see the worse of Atinuke. Osasere disliked it when Tinu gets angry at her mainly because she did not want to lose her. She never really had friends since Lola left for America. Tinu was all she had. Tinu went for the excursion and later, Osasere heard how Tinu had been lovey dovey with a guy she called boring and not her type. How much has she lied to her? Osasere knew Tinu to be an attention seeker. She loved it. It had to always be about her than everyone else.

She ended her relationship with her during their third year at school. Osasere told herself it was time to find out who she was. It was time to meet people who will love her for who she was, people who will appreciate her in their life and she found them. Osasere and Atinuke grew apart and it benefitted Osasere. She met better people. Osasere realised she had always been in Atinuke's shadow. When they parted, she became free from pain. It was then she met Juwon Omisore. When people asked Osasere if there was a reason behind her distance from Tinuke, Osasere's reply had always been, we met people. Osasere promised myself she won't have best friends again but she could not keep it when she met people like Lola, Adeola, Kiki and Haseenah. They proved to her that friends can become family. Osasere and Lola had come way back from secondary school days.

Osasere blew out a stream of air from her lips. Her shoulders relaxed as she surfaced from the journey to the past. She lifted the cold glass of juice to her lips, her throat dry. Voices streamed from the living room. They belonged to her friends, Adeola, Lola and Kiki, who laughed at something. She smiled. Her phone rang and it came from a customer. The customer had called just to shout and complain that her goods were yet to reach Akure. Over the years as she grew successful, she started to do business transactions on phone. Osasere had customers she had never seen. She only speaks to them on phone, they make a business transaction, the customer pays and then the goods are delivered. There were customers of such in Ondo, Ekiti and few other states such as Oyo and Osun.

"Alhaja, I am so sorry. The vehicle got spoilt on the way. It's under repair you will get your goods by tomorrow"

"Tomorrow!" The woman shouted then continued about how the goods in her shop are almost finished.

Osasere got angry. The woman was rude and impatient. Despite her anger, she apologised and pleaded the woman to be patient with her. Customers can really be annoying sometimes.

In the living room, Esosa played game on her iPad, her attention hardly on the cartoon that showed on the big screen television. Adeola and Lola sat next to one another, speaking about something on Lola's phone. Kiki was nowhere to be found. She might have visited the restroom, Osasere assumed. She was about to sit down when the gateman came to inform her someone was looking for her. It was Jafar, her unexpected visitor. She had ordered the gateman to usher him in.

Jafar came in holding Umar in one hand and shopping bags in the other. The duo greeted, hugging and laughing. Esosa had ran to meet her friend. Unknown to them, the living room had become silent and curious eyes watched them.

Osasere did the introduction. The tallest among them was Lola. The petite one, Kiki and the escape albino with a low cut was Adeola. They had laughed, replied his greetings and shook his hand. He had barely looked at any of them in the eyes. He laughed more than he did on a normal day. He had the usual feeling of diffidence crawl through his body. Under their sharp eyes, he felt small. What do they think of him? What thoughts are running through their heads? He felt as if they were scrutinizing him just to find fault in him and a reason to tell Osas to stay away from him.

They all settled. The ladies continued their conversation. He gave the children his attention and played with them. The women spoke about fashion, celebrities, the upcoming parties, their challenges at work and those they had rivalry with. Nothing that interested him. Lola Kola-Daisi, the lady had so many arch rivals. She does not care about what people said about her. From her conversation, he could tell she was so full of herself. No one was better than her. She was beautiful, has a tall, elegant figure and can never go unnoticed but he disliked that air of arrogance around her.

Adeola had tried to pull him into their conversation but he had barely anything or nothing to say. There was a feeling in him that wanted the ladies to leave early. He craved for Osas attention and to an extent he was jealous she does not have his time had to moment. At a point, he had felt he might have come the wrong time. He should have called before coming over. He had wanted to surprise her. When lunch was served, he had claimed not to be hungry. Osasere had been adamant he take a drink and snack despite his resistance. Umar had requested for chocolate and Esosa had claimed not to be hungry.

"You sure, baby? You did not eat well this afternoon. You barely touched your breakfast" Osasere spoke.

"I am okay, mummy" Esosa answered, her concentration on the PS4 she played with Umar.

The ladies left claiming they had to get to the spa. It was Lola's idea. Osas came back inside later than he expected. He knew when she entered the living room that he was not leaving any time soon. He was going to make up for the time her friends had stolen.