Family functions. Lola groaned inwardly. She's beginning to hate them. They are full of drama, arguments and shouting. They never end peacefully. There's always one thing to fight about at the end. She puffed out air, crossing her legs as she leaned back into the plush sofa, the voices of Aunty Dammy and her grandmother nearly deafening her. Grandma can't just keep her mouth shut. She always have to speak and try to ruin happy moments. Aunty Dammy had thrown a get together to introduce her children to the family. Grandma Rebecca used that as the perfect time to remind Aunty Dammy that she's not in her husband house and the Kola-Daisi surname is something she won't give to bastards. The word bastards had infuriated the new mother of three. She had stood up against her mother and the argument was nowhere coming to an end.

Her grandmother's annoying. She gnashed her teeth. The woman's selfish. She likes everything going her way. She want to have a control over anything that has to do with family decisions but the thing she is yet to come to terms with is she cannot make decisions for adults. She has done enough damage by asking Aunty Dammy to stay with an asshole who knew he was sterile and led her daughter on for fifteen years. To worsen it, he accepted a woman whom he knew was cheating on him. He made everyone believe the problem was from Aunty Dammy by accepting the bitch, Anita, and her bastards. That man needs a bullet in his fucking head. The old bat thinks only about herself, what benefits her and what pleases her. She does not give a damn about how her choices does not go well with everyone. It's her fault that she's married to Joshua, stuck in something she dreads with every part of her being. Can the old hag just die and leave the family in peace? Does that make her seem heartless?

Those kids needed a family and Aunty Dammy had done the best thing by adopting them. They were dumped in an orphanage by those they considered family after their parents' death. Their mother was an orphan and had no family when the man was married her. Who would look at the baby and not feel the need to protect that little one from this wicked world? That baby is cute. Those innocent eyes captivated her. Grandma can burn in hell. The older siblings are adorable and smart kids. Anyone would love them. Although, the eldest is still finding it hard to open up to everyone.

"Mum, I have had enough of you! It's enough! God please, what did I ever do wrong to you? What's my offense? Why do you want to do nothing but make my life more miserable that it already is? Does my happiness ever mean anything to you? Why don't you just die and leave me in peace?" Those words were hard and blunt. From the way Rebecca froze, everyone could tell the words got through her. "Get out of my house!" Aunty Dammy shouted. "I do not want to see you here ever again. If your perspective about them does not change then do no show your face to me even after you rot in your grave"

Now, this was getting worse than she had thought. The mother daughter relationship has been severed and maybe ruined for life. It's time to leave. Lola got to her feet, pulling the plain white Balenciaga T-shirt she wore over a pair of blue Dolce and Gabana jeans before sauntering out with her mini Chloe bag in hand. The thought of Aunty Dammy and her grandmother brought her mother to her mind. She's grateful for having such a woman in her life. She has been supportive, putting up with her shit over the years and has never ceased to show and tell her how much she loved her. The same goes to her nine siblings. Irrespective of how far they are away from her, Cynthia gives them a call every day. If she had a mother like her grandmother, she sure will be the death of the old woman. As she pulled into the road, she gave her mother who had not been able to make it to the dinner due to an event, a call.

Her conversation with Haseenah two days back swam in her head. She's yet to know how to feel about what Haseenah had done. She can't hate her or blame her because she is also not an innocent. She had killed two people and if she wants to count the dead cat, she will say three. It also had a life.

Haseenah was her father's illegitimate daughter from an affair he had with a woman from Chad on many of his trips to Maiduguri. The woman was shuwa arab which justified Haseenah's creamy skin, chiselled nose, sculpted lips and long hair. Haseenah had explained that all Shuwa Arabs are not light skinned. They have a skin colour that ranges from light to dark. Her father had not accepted the woman and her pregnancy. He gave her money to abort it. He was a married man with kids and nothing will ruin his marriage, not even a fling with some woman he had no other interest in except sexually to. His wife, Mummy, found out. How she did is still a mystery to many. Many had expected her to throw a tantrum over it but she did the unexpected. She brought in the woman, not for her husband to get married to, but to take care of her and the unborn child. The woman passed away at child birth, leaving behind a daughter. Mummy named her Haseenah after baba refused to give her a name. Mummy took Haseenah in, not as a daughter, but a responsibility her husband must fulfil. He has to take care of her because his blood runs in her veins. It was the worst thing to happen to baba. When he was having sex without protection, he should have thought about its repercussions.

Mummy does not talk to Haseenah. She only speaks to her when it is necessary. Haseenah could count the number of times Mummy spoke to her. Mummy had not shown any sign of hostility or anger towards Haseenah but deep inside, Haseenah knew the woman hated her. She found her insufferable. Everyone in the family hated her even her older step siblings. She was a reminder of a mistake her father made in his life, the reason for the ruined relationship between her father and his wife. Mummy's mother had not failed to point that out with her. She lived her life, accommodating everyone's indifferent attitude towards her. She was an outcast in her father's house. The man hated her and has not failed to show it. School was her escape from the hostile life at home. She was a boarding student and had dreaded every holiday they had. When life could not be any better, she met Ahmad.

She noticed him at many of the functions her father threw and ones they attended. He did not even know her neither had he noticed her. She loved him from a distance. It started as a crush until it grew into feelings she had no control over. She stalked him on his social media page, liking every picture and commented beneath them with an anonymous account. It had broken her when she found out he was in a relationship with her friend, Fatimah. They were so in love that many envied them. They had a fan page on instagram with lots of followers. Many were anxious for their wedding. She hated it. She hated the sight of them together. It broke her heart. The pain she feels each time she had to see them felt like someone twisted a knife in her chest. She was bleeding and no one saw it. Her heart grew darker with jealousy that made her blood bitter. Ending up with him was just a dream she had no idea would come true.

Baba and Ahmad's father, Bashir Danlami are friends. Ahmad's father was baba's sponsor for his governorship election. If Baba wins, it would be easier for Bashir Danlami to expand his business to Zamfara State. The man did everything in his power financially to support baba for the election and made sure he won through all the connections he had. Baba won. They celebrated. Since the two made good business partners and they were benefitting from one another, they should seal their relationship. Their children should get married to one another. The only person to marry off was his illegitimate child. Her marriage would be the perfect was to get rid of her from his life.

Ahmad hated the idea. He had a woman he loved, one he wanted to marry. Haseenah was someone he barely knows. He had no idea she existed. He rebelled in all the way he could to stop the marriage but it ended up taking place. Their first week of marriage was okay. Ahmad had not been antagonistic or kind. He was neutral with her. They made small talks and he gave her little smiles. Thinking back to those days, Haseenah knew the reason. He had plans to marry Fatimah a week later but she died before the wedding. Should Haseenah blame his physical assault and change in attitude on grief? She won't. He had always loathed her, disliked her because his relationship with Fatimah had nearly ended due to his upcoming marriage to Haseenah. But he was ready to put up with her because he was going to marry Fatimah. Ahmad was going to forsake her. He was not divorcing her but he would leave her to stay with Fatimah. She would be his wife on paper but never to him. The thought of him leaving her gnawed what was left of her soul. It infuriated her. She won't be the second wheel. Never! She had loved him for years and when she has him, another woman want to ruin her moment with him. That can't happen. Just when she was going to lose her sanity, Fatimah died in a car accident. The best luck she had in her twenty years of life.

She watched Ahmad crumble and lost himself to the grief of his dead love. She tried to safe him from himself but he never gave her that chance. He came back home, angry and hurt from Fatimah's death. She tried to placate him but it ended up badly. He started to hit her. Their union as man and wife has been forceful. He took her innocence the hard and painful way. It was her fault his Fatimah died and she, Haseenah, does not deserve any peace of mind. Her education stopped. He stopped her from going to school. The first time she disobeyed him, he had slammed her against the door which left a big bruise for a while on her right side. He treated her like a piece of shit. He took every chance he had to break her physically and emotionally. He eroded her self-esteem, making her feel useless and not worthy of anything. Her confidence was squashed. Bastard became is favourite word, a name he took pleasure in calling her. He had not failed to remind her of her background. She was a bastard no one accepted.

There was no one to turn to. When the beatings were starting to get out of control, she left for her father's house battered and bruised hoping baba will take pity on her situation but baba sent her back. Everything that's happening is part of marriage. She will have to put up with it and obey her husband. Mummy said the same thing. No one took pity on her. Not even those she called friends. Those friends stopped talking to her when she married Ahmad. They believed she snatched Ahmad from Fatimah. Loneliness slinked into her, drowning her in dejection. That day, she felt so alone. It was then she realised no one cares for her. There was no one to call a family. She hated them for it. She despised them. Her mother never had a family. So there was nowhere else to go to. Ahmad had warned her not to say a word to his family. If she did, she might not walk again and the story he would tell will not point a finger at him. She will be the one to be blamed. With nowhere to go to, she went back to Ahmad. Because he had a reputation to keep up in public, he treated her well. She had always looked forward to public events because she knew it was only then he considers her a human. Then to worsen it all, he started to cheat on her. Different women every day. Dark. Light. White. Skinny. Slender. Thick. He desired every woman as long as she's appealing to him. He broke the last straw when she found him tangle naked in their living room with a woman. Her husband was just alighting from his orgasm. The sight infuriated her. The anger she felt that day was so volcanic that if she had acted on it, she would have murdered them both. He brought his infidelity to the house! The lady had scrambled around but Ahmad stopped her. "She's nobody. There's no need to hide from her" He had pulled the woman back to into his embrace kissing her.

She ran out. Her chest burned. Is this how low he would stoop just to show her how much he found her insufferable? Tears poured down her crimson face. After crying, nursing her crushed heart, she came to a conclusion. To escape Ahmad, he had to die. Divorce was not an option because he won't give her one. Their fathers won't allow it. So, he had to depart this life.

So, she started to feed him a poison generated from a rare flower that grows only in China. The poison as a silent killer that cannot be found in the blood or body system. It kills slowly with no suspicious symptoms. When taken for so long in small quantity, a chronic disease sets in. The long effect of the poison were never ending migraine, pain in the chest while coughing which produces blood and weakness. Throughout their four years of marriage, she fed that poison to Ahmad almost every day for three years and five month. Even when his condition grew critical, she did not stop. The source of the poison had not been revealed to Lola. It's a secret Haseenah had chosen to not tell anyone. Living with him, putting up with his character, crying when he died, starving herself, becoming the grieving wife were all a pretence. She knew each day that passed was a day closer to her freedom. Her biggest joy was his death.

Lola halted the car. Did Haseenah do the right thing? She does not know how to answer that. She thinks Haseenah did what was best for her. That man was a monster. He had no heart. There was no one to help her. She got no family member to stand up for her, no one listened to her story. Her life was a living hell and her only escape from that marriage was his death. If she had not killed him, he would have killed her one day.

The sound of the car door slamming shut resonated through the quiet compound. The locks of the car clicked to the control of its remote. There was light which was quiet gratifying. She would watch a movie until she falls asleep, a perfect way to relax after a shower. The instant she was inside, Lola switched her bag from her left hand to right and on impulse, turned on the light of the foyer as she pressed her heel down on the floor lock. Light from the corridor leading to the bedrooms reflected into the living room providing soft glow of light to a side of the large space leaving the other part dark.

She's beginning to love the quietness in the house. It reminds her of her time in Los Angeles when she lived alone in a penthouse. But the quietness scares her sometimes. She feels like someone is lurking around the house waiting for the right time to pounce on her. She had been paranoid a number of times. As she turned to head for the room, she caught a movement from the corner of her eyes. She froze, every muscle at alert. The hair at the back of her neck stood at attention.

"Orekelewa, it's me" A voice said.

"Oh" She released the air she never knew she held in. "Joshua!" She spun around. "You bastard! I was scared to death" A hand laid on her heaving chest. She had no idea her heart has started to trash in her chest.

Joshua step into light, a grin on his face. She snapped her jaw. The urge to slap that smile off his face surfaced. He had scared her soul out of her body yet he could smile. He wore a pair of short and wrinkled Cuban shirt. She raked her eyes over his tall frame. He held a bottle of Budweiser in hand, the other hand hooked on the edge of his pocket. Shadowy loops circled his eyes with tired lines etched at their corners. Something shook within her at the rough and tired appearance. Her pointed look was returned with a lazy stretch of his lips.

"I did not expect you to be back this early" He threaded to her, dropping the bottle of beer on the coffee table.

She abandoned her bag on the three-seater next to her. "It ended early with a drama as usual"

When he halted barely a feet away from her, sudden awareness electrified the air. His scent filled her olfactory nerves. He smelt of sweat and a faint whiff of wood. She gawked at him. Now as he stood right before her, she realised she had missed him. They were just starting to get along when he left but his presence had started to become a part of her. A warm feeling engulfed her.

"How have you been?" His eyes met hers. They were smouldering black. He came closer, tipped her head a bit to slant his lips over hers. As soon as she tasted the sweetness of his lips, she realised how much she had missed that intimate action. Desire flamed at the pit of her stomach. Just as she held unto his arm to extend the kiss, he pulled away.

"Great" She breathe out, warm against him at the brief intimate moment. "But just one kiss?" The deep pool of brown had darkened to the colour of hot chocolate on a very cold day. Their warmth wrapped around him in a way that was relaxing.

He chuckled then encircled his hand around her mid-riff, pulled her closer before returning his mouth to hers. She had welcomed his mouth on hers, smiling against his lips. The sounds of pleasure that escaped them and the fiery urgency of their mouth flamed the burning need between them. He held her closer, his grip around her firmer. When his hand crawled under her white T-shirt, feeling the silky skin on her hot belly, she stiffened. He probed deeper into her mouth to ease her, a silent way to tell her not to ignore the want for one another. He caressed her side, trailed her lower back until he could cup her firm buttocks and massage gently. He earned an encouraging moan for the action.

Damn! He cursed in his head. She made him tipsy with need. He wanted more than just to kiss her. There were many things he would love to do to this hot body of hers. She had appeared behind his closed eyelids throughout their days apart. Each day intensifying his need for her. He broke away, leaving both of them breathless.

She looked flushed in the soft glow of light, her lips swollen and wet. His lips stretched into a pleased smile, glad he made her look that way. The asymmetry bob had ruffled a bit from his hand raking through it. It gave her a look that wanted him to do more than just kissing to her. He clenched his jaw and stepped back a bit. They were married by law but he's not sure if the feeling of want was mutual. She has been responding well to his advances but doubt lingered in his mind. Is she ready to consummate their marriage as much as he want to? There's more than just physical attraction for him. She had said so. His heart had nearly made him lose control of himself. He kept pondering on what he feels for her and he's very sure he's beginning to fall for her. Who won't for a mysterious woman like her?

"You did not tell me you will be coming back today?" She broke the silence but failed at reducing the electric feeling in the air.

"I ran out of call card"

"Who runs out of call card?" Her eyes clouded over with displeasure.

He pressed his lips together after which he folded his arms around his chest. She possibly cannot be getting angry over such a minor issue? "Everyone do not find everything easy like you, Orekelewa" He frowned.

"But you work at ExxonMobil. You do not have much responsibilities. I do not ask you for money neither do you spend on me except few times. Why will you run out of call card?"

"I have a family to take care of and I forgot to top up. Can't you just take this as a surprise?" He grunted from irritation. Why is she trying to ruin a peaceful moment? Does she not like what they just shares? What they could have?

"It was a surprise that scared the living soul out of me. I hated it"