"C'mon man, today is your wedding anniversary. You shouldn't be hanging out with us," Raphael said to Emmanuel upon seeing him at his door.
"Raph, I only came to have fun, or would you have preferred I went elsewhere? You have forgotten what today is right?" Emmanuel replied.
"Your birthday! I know that's your excuse but it's not enough reason to leave your wife at home on a weekend like this. I am honestly not happy with you," Raphael replied with a sour face.
"You should at least allow me in," Emmanuel replied putting on a smile to ease Raphael's anger.
"Come in," He muttered, and they both entered Raphael's flat, where their other friends were having fun.
Emmanuel!!! His friends chorused immediately after they saw him.
"Hi guys, what's up?" Emmanuel stuttered, still standing a few inches away from the door.
"Guys, I know you weren't expecting me but coming here was the only option I had. She left the house very early today without any information and I don't want to call or text her," Emmanuel added.
"Will I ever get married because I don't understand how this thing works?" Kunle replied.
"Is that the right response to what Emmanuel just said and who even cares if you get married?" Raphael replied angrily and went to grab a bottle of beer for Emmanuel.
"Please don't let my issue bring any disagreement among us.
Let's relax a bit and hang out later," Emmanuel replied, sitting on the couch.
"No, we are not hanging out because you must make a decision today. Stop all these games with Motilade and be a man, let her know how you feel. A year a passed already," Hassan replied.
"You are making sense, Hassan. That's the same thing I thought about but Emmanuel is just too stubborn on this issue," Raphael replied and handed over a beer to Emmanuel.
"Wait! Have you guys forgotten that I didn't want this marriage in the first place?" Emmanuel reminded his friends.
"Your parents arranged it just to keep a business relationship and yet you have lived under the same roof with the same lady you didn't love for a whole year," Hassan replied.
"I don't have a choice, or would you have allowed everything your father built to crash if you were in my shoes?" Emmanuel asked.
"We understand you but things can't continue this way," Hassan replied.
The living room went silent and Emmanuel gulped down his beer at go. He wore a bright smile afterward but his eyes did the opposite, and his friends could tell that a lot was going on in his head.
"I had my life all planned out with Sandra but Dad forced me into all of this," Emmanuel broke the silence in the room.
"Which Sandra? Your ex-girlfriend?" Raphael stuttered.
"Yes, we had everything all planned. We were supposed to get married this year," Emmanuel's voice trembled.
"Aren't you aware Sandra is married?" Hassan asked.
"I disappointed her, what other choice does she have?" Emmanuel replied.
"She dumped you, Sandra only waited for the perfect time to show you her true nature. She got married 3 months after you broke your wedding news to her. Did she just meet the person and get married in under three months?" Raphael asked.
Emmanuel sighed heavily and asked for another bottle of beer.
"To be honest, Motilade isn't bad. I remember the sumptuous meal she made the last time we visited you," Kunle replied and everyone hissed.
"I still don't want to believe Sandra didn't love me like she claimed," Emmanuel said to his friends after sipping from his beer.
"She never did, or have you forgotten how we warned you about her," Raphael replied, and Emmanuel broke into tears.
"Don't do this! We just want the best for you," Hassan said patting Emmanuel on the back.
Emmanuel thanked his friends for their concern and advice, he left Raphael's residence shortly after.
Emmanuel drove to a nearby lounge and just ordered a bottle of wine. He thought about his life and didn't know what next to do.
Everything his friends said kept ringing in his head and he was forced to put a call across to his mother immediately.
"Son, you don't look happy. What's happening?" She asked, adjusting her camera properly.
"Mom, it's Motilade. I don't know what to do," Emmanuel replied.
"Did she offend you?" She asked.
"No. Mom, we just couldn't get along. We have been pretending just to make our parents happy," Emmanuel replied.
"Oh, I feel guilty after the marriage, but there was little I could do, and I wouldn't have accepted that silly girl called Sandra," She replied.
"I am stuck mom," Emmanuel replied, wiping his face with his palm.
"Isn't that your wedding band you're wearing?" She asked.
"Yes, mom. I have always had it on," He replied.
"I know you very well Emmanuel and if you don't like Motilade at all, you won't have the band at all. I want you to look deeply into your heart and search for the answers you need. I promise to support whatever decision you make," She replied and the call ended shortly.
It wasn't long before Motilade call came in and Emmanuel was surprised.
"Did her car break down, or did she misplace her keys?" Emmanuel muttered before picking up the call.
"Hi dear," He said immediately after picking up.
"Aren't you coming home? I thought we could spend some time together since it's the weekend?" Motilade replied.
"I thought you went to your friends when I didn't see you around, I stepped out too and will be home soon," Emmanuel replied.
"Okay, sorry about that. I rushed to get some things in the market and you weren't home when I returned. See you soon and please drive safe," Motilade replied and ended the call.
An hour passed before Emmanuel decided to call it a day outdoors. Upon arriving home, he could perceive different aromas coming from his apartment and wasn't sure what was happening.
He gently opened the door and was surprised to see candles, balloons, and ribbons hanging at different spots in the living room. There was a bottle of wine and glasses on the dining table which made Emmanuel smile genuinely for some seconds.
He heard Motilade singing melodiously in the kitchen and just went in to check up on what was happening.
"Are we expecting a guest?" Emmanuel asked immediately Motilade noticed him.
"No, I did this just for you. Today is your birthday and I thought this would be cool," She replied.
"Yeah, it's a great idea. You shouldn't have stressed yourself," Emmanuel stuttered staring at Motilade.
"I am not stressed so go freshen up and join me," She replied.
Emmanuel left the kitchen dumbfounded and just went upstairs to freshen up. There were small roses on the stairs to his bedroom, and he felt really special because it was his first time getting such treatment from a lady.
He soon returned and Motilade was waiting at the dinning already. They made a toast and she gave him a box after.
Emmanuel gently opened the box and was wowed.
"You got this for me? A limited edition of Carson's wristwatch," Emmanuel stuttered.
"Yes, I hope you love it. I couldn't think of anything else," Motilade replied.
Emmanuel stood from his seat to hug Motilade and she was so happy. They started chatting afterwards and Emmanuel enjoyed every moment spent at the dining table with Motilade.
They moved to the living room to see a movie and Motilade wouldn't stop smiling every time her eyes met with Emmanuel.
"You want to say something?" Emmanuel asked noticing the smile again.
"Yes, I do. It's more like a confession," Motilade replied.
"Confession? You seeing someone?" Emmanuel stuttered.
"What do you think of me? We may be forced to marry but that doesn't make me cheap," Motilade replied.
"I am sorry about that. You know we don't act as couples in any way so I believe there is someone out there," Emmanuel replied.
"There is no one out there Emmanuel. Somehow, I started loving you despite the distance between us. I didn't know how you feel about me that's why it took me this long to express myself," Motilade replied.
Emmanuel couldn't believe his ear. He felt sad and happy at the same time. He was gradually growing feelings as well, but marrying against his wish wouldn't just allow him to admit he had developed something for Motilade.
He gently held Motilade and apologized for how he treated her since they got marriage.
"I am not offended because it feels like a crazy idea to me as well when my dad told me. I wasn't sure where this was going but I wanted to give it a try after multiple heartbreaks," Motilade replied.
The two hugged for a while and promised to give love a chance.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
This is how some people fill about their mates especially when it's an arranged marriage, they don't understand that the other person deserves some respect.
Although, I don't give my support to such a type of marriage but if we look deeply, there might be some good in it.
That's true, but most times the bad is more than the good
The custom of forced marriages can be very hard and you showed it very well in your story. And I'm glad that sometimes there can be understanding and love in spite of it all.
Good story, thanks for sharing it.
Regards @george-dee
It's definitely hard forcing two strangers who don't know each other to go into a lifetime commitment but somehow, love can grow if we give it a chance....
I am happy they both confessed their love for each other and were happy together at the end.
It's a good thing that despite the disagreement, they worked things out.
hi @george-dee. Was your image from the Canva library or was it edited in Canva? Please could you provide the URL link that takes us to the image location on Canva or wherever the image was originally sourced, and shows us who the photographer is and whether the image is Royalty-free or not. Thank you, The Ink Well Admin team.
It was from Canva library and this is the only image link I can generate.
https://www.canva.com/design/DAGVct4FNqE/-DHGAavHgZdtJAXKNIcCkg/view?utm_content=DAGVct4FNqE&utm_campaign=share_your_design&utm_medium=link&utm_source=shareyourdesignpanel
A sweet love-story against the odds. Please do take care in future to proof read your work and edit for inconsistencies, anomalies, spelling, grammar, and punctuation issues. You erroneously started speaking of Raphael as if he was in the relationship with Motilade and it was quite jarring. This would have been an easy pick up if you had taken the time to check through your work before publishing ;-) The Ink Well focuses on quality and expects our writers to do the same. Please confirm once you have corrected your image sourcing so that we may upvote your post.
Thanks for the correction, I really appreciate it and will work on it.
Raphael's friends actually wanted him to make a decision about keeping Motilade or letting her go, they didn't know what Raphael really wanted. I am sorry my description didn't go well despite going through the story to ensure it's good.
I changed the image since I can't get a link that gives image details from Canva. Thanks.
Thank you for making the changes to your story to improve the quality of the publication and for switching out your image. I think you meant to refer to Emmanuel in your comment as it is Emmanuel and not Raphael who is married to Motilade. We look forward to reading your next submission, @george-dee.
They went against all odds, it is a beautiful story.
Awwwww... In the end, love wins 😌...