TIES

Chapter 1

I stood in front the wall mirror in my room admiring myself.

How I’ve imagined and waited for a day like this to come. The day I will be dressed in my white flowing wedding dress and work down the aisle to meet the love of my life.

My heart bubbled up with so much joy and excitement. I felt so much alive as I stood with my flower bouquet which I used as a microphone as I sang along to Ed Sheeran song titled Perfect which played softly in the background in the room. That has been my favorite song since high school.

In the next 2-3 hours, I was going to have my dream wedding. The perfect Beach Wedding. The beautiful sight of nature, the blue deep sea and cool breeze. I had made sure the wedding had picked the best venue. It was going to be very simple yet, heart melting. 

I stood there lost in my imaginations when I heard a knock on the door. Emily walked in on her peach colored sleeveless gown holding a white rose in her hand. Her face lit up with a wide smile as our gaze met.

“Oh! My God…You so stunning in that dress” she said as she embraced me.

“The wedding dress is so beautiful, right?” I whispered into her ears.

“It’s beyond beautiful. You look like an angel” she stared into my eyes and said.

Her eyes had become so teary. Despite how she tried holding them back, they kept dropping uncontrollably down her eyes. 

Emily looked so hard and rocky until you get closer to her; you will get to know this soft part of her just a few persons get opportune to know. She the perfect example of the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Her straight long face that she wore every time made people avoids her like a plague. Only if they knew how tender-hearted she was. even the slightest thing made her cry, reason I nicknamed her “TOWN CRIER”.  She was a fashion designer and a TV presenter in the local TV stations in our neighborhood.

“And she’s crying again” I hugged her.

“I just can’t help it. I’m so happy for you, girl” she said as she sniffed her nose. 

“You see the reason why I can’t stop calling you a TOWN CRIER” I teased, both of us laughing.

“It’s okay. Let’s get back to business now. Who is ready to work down the aisle now?” she shouted.

“Me of course” I shouted in excitement.

“Let’s go down there and tie that knot, baby girl”

“Oh Yes!” we both chorused as we waved our hands in the air in excitement.

She immediately got my veil from the bed where it laid and pinned in on my beautiful gelled-hair before pouring it over my face. She applied a bit of lip gloss just to give her lips this shiny and glossy look. She brought out her phone and we took some pictures and made some videos before we headed out.

Soon, we were on our way to Illinois Beach Hotel, where the wedding was going to take place. I sat behind with my best friend by my side as the driver drove us down there. 

I could feel my heartbeat fasten. I started to feel so nervous. I guess Emily must have noticed as she held my hands which made me feel a bit calm.

As much as I wanted this, I wasn’t still sure if Ethan wanted the same. Every day, he professed love to me. He told me how beautiful I am. How my blue eyes had made him fall in love with me. He showed me so much affection and got me lots of gifts. Yet, I didn’t feel satisfied. I became so greedy that I yearned for more from him. 

I lived my whole life in Chicago with my mum. Not my biological though. I was told that my parents passed away in my tender age. My mum died in the process of giving birth to me and my dad…that I don’t really know till now. So I didn’t have the privilege of walking down the street holding hands with my dad and cooking meal with my mum, going on picnics as a lot of parents did with their children.

My mum owned a small restaurant which I helped her manage. Though small, it was very popular in our neighborhood. Everyone sang praises about my mum’s mouthwatering seafood recipes and delicious brownies. At twenty-two most girls dreamt of going to the big cities and start living their big dreams but not for me. I loved being around my mum. And also, I loved the neighborhood. I had dreams too. I wanted to own a restaurant. One as big as the one I saw in the black and white television in our sitting room.  I loved watching The Houston’s Food Show.  

One afternoon, I and my mum were busy attending to our customers when this young man walked into our shop. He was 7ft tall. Caramel skinned and had a thick short wavy hair. His eyes were golden brown and wore a t-shirt and a pair of jeans with white boots. The leather jacket he wore looked like it cost a fortune. 

He caught the attention of everyone there as he walked into the restaurant. 

“Go and serve him” my mum whispered to me over the kitchen counter where we stood.

I couldn’t believe my ears at what I heard. Did my mum just ask me to go serve a man?

She never did!

Well, I knew the game she wanted to play and I was going to dance well to it.

Throughout the time he spent in our restaurant that evening, my mum didn’t stop talking about him. His looks and aura. She stood over the kitchen counter and stole glances at him.

“How do you see him?” she asked me. It blew me off my feet because I wasn’t expecting it.

I just stared at her suspiciously and continued doing what I was doing. I was surprised when she handed over a food pack to me and asked me to take it to him. I had a questionable look on my face but she said nothing, insisting that I carried the food pack to hm.

I got to the table where he sat, “Good afternoon sir” I greeted.

“It’s Ethan, please. Ethan Thomas” he said with a smile on his face.

“Okay Sir…sorry Ethan. My mum asked me to give this to you. She said it’s a bribe to make you come around” I said to him.

His face immediately lit up with smiles as he waved at my mum who waved back. Before he left that day, he left with us with his business card. And that was the genesis of our love story.

Every day, my mum would package some of seafood and brownies for him and ask me to go deliver it to him in his house which was just some miles from my mum’s shop. At first, I wasn’t so comfortable and felt so shy going to deliver the food to him but as time went by, I started to feel free and comfortable around him. Some days, I secretly packaged some of my mum’s brownies and took it to him, telling him that it was from my mum. But those were all lies. I was beginning to fall head over heels for him. All I needed to have a perfect day was to see his smiles.

One evening, my mum had sent me off to deliver food to him as usual. I got to the small bungalow apartment and pressed on the doorbell on the wall. I stood there and waited for him to come out to take it, and also hoped he will at least let me into his apartment. That was one thing he had never done despite how close he had become with I and my mum.

The door opened and he came out tying a white cotton towel around his waist. His hair still looked wet. I stared at his hairy well built chest, and all I wanted was to place my hands on it and feel it. His muscular arms tightened as he dried his hair with a small towel he held in his hands. He was just the perfect man. My prince charming. 

“Come in” I heard him say.

Immediately, my heart started to beat fast. Was I dreaming? Did he really ask me to come in? 

Feeling anxious, I walked into the house. I loved how simple it looked. At a corner of the room as a big shelf filled with books. He must love reading a lot. I thought.

I sat on the coffee brown arm chair there and waited for him to come down. Some minutes later, I started heard footsteps. I turned around and our gaze met. I smiled shyly and stood up from where I had been sitting, “My mum asked me to bring this for you” I said, stretching the food pack towards him.

He smiled making my heart flutter, “I was about coming down there to grab some of this. This is always a life savior” he said taking the food pack from me.

“I’ll head back home now. We have a lot of customers to attend to” I said, ready to start going when he stopped me and started walking up to me.

He stood there and stared at me. Anxiety started to build up in me. Did he just stop me? What does he want to do?... Oh God!,..Does he want to kiss me?. Thoughts ran through my mind.

“Let’s have just a glass before you leave” he said holding a bottle of wine in his hands.

What was I thinking, standing there with my eyes shut? I wasn’t expecting him to kiss me, right?. My cheeks burned red. I felt so much embarrassment.

“So how long have you been in Chicago?” he asked me as he poured the wine into the wine glasses.

“Oh!, thank goodness. He finally said something” i muttered beneath my breath before answering him, “Since I was a kid” I said.

“Wow, me too though I’m not always so much present here” he said.

His eyes became dark. It reflected so much pain in them.

“I travel out for business” he said but for some strange reasons, I didn’t believe it.

He gulped down the wine in the wine glass and started to shift closer to me. I sat there still, unable to move my body. My throat had gotten dry. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine. His lips tasted like berries. I kissed him back, deeply and passionately.

“Oh God! What was I thinking? I’m so sorry” he drew away from me apologizing.

But it was already late. Now, I wanted more of him; his lips, his body, his touch.

“No need. This is what I’ve always wished for” I said now kissing him.

His touches were electrifying. The more he touched me, the hungrier I got. Quickly, I pulled off the t-shirt I wore while he pulled his off. We both sat there and moaned in pleasure as he squeezed my breast while he kissed me. This was the first time I was being touched by a man.

He carried me into his arms and we headed for the bedroom.

“I’m not as gentle as you think I am” he whispered into my ears.

“I love them hard!” I whispered back.

We got to the big bedroom ad he placed me on the neatly laid bed. He pulled off my trousers then my red panties. He started to kiss me tenderly on my p***y. I felt like I was in heaven when he started to rub his tongue over my p***y and suck it. So much sensation ran through my veins. And at that moment, I wanted more. I ran my hands round his whole body and finally settled it on his big d**k. Gently, I caressed it as it grew harder and harder.

We had a pleasurable night of steamy s*x and cuddling until I fell asleep. The next day, I woke up to see him staring at me with smiles on his face. And that was when reality hit me. Embarrassed, I got up from the bed, wrapped up in the white duvet; I skimmed the room for my clothes.

He had neatly folded them and placed them on a chair in the room. I got dressed immediately and ran off not hearing him out. it wasn’t his fault. It was mine. Despite feeling embarrassed, I was strangely happy. 

Before I could sneak into the house, my mum had caught me. Strangely, she looked calm. 

Years passed and our love grew stronger. And I was ready to spend my whole life with him. I waited for him to pop the question but he wouldn’t. so I decided to do so.

On my 30th birthday, he had taken me out on a romantic date. It was just the both of us in that big beautifully decorated room. There were red roses and candles to setup the mood. I waited for him to propose but he didn’t. And that was when I knelt down and proposed to him.

“I love you and want to spend my whole life with you, Ethan. Marry me. Will you?” I asked staring into his eyes.

He stood there, shocked unable to say a word. I felt regrets as I got upfrom where I knelt.

“So sorry if you feel I’m rushing you. I know, I wouldn’t have done this, right?” I asked, confused about what to do. I picked my hand bag and was about walking when I heard his voice.

“I will marry you” he answered.

I wondered why it took him so long to answer but, I was happy. I ran and embraced him.