Dressed in her best finery, Nancy Salazar sent two of her girls before her to deliver exotic gifts to the Queen Dowager.She had to bribe the dowager’s handmaiden to know the details of the type of brocades and other exotic gifts the woman would accept.As much as the expenses drained more of her family’s already draining fortune, she knew it was a worthy investment.“If not for my silly son who decided to slap me in the face like this, would I be doing all this?” she thought as she calmly waited in the dowager’s waiting room.Gone were the days when the dowager stayed in the main palace. Now she stayed in one of the mansions on Darlington’s estate.Even at that, the mansion was way bigger than Nancy’s home. She was a woman who had scrimped and scraped her way up the ladder of society. If it was left to her simple-minded husband alone, they would probably still be struggling with his meagre monthly salary.What would she have done when he suddenly died?Thankfully, God had heard her pr
Nancy saw that she had caught her attention and quickly added, “That is the only explanation for this, my queen, and as a mother, I made sure I didn’t sit about it too. Once I knew, I started praying and even asked many priests to pray too. You won’t believe how much I had to spend on it. But it is the sacrifice of love that I did not just for my son but also for the princess as well. For our long-lasting union, you know. Have you heard that my son has already left that shameless girl? It was because of my efforts, my queen. The moment my son’s eyes opened like this, he left her immediately.”“Hmmm,” Charlotte said in thought as she nodded to herself.Nancy gave her a sly look, then she made her voice pitiful as she said, “Now, he finally realised the damage he had caused, but as you can see, the princess wouldn’t accept him back. He had been thinking so much now that it had affected his career. He could barely eat or drink. He has even cancelled many of the shows that should fetch mon
“We are so sorry about this, princess. I assure you that we will get started bright and early tomorrow,” the director pleaded with Tanya.“It’s fine. I understand how these things can be. Just contact my manager tonight once you have secured the new venue so we can easily get there tomorrow.”“I will personally send my driver to bring you to the location tomorrow. I will be in touch once we find the new venue. Thank you for your understanding.”“You are welcome.”The woman smiled at Meg before she walked away with her phone to her ear.“This is unacceptable, for real,” Meg said with a pronounced frown on her face. “How can the venue be double-booked for a project like this? I still think you should have let me…”Tanya shook her head as she got into the car, “It is not strange for mix-ups to happen with a project this big. I am sure they will sort it out. Also, they already promised me a bonus for this extra night. Who am I to say no?” she said with a smirk.Meg smiled and looked at her
“What are you doing here?” Ayo asked in a chilling tone as he looked at her through the mirror.Who the fuck let her in? He wondered as she ignored his question and started sashaying around his dressing room.Her crimson-red long nails touching the clothes his assistant laid on the couch made his stomach churn with disgust.Did the woman have no shame? He wondered at the way she was dressed. Her slinky extra-short skirt left nothing to the imagination, just as her see-through chiffon top which showed that she was braless underneath.The coat she had on before she entered was now on the couch as she kept walking around like she couldn't hear him.Ayo was already irritated with the arrangement of things.Just how many shots do they need to say, these ridiculously expensive clothes are the best things that have ever happened to you?Apparently a lot. He had been prepped on every single thing, and they had not even started the real shooting yet.Ayo was sure he would go crazy before the w
“Get away from me!” Tanya snapped at him as he tried to stop her from leaving.“Babe, please listen to me,” Martinez said as he hurried after her.She whirled around to face him, “No, you listen to me, you piece of shit! Stay the hell away from me, or I will let everyone know that you have stooped to stalking now. How shameless can you get?”“No, I wasn’t…”She turned away and continued on her way. “Hold on for a second, damn it!” he snapped at her.The nerve of that idiot, Tanya thought as she kept walking without looking back.He had almost given her a heart attack with the way he snuck up on her, ruined the peaceful moment she was having, and he dared to say it was all a coincidence? Bastard.He ran so fast to stop in front of her that she almost collided with him if she had not quickly stopped.“What is wrong with you?!” she asked in surprise.He had never run for anything before in his goddamned life. Every other person did the running. Not him. It didn’t matter if he was late
He knew something was wrong.He just didn’t know what exactly was wrong.She didn’t change towards him.At least not in any hostile way.For the four days she spent in Abuja, he wasn’t able to talk to her once.He had not been able to speak to her after he woke up that weird night. Meg always said she was busy and couldn’t come to the phone.She didn’t try to call him back at all either.Not only that, he had heard on the news that Martinez was also in Abuja during that time and some were wondering if it was just a coincidence or not.All his messages went unanswered as well.He thought she would get back in the evening of the day she was to arrive, and he even cancelled the last shoot he had with Laureve that day so he could go pick her up and surprise her with the local delicacy she told him she loved.But he was surprised when he came downstairs that morning and found her in the living room.“Tanya? You are back?” he asked in surprise, wondering if it was the dream he was having ab
Ayo was shocked by what he saw on his author’s dashboard.He couldn’t believe that the website he had signed up on almost a year ago would finally yield something this much for him.Still, in disbelief, he clicked on the withdrawal button to withdraw the $49984 from his account.He got a notification almost immediately that the withdrawal had been received, and he would get the money in his account very soon.“Am I dreaming?” Ayo wondered as he went back to check on the book’s data.“What?!” he shouted in surprise when he saw that the book had more than fifty million readers already and the comments were just so crazy.People were even asking if the author had a social media handle where they could follow him because they wanted more stories from him.Some asked that he should develop the stories of the other side characters too.Tears ran down his eyes when he remembered how he casually started this story back then.He had just finished washing Mr Tomori’s car and when he went to giv
“Good day to you too, Melinda. Please, step out of my way. I have a business to attend to” Ayo said gently.“What business does a man like you have in a bank like this?” she asked innocently, then before Ayo could sidestep her, she raised her voice again. “Oh? You are here to withdraw the money your sugar mommy gave you? Oh, you should have said that before.”“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Ayo said through gritted teeth. “Get out of my way.”He tried to move around, but she suddenly shouted as she held her hand up, “Ouch, it hurts! What did you hit me for? Is it a crime that I stopped to greet you?”What? “Wait, what are you yapping about? I didn’t even touch you and…”Big, fat tears rolled down her face as she looked at someone behind him, “He hit me! Darling, I have bruises on my hand. I just stopped to greet him, and he hit me!”Ayo turned around to see James looking at the two of them with a hooded expression. “What is going on, young man?” James asked in a monotone.“I told
"Why is he here?" Tanya felt Ayo's hand tighten on hers.She turned her head to see Martinez down the hall surrounded by his new manager and his bodyguards.She noticed that the bodyguards were fewer than he normally had.She supposed he had to keep up pretenses because she of all people knew that he could no longer afford them.He could barely afford the clothes on his back as he was so neck-deep in debt that she was sure he wouldn't finish paying for them in a decade, even if he decided to straighten up and do better.Since that didn't seem to be in the cards anytime soon, she was sure even his pretences would crumble soon enough.She saw Derek, a heavyweight champion, pointedly snubbed Martinez and walked away.When he spotted them, he turned towards their direction, but Tanya looked at her security head before turning away.She knew he wasn't going to get to her family even if he became a fly."Ignore him," she told Ayo. "Some people still believed that his old music, Gangrene, des
“It will be fine,” she told herself firmly.She had to believe it.She told her men to stay out while she looked for him.She entered the hotel and was directed to the ballroom on the second floor, sectioned off separately from the main floor.Tanya took the stairs that led to the ballroom just as someone was coming down it.“Why must I always see you everywhere I go? Isn’t it enough that you ruined my life?!” Susan’s shrill voice dampened Tanya’s mood.She wondered what she was doing here, especially coming from that part where the receptionist said it was closed off to the public for the day.Despite her curiosity, Tanya decided to ignore the bitch so she could go away with her trouble. She had something better to deal with, and she was not going to allow her to ruin it for her. She continued up the stairs expecting Susan to shut her trap if she didn’t respond.She gasped when she suddenly felt a hand pull her from behind, and she slipped backwards.“Tanya!” she heard Ayo’s voice as
“I am pregnant?” Tanya started at the doctor in shock.“Yes, princess. That explains all those feelings you’ve been having. Congratulations.”Tanya couldn’t believe it.She stared blankly at Dr. Aguilar then looked down at her stomach.Cupping it, she stood up from the bed and walked slowly towards the door.She flung it open and Christianah almost tumbled in. She had her ears plastered to the door, while Meg leaned against the railing with a worried look on her face.Meg hurried forward while Christiana steadied herself, “Well?” she asked while peering into Tanya’s pale face. “What is it? You are fine? You are fine, right?”Her worried tone made Tanya nod automatically, and then she said quietly, “I am pregnant. He said I am pregnant.”“Pregnant?! That is good news!” Meg said excitedly, then “Come, you shouldn’t be standing. You are pregnant…”Tanya didn’t believe she could squeeze laughter past the ball lodged in her chest, yet it erupted as she looked at Meg’s face. “Pregnant, not s
In a theatrical whisper, he said, “It is that man I saw on the TV with you. I think he is your husband? Yes, that one. Such a wicked soul,” he said with disgust on his face right before he forked some lobsters into his mouth.“There are many men with me on the TV, many have acted as my husbands before too. Which one of them are you talking about?” Tanya asked with confusion on her face.“I mean the…” he cleared his throat and drank wine to wash down the hastily chewed food. “The real one. The one you married instead of Martinez. What is that name I hear people call him? Yes, Mr. Taiwo. That one.”With surprise evident on her face, Tanya leaned forward. “Are you sure about this? You must have been mistaken. After all, it was a dark street.”“I know it as sure as I know my name, princess. I won’t lie to you. If that killer wants to lie about it, I can say this right to his face!” he said firmly.“Oh? That means you wouldn’t mind repeating this anywhere?” Tanya asked.“Of course not! Mart
Tanya waved the man over as she saw him enter the restaurant.She had booked the whole restaurant for the evening and was seated alone, so it was easy for him to see her.He wore a blue windbreaker jacket that seemed to have seen better days, just like his jeans and shoes. He seemed to be in his thirties.Smiling broadly, he approached her table. "Hello, princess. I can't believe I am meeting you in the flesh. This is so surreal. May I have an autograph, please?" he said excitedly."Of course, why not?" Tanya answered with a smile. "Let's get down to business first. We can do that later.""Okay, okay," he said as he scraped the chair back loudly and sat eagerly while smiling at her.Tanya disliked his shifty eyes immediately, but she held her smile as she assessed him. Her eyes went towards the man behind the counter with his face turned away before focusing on the man giving her a once-over.She was sure she had never seen him before nor knew him with Martinez, but then it was easy to
She was ashamed.The better Ayo’s family treated her during their two-day visit, the more ashamed she felt about the way her mother had treated Ayo and was still treating him.The visit was meant to be a few hours' visit, but his sister had persuaded her to stay one more day.She could see that his mom loved the idea as well, so she immediately agreed.It had been the most relaxing and heart-filled visit she had ever had.Ayo’s mother did not treat her like a stranger at all. She treated her like she had known her for ages.Her care and compassion almost seemed alien to Tanya.It wasn’t that her mother wasn’t capable of love, she just couldn’t remember a time when things like her career and her standing in the family hadn’t overshadowed any bond they might have developed while spending time together.If she thought hard enough, maybe she could recall a time in her childhood when she had been allowed to just be a child or when her mother had just looked at her with love without thinking
She covered the distance between their hands and linked them together, saying, “I want to meet your family. It would be my honour to see your home.”Emotion clogged Ayo’s chest and thickened his voice as he said, “And after that?”“I want you back,” she said without hesitation.“Back? Like…?”“Forever,” she answered. “I don’t want to end this. I lied when I said this was just an arrangement. I want more.”Oh, baby. Ayo’s hands tightened on hers as his eyes swam with the blooming emotions in his heart. “I want more too, baby. I want it all. I don’t ever want to let you go. I will work hard to deserve you. I will…”She leaned forward to lay her finger on his lips, “Ssshh,” she said softly. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You are more than enough for me,” she said with glistening eyes.Ayo shot out of his chair and hauled her into his arms before he could stop himself.Enough. She believed he was enough.Apart from his family, no one had ever believed he was enough.E
Excitement and anxiety warred in Ayo as he entered Avery.Avery was one of the top restaurants in Lagos with full-course international cuisines. One could request any food from Asian delicacies to oriental cuisines.The restaurant was so famous that one had to book a reservation at the restaurant at least a week before the date.Ayo had decided to try his luck that afternoon when he called. He was disappointed when he was told they were booked for the next three months.He was thinking of another place he could invite Tanya to that would be just as phenomenal when he got a call back from the restaurant.“You are in luck, sir. Someone just cancelled their reservation now. Would you like to take it?”“Yes,” Ayo said immediately.Though the reservation had taken the bulk of the money he had left, he was happy to do it for her.The security guard greeted him cordially and opened the door for him, and he stepped into the cool interior.He was surprised when he saw three attendants waiting f
“You won’t believe this!” Tanya smiled as she readjusted on the bed and asked, “I can sense it is something exciting from your voice. What is it?”“Oh my God! Excitement is the least of what I am feeling right now. I am overwhelmed.” his exuberant voice made her smile widen.Oh, she missed him. She wished she could see him right now.Even better, she wished he could be beside her at that moment. She missed him badly, but she was determined to respect his decision.“Even if it kills me,” she thought as she rolled her eyes at herself, then focused firmly on his excitement.“Do you know James Beed? I mean, what am I even talking about? Of course, you know James Beed. Mr Beed called me!”“Oh?” she prompted while grinning from ear to ear.“He called me for my book! He wants to make it into a movie! Can you believe that?! He was even talking about series, collaborations, and some other things I couldn’t really focus on. Can you believe this, Tanya? My book will be turned into a movie. I wro