Darlington Palace was the most majestic palace Ayo had ever seen.The fact that it had no main gate, which made it open to the people, did not reduce the beauty of the impressive walls decorated with intricate designs and tall towers.Beautiful gardens filled with colourful flowers and lush plants surround them. Wide steps lead up to the red-brick main building. With its open doorways welcoming visitors into its grandeur.A uniformed valet came to meet Ayo as he stepped out of his car, “You are welcome, Prince Consort,” the man said before he raised his hand for the key.Ayo almost looked back to be sure the man was talking to him.“Prince consort? Me?” He wondered for a second before he realised what it meant.“Oh, because I…oh, okay,” he said with an awkward smile as he gave the man his key.“Your car will be well taken care of, consort,” the valet said with a bow before he entered the car.“Consort? Can you believe that?” Ayo wondered with a smile as he thought of what his sisters
Everyone was dressed so tastefully that he was a bit embarrassed by his casual wear.“Who does he think he is, coming here dressed like that?” a prominent sneer showed on Dowager Charlotte’s face as he entered.She was seated close to the head of the table with a boy on her lap. The boy, who was showing her his car before Ayo entered, turned his curious eyes to him, just as the other guests turned to look at him too.Ayo could count at least two kings whose faces were familiar and other prominent people that he had no idea who they were.The Darlington’s idea of a private dinner was definitely far from what he had imagined.“Mother,” King George called his mother quietly, then he gestured to Ayo in welcome. “Welcome to my home, Mr. Taiwo. Come join us.”Charlotte scoffed as she sipped her spitzer.“Thank you for having me, Your Highness,” Ayo said in greeting.“Your Majesty,” Charlotte said immediately, “You address the king as Your Majesty. If he doesn’t even know something as simple
“Then you have to give a toast too. It is a family thing,” Brianna said with a wink.Ayo’s smile bloomed as he looked at her," You are right, Bri.”He wasn’t going down without a fight. All he did wrong was that he didn’t keep his heart in check. If he was rejected, at least he needed to try.Brianna smiled and said, “You are up next,” Then she laughed as George’s best friend tossed in some embarrassing details in his toast that had the king groaning out loud.Ayo laughed as well and turned around to see Tanya looking at him. She turned away when he looked back.He took a step towards her just as the friend wrapped up his toast with a boast to beat the king the next time they got into the ring together.“In your dreams,” King George said as Brianna whispered, “Your turn,”********“That was such a great toast you gave,” King George said as he followed them outside.“It definitely can’t beat that of your friend, your Majesty,” Ayo said.King George laughed, “That scoundrel. You should
Even the sky wept on the day King George was buried.The heavy clouds opened with a continuous drizzle that started while they were in service by the graveyard.Dressed in black, the people who came to pay their last respects to the well-loved king filled the royal cemetery to the brim and beyond the gate.People tried to hold back their sniffles and cries as the pastor spoke about the eternal home which awaited the righteous.Ayo kept looking at Tanya, who stood rigidly beside her sister-in-law while her bodyguards held umbrellas over them.“I wish she would hold on to me like that,” he thought when he saw the way she held Brianna’s hand tightly.He could see how their shoulders shook occasionally even as they stood strong without making a sound.He wanted to comfort her. He wanted her to turn to him at that time of her life.He wanted to share his grief with her.He had only known George for a little while after all, but still, he couldn’t help but feel the magnitude of the loss.He
Just like that, they stayed talking until morning.“I have to go,” she said as the shaft of light brushed the sky.“Okay,” Ayo said even though he had a lot more to say.“Yeah,” she said without disconnecting the call and they both grew quiet again, each listening to the breathing of the other.“I miss you,” Ayo said suddenly. “I wish I could have been there with you. I hope I can help you through this. I want to be there for you.”He heard the catch of her breath before she said in a low tone; “We need to talk. After.”“Okay, but…”“I need to go. The queen… we are having a meeting with the councils of kingsmaker today. They say it's a condolence visit, but I don’t think it is that simple. So, yeah. I need to go. To prepare and stuff.”“Can I come and see you?” Ayo asked hurriedly before she could disconnect the call.“I will be busy,” she said before the call was disconnected.Ayo’s heart grew heavy again as he stared at his phone. At first, it seemed like things were better between t
“No, I would not.” Five faces turned to look at Tanya in surprise.“Princess, you mean you don’t mind if the title leaves your lineage?” One of the kingsmen asked.“No, she can never say that. My daughter, do you have a fever? I am sure it must be the stress of everything, right?” Dowager Charlotte asked as she gave Tanya a meaningful look.Tanya shook her head and said; “I am fine. My mother is right though. I don’t mean that the title should leave our lineage. What I am saying is that there is another alternative that we are not thinking of.”“What alternative? What other alternative is there, princess?” Another kingmaker asked while Brianna looked at her with interest.“I can’t be queen. I was never meant to rule. George is…was the perfect person for that. Not me.”“But the king is no longer with us, my princess. In the history of our land, we have never had a queen rule before, but time is advancing, and we are willing to allow change too. That is why we wouldn’t mind crowning yo
“My queen, I must implore you to think well about this role. Just as the princess had said; you have indeed ruled alongside the king for some years, but you need to know that things will be different now. Once you accept this role, you will be solely responsible for many things. Until the prince is old enough to handle matters for himself, you are the one the people will talk about if anything goes wrong.”Tanya sucked in her breath at the man’s indirect jab. He believed Brianna wouldn’t be able to handle the role, and he was already expecting that there would be issues. Tanya thought for a long time that maybe she should have informed Brianna about this before as well. Putting her on the spot like this might be a bit too much for her. Maybe…“I will do it.” Brianna’s strong voice interrupted her thought.She had mostly been quiet during such meetings in the past month, and she had been the same that evening too.Tanya knew she must have been surprised by her suggestion, but as she tur
“You are Unleashed?” Ayo’s heart leapt as he heard her voice.He turned back with an automatic smile which died immediately as he saw the look on her face while she held his laptop in her hands.He had been buried in his new book throughout the night. He stayed up all night in the study which he had turned into his temporary office, and he just stepped out to clear his head with some fresh air.“You are back,” he said with the excitement he felt about her return still showing in his voice.“Answer my question,” she said in a deadpan tone while looking at him. When he hesitated, she looked at the laptop in her hand and back at him, “When did you even get a laptop? What else are you hiding from me?” she said in a raised voice.Ayo looked away from her.He blamed himself for not closing his laptop before coming out. He didn’t want her to find out like that. He was going to tell her after all.“Answer me!” she shouted at him and that surprised him.Even though her staff were always so qu
"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