Flinging her insecurities through the window, Geneva got to action. He'd seen all of her before, like why was she scared? She hastily dragged the duvet off their body and straddled Nicholas. Jo's eyes snapped open in surprise but when his jaw hung open a bit at the sight of her apparel, Geneva had to bite her lip trying to stifle a giggle. For the first time in a while, Geneva got to see his hair free from any gel holding them stiffly into place. His sift dark unruly short curls that were neat at the same time were a little damp and begged for her caress. She reached forward and tugged at that single stubborn curl on his forehead, then started yanking at it for no reason, maybe just to spite Nicholas. She truly was the troublesome one here. Because Nicholas wasn't saying or doing anything, just watching her play with his hair, Geneva soon got bored. She turned on the light and laid back down on the bed muttering, "Can't sleep without the light." Lies, and they both knew it bu
She exhaled loudly as she plummeted onto the previously dusty sofa that she'd worn herself out dusting. There were cardboard boxes everywhere, both big and small. Packing into a new house with almost all of one's belongings was disastrous. Riiiiiiiing. The shrill cry of her phone pierced the silent air, save for her loud heaving. She pushed the boxes aside as she looked around for her phone. "Kalu Geneva, you imp. I said, call me once you get there. It's hours ago already. Have you immediately forgotten about this ya lonely bestie?" That's right. It was Geneva's friend, Sharon. They were both Africans that once lived in their various African countries before residing in Cuba at a young age. The only difference was that Geneva's family had relocated many a times before because of the nature of her dad's work before they finally decided to permanently stay in Cuba. Oh, and Geneva was the only child of her parents. Her mother was a full time housewife
Geneva woke up from sleep by nine o'clock in the morning and distraughtly went to the bathroom. She squeezed out some paste unto her toothbrush, brushed and spat into the toilet sink while closely watching herself in front of the mirror.Why am I particularly robust today? Have I started increasing overnight again? She gasped in horror as she looked at herself. She was the same her– of course. Just that her weight gain never ceased to put her in anguish. The top she was wearing was one she bought mere four years ago but now it looked like a crop top. Who would look at it now and not think that it was once her size seven years ago. She brushed her teeth in dismay. Little wonder Sharon sometimes teased her as a 'little chubby lady'. She hated that. Geneva was pulled out of her anguish by the cold air that seemed like it was breathed against her exposed nape. Instantly, she clasped her free palm on it. Presence. She abruptly felt a strong presence
"Who, who, who are you?" She became a heavy stutterer in an instant.The man who stood at the door to the kitchen door walked forward into the living room and the light which Geneva had switched on illuminated his features. He was lean and tall, very tall.Dressed in a white long sleeved shirt and dark suit pants, the only exposed parts of his body where ashen, liveless and cold like a bland winter day."Marry me." These were the two words that came from his deathly pale lips.Geneva was already beginning to breathe out a sigh of relief thinking: turned out it was only one man that came out of nowhere and not 'ghosts'. Maybe a neighbour who came to say 'hi' even though I don't understand how he got into my kitchen. But this train of thought was cut short by the man's words. She choked on her sigh.He watched her without any emotion whatsoever, no anger, no boredom, no mischief, no sinister expression, nothing. He just stood there waiting for her coughing fit
After a series of fervent pleadings, Geneva felt herself being pulled up as easily as plucking a flower. She couldn't help but scowl at that.What a demonic ghost with malicious intentions!She bent with her right hand placed on her knee and the other clutching her chest, heaving and trying to calm her dear heart as she tried to get over the shock of seeing her life flash before her eyes."Go back into the house." Geneva stood properly and looked around. The ghost was gone and in its place was a dense concentration of dark smoke that sent chilly waves down her spine, making her shiver. Upon receiving an order from mere air, she immediately started heading back. Her steps were steady but her heart was running a marathon. She panicked at the ambiguity of those words and tried to come up with a solution. Her brain failed her at a moment its function was dearly needed. She suddenly began to regret her life's choices. She wished that she had not
She was tired. She was in a car with Sharon to see an old friend of Sharon's that was good at fortune telling and exorcism.Even though Geneva wasn't really interested, Sharon had dragged her into the car after listening to her ordeal.She was currently suffering from jet lag. Having arrived at Sharon's apartment a few hours before dawn, although she finally got to have a proper bath, she felt anything but refreshed.She was still sleepy. Even when she managed to get a little sleep, the horrifying series of dreams she was suddenly having was taking a mighty toll on her.She had had quite a number of dreams that felt so real in the past seven hours or so. They had all appeared intermittently and frequently that she couldn't tell which dream belonged to which.At the same time, they had been vague but she could somehow remember just two scenes that had been as clear as day and had a strange effect on her. Exactly how she had felt while holding that peculi
Trembling, Geneva sat on the bare floor. She glanced at Sharon and her eyes popped. A rare sight it was, seeing a serious faced Sharon who sat with shoulders rigid in an upright posture. This is serious, Geneva thought. The room was small, narrow and dimly lit by the red candle on the table. It had only a small window whose curtains kept making different shapes as it danced along with the wind. On the walls and the table they surrounded were bones of various sizes. Geneva hoped those weren't from humans."We have seen it all." The old woman hummed.What was with this we, are they really three witches?"We?" She squeaked as meekly as a rat."The universe, land, ocean, trees, wind, sky and I," The woman said with an air of mystery."Oh.""Give me your hands." The woman demanded as she stretched her own thin hands over the strange items on the table.Geneva swallowed and sat still but not for long. Sharon grabbed her wrists with the power of an elephant and threw them to the waiting pa
"You're late," he said, "to our wedding."The way you say it as if I couldn't intend to escape angers me! A frown grew on her face with this thought. "Yes, yes, I'm late." Despite her pursed lips she still sweetly said, "but I made up for it by making arrangements for the wedding singlehandedly. Okay, Sharon did help a tiny little bit. Look, I even bought candles, wine, flowers — aren't I a good wife-to-be?"Don't you dare get angry and murder me, one could almost hear her silent plea. But he didn't reply. His eyes never left her as it watched her every movement intently.She suddenly became self-conscious but that did not deter her. To be honest, it was quite unsettling to be given such unwanted full attention. She set to work however, setting up and setting up and setting up... all the while still under his watchful gaze!Phew. Geneva wiped her sweat and checked the time. 7:02pm, it was time to prepare. She took a step back to stare at what she'd spent the rest of the day doing.
Flinging her insecurities through the window, Geneva got to action. He'd seen all of her before, like why was she scared? She hastily dragged the duvet off their body and straddled Nicholas. Jo's eyes snapped open in surprise but when his jaw hung open a bit at the sight of her apparel, Geneva had to bite her lip trying to stifle a giggle. For the first time in a while, Geneva got to see his hair free from any gel holding them stiffly into place. His sift dark unruly short curls that were neat at the same time were a little damp and begged for her caress. She reached forward and tugged at that single stubborn curl on his forehead, then started yanking at it for no reason, maybe just to spite Nicholas. She truly was the troublesome one here. Because Nicholas wasn't saying or doing anything, just watching her play with his hair, Geneva soon got bored. She turned on the light and laid back down on the bed muttering, "Can't sleep without the light." Lies, and they both knew it bu
Nicholas' lips thinned in suspicion. "You mean the wine?" "What do you think?" Travis asked smugly. Nicholas had known the minute the man came in an all dark coloured cloth, kept his head down and stayed in the dark corners of every room, staring at Geneva in a way Nicholas didn't appreciate. He had known that the man had something up his sleeve. And now, the man smirked into the rim of the glass of wine, not bothering to hide the shimmer of an awful dark lust for his wife. Nicholas felt like punching him in the gut and making Travis or whatever his name was puke his soul out. The fingers Nicholas wrapped around his glass tightened and loosened intermittently, an outward picture of his rational and irrational self, struggling. He did not always feel like this for any other person. Infact, the only person who could be the reason behind him questioning his desires and on coming action was Geneva. And now, this person from nowhere was making a snarky remark about taking his wife and
"Make sure you don't make a move on Nicholas on your wedding night." "What?" Geneva shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had spent so long waiting for the wedding night and Sharon was telling her this? Unbelievable. "Listen girl." Sharon's tight Jean clad fitted to her curvy form and she took a few steps to Geneva and sat beside her. "Don't you want to hear him say lovely cheesy things to you, even once?" "I do, I mean he does… sometimes, not nearly enough times as I'd wish for but you know," Geneva shrugged, "Nicholas is not the type of person –––" "Don't you want him to show you just how much he wants you? Make him make the move for once?" "But," Geneva's hair began to itch with nerves. She couldn't believe she was listening to marriage advice from her green haired friend –Yep, Sharon had dyed it green this time –that was in the middle of a lover's quarrel with her boyfriend. "But Nicholas is… Nicholas won't do a thing unless I do." "Shhh, young lady," Sharon brought out a
"Get into the car, quick!" Rita hurried her daughter and with a scowl on her face, shunned James who wanted to join them at the tiny backseat of the uber. James did something that resembled a ridiculous pout and trudged to the passenger's seat. Geneva's parents had woken earlier than she had expected, breezed through the bathroom in preparation and dragged her out, ignoring any of her opinion on having Nicholas over for dinner. This was mainly Geneva's strategy to have her parents calm down before then but once they had their minds made up on something, it was kind of hard to change that. Rita kept on persuading the young uber driver to speed up despite his obvious efforts to and James replied with a grunt, "Yeah, our daughter's future is kinda in your smallish hands." Typically said like her father, a man who felt the need to intimidate every living man in his sight, that allowed him. To prevent her parents from pressuring the fidgeting young man into colliding with something,
"Geneva sweetie!" Rita greeted heartily, "Been so worried, you've been so distant. I almost thought you'd make me go this week without hearing from you." "Yeah, about that mum." Geneva's inside churned with the thought of what she was about to say. "I don't know why I let your father talk me into refraining from calling you too often." Rita continued in a loud voice as the background on her side was noisy. "I'm in a saloon having my hair done, sweetie, that explains the noise! Just pointing that out before you ask." "Wait, mum, I––" "Hang on." Geneva could hear her mother's muffled voice whisper yelling at someone, "Not the red wig Rochelle, red always makes you look like a rag doll. No offense." "None taken. Not when we both know you look like an ill sewer rat in it." A voice, probably Rochelle's, hit back earning barks of laughter and snickers from a few women in the saloon and the two in question. Geneva was beside herself with worry and didn't have time for her mother and he
"Come on in," said Mr. Lu with a wide smile as he welcomed them both. "You're right on time, Lia is just getting done setting the table." Geneva took off her coat and hung it right beside Nicholas'. The room was very small and warm unlike the weather outside. It was a mass of creamy white and golden. The cushions appeared antique and matched neatly with the marbled wall. Mrs. Lu walked out from the kitchen with bottles of drinks which she carefully set on the dining table and turned to their guests with a smile. With her greying hair tied low and away from her face except the few strands that refused to give up on the woman's face, her smile brightened her features, helping her petite figure make her look younger. The Lu's were looking happy and content. It showed every time Geneva visited. "Geneva, good to see you." Mrs. Lu gently grabbed Geneva's arm and eagerly dragged her to the dining table offering her a seat. The woman was so dainty and small down to the soft voice which sh
Geneva was a bundle of nerves. She was feeling too awkward to notice Nicholas who was squinting his eyes and rubbing at his nape in slight embarrassment. Geneva was busy dealing with her nervous self by stuffing herself with cake. That was until she choked on it. She quickly downed a glass of beer to stop her coughing fit, biting her lips more embarrassed now than before. "That's enough Geneva." Nicholas was already by her side as he grabbed her hand to stop her from gulping more glasses of the alcohol. Geneva made a disgusted face at the bitter taste in her mouth. They both stayed silent, making the atmosphere even more uncomfortable for Geneva. She stood up saying, "I'm not hungry anymore. I'd rather go sleep whoa—" Nicholas' strong arms reached out and wrapped her in a warm embrace to break her fall. He blinked and asked her in an unbelieving voice, "Are you drunk already?" "Hah?" With her fingers covering her mouth, Geneva succeeded at stopping a very unladylike belch that c
Geneva felt someone blowing air onto her lashes and cheeks. She sleepily wiped that area only to have her fingers wrapped in slender and much longer ones. Then the person continued blowing unto her face making her finally open up her tired eyes. The bright light had her making weird faces before she heard Nicholas telling her that the movie was over. They stood to join the people that were already filtering out. "Do you want to go on a short stroll!?" He asked when they made it outside. Geneva nodded happily. The night was still young for them to start going back home. And this gave her ample opportunity to think about how to propose to him. Uh oh! I don't have a ring with me, she suddenly realized. Dang it! She kicked the snow in childish annoyance. Nicholas stopped and tilted his head to look at her. "Will you be free this Thursday?" he asked. "Uhh," She thought for a while. "Not really sure. Yeah, why?" Curiosity showed on her face making it appear extremely cute to Nichola
"We would sure love to, Mr.Lu." Nicholas ended the call with his former driver and put his phone back into his suit pocket.Mr.Lu had relayed to Nicholas how pleased both he and his wife would be to have them over someday for dinner.Nicholas shut the car door and headed upstairs to shower and have a change of clothes. He had long since taken over his father's company and other properties too. He had insisted on moving from the small house both he and Geneva shared, to his family's home, endangering his life to her naked wrath.Geneva just could not understand why he refused to back down but she seriously suspected that sharing a bed with her at night might be a part of the reason.She had been too baffled that time and had almost taken Nicholas to the hospital to have a rundown of his vitality and sexual vigour.Being a gentleman was one of the things Geneva loved about Nicholas but this was simply too much!When he was still in his ghost form, he acted like he couldn't rest asleep w