Chapter 01

Sarah’s POV

“Hello Mum, how are you doing?” I asked, genuinely wanting to think about anyone else but myself. My current situation in my marriage was weighing me down. Being in a loveless marriage or at least where the love was one-sided was a pain in the ass. I had to struggle every day to be noticed by my husband. 

Granted our marriage had been a contract marriage – an agreement between his father and my grandfather -, with no promise of love but yet I found myself yearning for my husband to notice me. Richard had always been my crush right from high school but he had just never noticed me, always been too cool from day 1 to notice the nerdy girl in the corner. Even though I was more girlish now with curves and a D-sized cup, he still didn’t see me. I guess it was once a nerd, always a nerd. 

“Sarah?” 

Mum’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I sighed. “I’m sorry Mum, what were you saying?” 

“Are you okay? You sound worried.” Sometimes her ability to read me even from far away was scary but that was one of the many things I loved about her. Lucia Williams was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy, a disciplinarian with an air of sweetness and a tender heart. 

“Honestly, no.” Then I proceeded to tell her about how things were. Starting from our wedding night when I thought he would at least touch me and I had been bursting at the seams with nerves. I didn’t have to be so worried, he didn’t even spend the night at home. 

I heard a long sigh on the other end and then another before letting out a sigh of my own. I was honestly getting tired of being stuck in this unfavorable arrangement. Going into it in the place had seemed pleasant because I had feelings for Richard and thought with time, he would feel something for me as well. Perhaps I had been binging too much on those romcoms on N*****x. But was it such a big ask for my husband to love me?

“Have you tried seducing him?” she asked and I frowned. Seducing him? Even though I was no longer the shy little nerd I was in high school, I still wasn’t the girly woman either. The only thing that had changed had been my big circle glasses that always slept on my nose and now I tried to apply makeup once in a while. 

“Don’t answer that, you wouldn’t know what to do.” She sighed again and I could picture her frown. “All right, here’s what you’ll do.” I listened closely as she instructed me on what to do to save my marriage while I gobbled it up. I know this much desperation was bad but I couldn’t help it. Perhaps if I could choose who to love then I wouldn’t care what he did.

“I’ll leave the house now. Will call you when I get to the store.” 

Some fifteen minutes later, I got out of the car and told Desmond, the driver where to pack the car. Walking into the store, I speed-dialed Mum and waited for her to answer the call while I eyed the different aisles of lingerie and underwear. One of the shop attendants walked up to me with her boobs on display and a bright smile on her face. “Welcome to Sexy Secrets. What can I help you with today?” she asked and I gave a nervous smile. 

“I would like to get something sexy,” I told her and she nodded, an air of confidence about her. “Could you help me?” 

“You can call me Laura, follow me.” 

I followed Laura through the different aisles and by the time I was headed for the dressing room, I had a handful of see-through things that seemed like they wouldn’t cover anything but I guess that was the whole point. 

“I will be out here if you need anything.” She announced just as Mum was calling me back. 

Thank God. 

“Hey Mum, I was just headed for the dressing room.” 

**** 

I cleaned the edge of the plate and sat down in one of the chairs exhausted from being on my feet all day. After successfully emptying most of the aisles in Sexy Secrets, Mum brought up the idea that I should cook Richard a nice meal. I had done it once before but after he didn’t even so much as look at it, I stopped and left the cooking to Rafael, the Italian chef he hired way before I showed up in his life. 

I rubbed my sweaty palms as the clock made a sound, my nerves suddenly getting the best of me. The worst thing that could happen now was that he wouldn’t show up or he would show up and he wouldn’t eat. Frankly, I wasn’t too hopeful and that was because if it hadn’t worked the first time I tried it, why would it work now? 

Because now, you brought in the big guns, you are wearing sexy lingerie. What man can resist that? 

Mum’s voice rang in my mind and I hoped she was right about this like every other thing in my life she had given me advice on. I got up and walked to the stairs deciding to go and get changed into the lingerie. 

Our room or at least my room since he never bothered to sleep in it was a master bedroom with a queen-sized bed and two standard pillows with throw pillows scattered everywhere. My wardrobe was a walk-in closet filled with every designer brand of shoes, clothes, bags, wristwatches and so on that money could buy. Sadly, all that money couldn’t get me my husband’s love. If only I could trade my Louboutins for a fraction of his love, I would in a heartbeat. I never asked for any of them anyway. 

The sound of a car coming up the driveway reached my ears and I raced to the door of my room excitedly, fumbling with the lingerie. It was showtime.