Song: Nobody — DJ Neptune, Joeboy & Mr. Eazi

*Unedited*

As soon as I was in, the beast roared to life and sped off before I could even close the door. I strapped my seatbelt across my torso, feeling that my life was in danger. He was going so fast, contorting his beautiful features into an even more beautiful frown while tears fell down his face.

"How did it feel like? Kissing him?" He asked, smiling.
It was such a bitter smile.

"It was nothing compared to kissing you."

He laughed. "Of course, you'll say that when he's not here."

"I'm serious Michael. He... he rejected me. It wasn't even a real kiss."

"Did your lips touch?"

"Michael, you need to slow down."

"Answer me!" He yelled, swerving the car dangerously. We could've run into a tree.

"This was a mistake. Let me out," I said.

His eyes were red. His tears were making his vision blurry. His emotions were taking over the sensible part of his brain just like I let them do mine. If I hadn't, we wouldn't even have been in that situation.

"You're not leaving until you answer me!"

"Michael! Be reasonable! You're going to kill us!"

He laughed. It was just as bitter as his smile. "Well, you killed me first."

"You're exaggerating Michael," I said, trying to keep my voice low. I was shaking with fear. "He didn't even kiss me back."

"Did your lips touch?" He asked again. His voice sounded so dangerous that I was afraid to answer. What if he killed me? What if he was one of those psychotic people who kill their partners and themselves believing that they would be together in heaven? "Elorm, I asked you a question. Did your lips touch?"

"Yes! Yes, they touched! I pressed my lips to his, but he didn't even close his eyes!"

He gritted his teeth angrily and suddenly veered to the right sharply. I screamed, bracing my face for impact. It was all over in a matter of seconds. The car stopped. I didn't see it, but I felt my legs where my head should be and my head where my legs should be.

I felt like we'd somersaultsed, and my heart was in my stomach, but I didn't dare open my eyes. I sat there, sobbing like the weak coward I was, until his fingers came up and touched my chin.

I shivered, and he withdrew his fingers sharply.

I wiped my wet cheeks and opened my eyes. My house stared back at me. To my left, in the driver's seat, was a teary Michael. His image was disoriented, leading me to believe that there was three of him, three of my house, three of the sun. I was simply dizzy from the speed of the car. We hadn't somersaulted. Michael had gotten me home safely.

His eyes were focused on the roof, the tears falling down his face but there were no sounds of sobbing. His face was more sad than angry now, his lips slightly quivering, begging him to let the sobs out.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping his eyes with his shirt. He sat up with a clean, poker face.

"Why are you apologising?" I asked. The sound of my heart in my ears was so loud that it drowned out my voice.

"For nearly killing us," he laughed sadly. "I... I find it hard to control my anger sometimes. I'm sorry for putting you in danger."

I removed the seatbelt. There was nothing more I wanted than to reach over and touch him, but I was too scared. He may snap and push me away; that would break me even further. To my surprise, he touched his fingers lightly to my cheek. His touch was as soft and as fluffy as how I'd imagine a cloud to be.

"I... will try to put this behind me. Just give me time."

"Of course," I said. "You'll have all the time in the world. I'll go and call it off."

If anything, I was glad he wasn't going to publicly disgrace me by telling them what I did. It didn't take the guilt away from me though.

Before I could get out of the car, he grabbed my arm. "Don't. I know what'll happen if we call this off."

I took his hand between mine. "I won't marry you just because I want to clear my name. I want to marry you because... I love you."

He snatched his hand away, returning his gaze straight ahead. "Don't say that just because you want me to forgive you," he snapped.

My argument was fighting its way up my oesophagus, but I swallowed it down. He was right. I still wasn't sure if what I felt for him was love or just a crush. It was cruel of me to keep hurting him like that.

"Forgive me."

He grunted in reply and we sat there in a tense silence. The atmosphere was too stressed for me to cry. My throat burned as if I'd ingested acid. The tears clawed their way out, forcing to be released, but it would've been too cruel of me to cry in front of him.

I suffered in silence while he played with a bob head doll of Van Vicker, his face a mask of confusion. Was he contemplating breaking up with me?

"I still want to marry you," he said. He kept finger-slapping the bob head like he didn't just take all the air out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut by Isaac Dogbe.

"What? Why?"

"You don't want to get married?" He queried, looking at me suspiciously. "Do you have feelings for that Carowhite?"

"It was funny when we were doing it to Justus but stop it. You're just coming across as racist now," I said, referring to the nickname 'Carowhite'. Carowhite was a skin-bleaching cream that had been banned in the country.

"You do have feelings for him," he scoffed, still playing with the bob head. "Why don't you marry him then? You'll do both of us a favour."

I involuntarily shrieked, feeling ashamed when he observed me, surprise written all over his face. "Y— you just said that... you still want to marry me."

"I know," he said, returning his gaze to his beloved Van Vicker bob head. "But if you love him, who am I to get in the way?"

"Don't be silly Michael. I've known him for only a few days, how could I love him?"

"Don't you believe in destiny? Love at first sight? Maybe, the reason why you can't find it in you to love me is because your heart belongs to another."

"Don't do this Michael, don't pressure me into saying something I'll regret."

"So, you'll regret saying you love me, if you do?"

"You know that's not what I mean," I sighed. "I did tell you I love you minutes ago. You got angry with me."

He didn't say anything.

"I don't love Chris."

"At least, you like him. Don't you?"

"I... why're you torturing yourself with this? You're the only one for me!"

"You wouldn't have kissed him if you don't like him."

"If you keep asking questions like this, one of us is going to get hurt."

"Only me, darling," he smiled sadly. "I have no one to comfort me if you break my heart. You have him."

"Michael..."

"Your reluctance tells me everything. You like me, you like him, what's the difference between us? What makes me certain that you won't choose him?"

"What I feel for you is stronger than what I feel for him."

"Then you wouldn't have kissed him. Don't lie to me Elorm. I want to know what I'm getting myself into."

"I do like him," I said. He turned his back to me. "But I wouldn't choose him over you. I want you, only you."

He ignored me.

"Stop being so childish! It is normal for someone to have feelings for two different people!" I yelled at his back. As soon as I was done talking, I bit down on my tongue. It amazed me how horrible I could be sometimes.

He turned to me, while still slapping the bob head Van Vicker. "Not for people who're getting married. Tell me something, how would you feel if I told you that I have feelings for someone else? Because I'm the guy, you would've probably slapped me, called me a jerk, broken up with me and stormed away," he shook his head. "If I were the one who had been unfaithful to you, you would've been bawling your eyes out, telling your friends about how much of a monster I am. You would've kicked me out of your life, telling me that you never wanted to see me again. You would've probably gone on Twitter and tweeted, 'All men are trash', 'kill all men', 'put men in cages'."

Well, what could I say to that? He was right. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn't even have stayed for an explanation. But here I was, begging him to forgive me for cheating on him. Something I never, ever thought I'd do.

"You're right," I told him. "But there really is nothing I can do but apologise."

The silence that ensued was suffocating. I felt my breath escaping me. The urge to cry was too strong and it was causing too much pain.

I didn't deserve to cry. I'd betrayed him over a stupid misunderstanding. How could I even imagine that he would elope with Edinam?

"We should go inside," he said, breaking the tense silence. "My father is waiting."

I frowned. "How did you manage to get him here so quickly?"

He smiled, but he didn't look at me. "I would move mountains for you."

Hours ago, those words would've caused a warm, fuzzy feeling to spread throughout my body, but all I felt was a oily sea of guilt sloshing around my stomach. It took all my strength to stop myself from hurling the previous night's dinner all over his car.

He left. When the crowd that was gathered around my house saw him, they parted as if it was something staged, allowing him to go inside my house.

I dreaded going in there even though I would be hailed. I still having doubts, even after what I'd done. I should've been on my knees, thanking him for even being able to talk to me. If I were the one who was cheated on, I wouldn't have listened to any explanation if he tried to give one. I was such a horrible person.

I shook my head to get rid of my thoughts. Taking a deep, encouraging breath, I faced the crowd, expecting to have to elbow my way through but surprisingly, they parted for me too. The girls who once openly talked about me didn't even dare to look me in the eyes, except Etornam.

The look on her face was that of pure hatred. It was so cruel that it made her delicate features look something akin to evil. I paused and watched her, puzzlement etched onto my face.

We'd never met. She didn't even know me. Why then was she watching me like I'd ruined her life?

I shivered, and turned away, still confused. I went into the house after I'd shaken away the last of my frenzied nerves.

The house was as congested as a bedbug colony. Faces I'd never seen were smiling at me, voices I'd never heard were congratulating me, arms I'd never felt were holding me. Maybe the only reason I wasn't vomiting all over the place was because last night's dinner had already digested. I had nothing to vomit.

Michael clearly got his beauty from his father. His father looked like a mid-forties version of him.

The bureaucracies were taken care of and my future in-laws ate the food prepared for them. Drinks were exchanged, presents received, plans arranged, dates fixed, it was all like going through the motions. My stomach, it felt like I had drunk gallons and gallons of oil.

The royals left my house soon after, but throughout the ceremony, not once did Michael spare me a glance.

* * *

The next morning went by in a blur. People flocked into my house to see their future princess and give me their congratulations.

I felt and looked sick. My parents were so worried that they even contemplated taking me to the hospital. I didn't think hospitals treat patients who felt like they had consumed gallons of oil. Something was seriously wrong with me and I had a feeling that it was more emotional than physical.

"I'm fine, I really am," I said, trying to convince my parents for the umpteenth time.

"You look like you hardly slept. Wasn't the mattress comfortable enough for you?" Fofo asked.

My parents had only ever cared about my physical health, like when I had malaria, but not even once had they cared when I cried or if I was going through some kind of emotional pain. Just the previous night, they bought me a bed frame, a comfortable mattress, bedsheets and bedcovers. Sleeping on a mattress for the first time in a long time felt like heaven to me, but the queasiness in my stomach didn't allow me to get even a minute of rest.

"It was, thank you," I tried to sound grateful. "I'm just nervous about the whole thing."

"Don't worry, you'll soon be living like a queen," dada beamed.

I forced a smile that most probably didn't fool anyone and went inside my room. Before the wedding, I was supposed to be 'groomed' to be able to 'please' my husband. It wasn't a ritual but I had to do it because my parents wanted me to. They believed they could waste all the money they wanted because they were going to be rich.

I plopped onto my mattress and closed my eyes. I hadn't registered for the CWO's program the previous night, and because it was my birthday, I couldn't anymore.

As I reminisced the previous day's events, I remembered how unfair I was to Edinam. Maybe there was nothing I could do to fix my relationship with Michael at the moment, but I had to apologise to Edinam before I left. Chris too, though I didn't know if I could ever face him again.

I ran out of my room and the house before my parents could stop me. Running only made the sloshing worse, but I knew that my antagonising Edinam was part of the reason why I felt the sea of guilt sloshing around in my stomach. As Edinam's house loomed into view, I couldn't help the fear that settled in. There was a chance that she wouldn't forgive me for saying those things to her. There was no way I could live with myself if that happened.

I knocked on her door. The door opened, and I held my breath.

It was Edinam's mother. "Elorm? What a surprise to see you here!" Of course, now that I was the potential princess, she didn't want me to jump off a cliff. "Are you here to see Edinam?"

"I am. Is she home?" I asked.

"Yes, she's in her room. Go on ahead."

I nodded in appreciation, going into the house. Edinam's house was beautiful and quite modern. They had a flat screen television, black leather sofas, a plush black carpet and a dining table. Not to mention that the floors were made from marble! The house was nothing like it seemed from the outside. My mouth fell open in horror. If she had a television all this while, why hadn't she ever invited me to her house? We always had to wrestle to watch what we wanted at Olivia's shop!

"Have a seat, I'll be right back. I'm going to get her for you," Edinam's mother said.

I nodded absentmindedly. The black leather sofas were as comfortable as they looked. When I plopped onto them, I sort of bounced and felt the cushion give in. It was even softer than my new mattress and I didn't even know that there was anything that could be softer than that expensive mattress.

What I didn't understand was why Edinam never invited me to her house. I'd invited her to my house numerous times even though mine wasn't as beautiful as hers. Mine on the other hand was bare.

Edinam appeared from her room in her pyjamas, yawning with her mouth so wide that you would have thought that she was trying to swallow a horse. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, opening them only to widen them in shock when she saw me, sitting comfortably on her leather sofas.

"E-Elorm? What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be preparing for your wedding?" She asked, avoiding my eyes and trying to look busy with other things that were of no importance; like her hair.

"The wedding is not until next year. We're getting married in January. January thirty," I told her.

I was grateful for the time that I'd been given before I had to get married. I had approximately a month to convince Michael to forgive me before we get married.

"Oh... okay. D-do you want something?" She asked. She was so nervous that she was unable to talk properly.

"In a hurry to get rid of me, aren't we?" I joked, forcing a small smile. "I came to apologise. For yesterday."

"Oh that!" Her face brightened almost immediately. "Don't worry about it. You were angry and confused and you said things that you didn't mean. It happens to the best of us. I understand completely."

"Yes, you took the words right out of my mouth," I said, making her laugh. "But I know that there's no excuse for how I behaved yesterday. Again, I offer my sincerest apologies."

"Now you're just annoying me. If you're going to apologise all day, get out of my house," she laughed, plopping down on the sofa opposite mine while biting her nails.

"Speaking of your house," I began. She frowned. "Why didn't you ever invite me over, especially when you have a television?"

She smiled uneasily. "My parents," her eyes scanned the living area, probably scrutinising to see if someone was close enough to hear our conversation. "They don't allow anyone over. Not even their friends."

I abandoned my seat to take one next to hers, seeing that this was a conversation that required a lot of whispering. "Why not?"

She grinned like she was embarrassed, ducking her head. "They're afraid of the people. You know how they get jealous whenever someone makes it. Like the way they're jealous of Dzifa because of her brains and the way they're jealous of you for your beauty. They'll say my parents sought the devil for riches and as a result, I was cursed to be skinny. You know the foolish things they say."

I understood. If my parents were rich enough to have a house like that, they'd also be unwilling to flaunt their wealth because of the envious people in the village. But I couldn't understand why she didn't trust me. Being a victim of malicious rumours, I'd learnt to respect others' achievements. "But you couldn't trust me?"

"You know I wish I could," she frowned. "But family comes first you know? I couldn't betray my parents and I couldn't invite you over. You know they'd never let you in."

I nodded. If I wasn't potential princess, I would've been turned away at the door. "So... all this was shipped from the city, right? I can't imagine this luxury being manufactured in the village."

"Yes," she beamed. "Now that you know my secret, I can't wait to tell you everything about the cities and other countries!"

"You've travelled before?" I asked, feeling envy ascending my spine.

"I have. Oh Ellie, you should see Shanghai!" She was so excited that she bounced on her seat, clapping her hands like an excited toddler. "The electric lights, the streets, the food, the guys! No one cares about me being skinny over there. In fact, I think it's a good thing. The Eiffel tower in Paris is so beautiful, the Big Ben in London, the Trafalgar square. Dubai's malls, sports cars and pet cats; some people keep leopards as pets. It's so dope!"

"I'm guessing that you speak English?" I asked.

Not only did I feel jealous about all the places she had been to and all the things she had seen, but also, I was angry that she hid everything from me. Perhaps she even spoke many international languages.

She avoided my eyes like she always does when she's ashamed, embarrassed or lying. "I do."

I sighed. "You didn't have to hide everything from me. It hurts, you know? I tell you everything, even the embarrassing bits."

"I know, I know, and I hope you can forgive me," she said. She laughed as if suddenly realising something. "You came here to apologise and I'm the one begging for pardon."

I didn't laugh. It must have made her feel awful. "I don't know what to say."

"Then let me speak."

The next few hours were spent telling me how her parents made her swear secrecy and how family comes first. After she believed I was satisfied, she spent the rest of the time recalling her experiences in the beautiful cities of Ghana and in the other countries she had visited. I tried to be happy for her, but I couldn't help the anger and jealousy that ate me up from the inside. When I left her house, I wished I never went to see her.

Nearing home, I spotted Michael's chauffeur driven limousine parked in front of my house. Wondering what it was doing there, I approached the car just to see Michael locking lips with a stunning girl.

* * *

Fun Fact: Elorm means 'He loves me' and is short for Mawulorm, meaning 'God loves me' ('E' is a pronoun) Elorm's full name is Mawulorm Mawunam Nutsugah, meaning, 'God loves me, God gave me, great man.'

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