HER WEDDING NIGHT

CHAPTER 5

Fiona, Bella, Fred, and the ladies from the Ladies' Night circle were like her family since she got to England, Akeela realized.

They made England home away from home. She had assimilated and adopted their culture and lifestyle into hers, that she could barely remember how things were back in Nigeria.

As much as she didn't want to leave their side and go home to start all over again, she had no choice. She knew she was going to miss every one of them greatly.

The night before the day of her departure, she cried herself to sleep. It was just like the day she left Nigeria for England. She had cried so hard, telling her mom she wanted to stay in Nigeria instead.

But after a moment of crying to herself, with no one to console her, she tried to look for something to assure her that going back home was for good.

Then she concluded that she might be back in England, sooner than she expected if Fred gets to propose marriage to her soon.

If only he could accompany her to Nigeria so he could ask her parents for her hand in marriage, she thought.

But she knew better than to put the idea in his head. She didn't want to do that. She wanted it to come from the depth of his heart.

She had wanted him to spend the night with her since she was going home the next day but he said he needed to leave, so he could get used to not having her around all the time.

She missed him already.

She clung to her pillow, wishing he was there, cuddling her to sleep and kissing away her worries. But he wasn't.

She felt cold all of a sudden and dragged the duvet up to her chin, tossing and turning in bed for sleep to elude her.

She was tempted to call him to come over. She felt like crying again. She wanted to be in his arms. She wanted to sleep and wake up the next morning in his arms.

But she knew she had to control her emotions before it got out of hand. She didn't call him because she knew if he came, she might end up doing what she would regret in the long run

She was sure Fred purposely left her all alone, so he could cry out his heart alone in his apartment too.

He was too sensitive.

Too emotional. And it breaks her to see him hurt.

Or sad.

He always try to hide that part of him from Akeela, but Akeela knew him, in and out. That was one of the reasons she fell in love with him in the first place.

He was humble and down to earth, unlike his other two arrogant friends, Taylor and Christopher.

Fred was cheerful and fun to be with.  He was friendly and social, the total opposite of Akeela. And he was lovely and romantic.

Akeela fell for him real hard before she knew it. She didn't have the intention of landing herself a boyfriend like Fred but she did anyway.

She never thought she was going to have a boyfriend before getting her degree. But she did.

She didn't know how it happened. It just happened and it was so fast. She found herself craving his attention and love. He was quick to notice and he asked her out without mincing words. She didn't give it a second thought. She accepted him right away.

She felt lucky.

Fred spoilt her. Called her all sorts of sweet names that made her blush red in the face.

He was quick to figure the type of girl she was. She was an indoor girl so they barely do any outdoor hangout. They spend the time together in the house, teasing each other, cooking together, talking about book reviews and critique, and cuddling.