1. Wounded

(At Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Nigeria)

I need a ticket to New York. " Said a young woman with a weak voice, her eyes were weary as she stared at the flight attendant in charge of booking flights.

"Give me a minute  Ma'am." The flight attendant said with a polite smile on her lips, she took a quick unnoticeable glance at the woman speaking to her —she looked sad, her hair was messy and her white pants looked like it was picked from a mud. The gloomy look on the her face gave her out and one could easily detect she's been crying for a while. The flight attendant looked back at her computer and checked for  available tickets.

"Ma'am, the earliest is Air Peace Airlines but the economy is full and that of the business class too. The next flight to New York is in three days time, can you wait for that long?"  The flight attendant asked the woman.

"In three days?" The woman half yelled, she didn't even put it into consideration, it was a no for her but as she thought through, she became fragile like a chick who lost it's mother. She was broken deep down and the devastating experiences she's had, really did get the best of her.

"Can you please check if there are any last minute cancellations?" The woman asked the flight attendant with a pair of pleading eyes and a shaking voice, she was desperate to leave.

"Would you opt in for a first class ticket then?"  The flight attendant asked when she saw the woman's trouble.

Amaya nodded in response to the flight attendant, a small smile appeared at the corners of her lips. The thought that she had another option made her sighed heavily. 

Amaya despite having enormous wealth never went for anything expensive. She believed all products tasted the same, and would prefer a cheap meal to an expensive dish at a fancy restaurant. She never fancied spending money lavishly. She was very prudent in spending and every time she wanted to travel to New York, she would rather go with the economy than a business class or a first class, even though she would be able to afford it. This time it was different, she didn't think twice about the price before sliding her credit card to pay for the ticket. She just wanted to get away.

She gripped her boarding pass tightly in her hand after her ticket was reserved by the flight attendant. She rushed towards the security checkpoint. All she wanted to do was to get far away from Nigeria, as soon as it was humanly possible. She thought she didn't had a reason to be there anymore.

After clearing her entry information into New York, she decided to check the nearest information panel for the flight information. When she got there, she saw red letters flickering on the screen of the panel.

                Air Peace Airlines

 Flight to New York - Delayed.

New Boarding Time - 5.10am.

Her flight was delayed by three hours and thirty five minutes. It was as if fate was standing in her way. All she wanted was to go away. Now she was stuck in the airport for another three hours and thirty five minutes.

As she walked away from the information panel, she suddenly recalled the horrible sight she had experienced. She held her chest on her left with her right hand, crying, she hoped that as she kept panting her chest the pain would reduced, but it was not so. She felt her heart crushed, she bent down, holding her luggage handle and she wailed. 

She took a deep breath trying to control her feelings of love, hate and fear but she failed terribly.  Tears continued to force its way out of her eyes, it  rolled down her cheeks as she stood up and continued walking. She thought she could grab a coffee to help her feel better. But when she saw an empty seat beside other passengers sitting and waiting for time to board, she decided to take a sit. She bent her head on her knees.

"I could really use a cup of coffee." She muttered to herself.

She stood up and looked around for where she could get a coffee.

She took a deep exhale when she finally saw small coffee stand by her left. Without hesitating she placed her luggage on her seat and positioned it in a way it would still be on her sight. 

As she turned around in haste she dashed her foot against someone else's.

"Jeezz." Amaya screamed as she almost fell on the ground on her face. But she was caught by a young man whose built was rock solid. He caught her and swinged her around. Amaya shut her eyes tightly, waiting to hit the ground. But when she felt the Young's man strong arms around her waist, she opened her eyes to know what had happened and why she was yet to hit the ground. 

As she opened her eyes and beheld the embarrassing sight, all she noticed was a man whose eyes was fixed at her. He had a light green eyes, slim diamond shaped face, with an heart shaped lips. Amaya had never seen someone that handsome. 

His pale skin was glowing, she felt his strong muscles, and his pointed nose complimented his face, he was damn handsome. 

She grabbed him by his shirt, and helped herself up, he was wearing a blue suit, and it suited his eyes. Amaya's whose eyes was red, glared at the man, and tear rolled down her cheek from her left eyes, this time she didn't realised it. It wasn't a tear of pain but rather something she could not explain. 

She blinked as the tear touched her upper lip, just then she realized that the man's suit was ruined by the coffee he was holding. In an attempt to save Amaya from falling, his coffee had spilled. 

"I am sorry. I am really really sorry." Amaya pleaded with the man.

She immediately started cleaning his suit with the handkerchief she had pulled from her pocket. Then she quickly walked away when she saw that she had done more harm to his suit than good. 

"I'm really sorry. I'm not helping. I'm really sorry." Amaya said to the man as she walked away from him as fast as she could.

Finally, she got to the coffee stand, and stood in queue awaiting her turn. She looked around for the man but he was no where in sight.  She raised her hand and passed it through her hair, she realised her hair was in a mess. She took out her phone which was off and she switched it on, she then opened the camera app, only then she realised how dishevelled she looked.  Her hair was ponytailed and all messy, it looked like a rat nest. All the crying had left her looking like an absolute mess. 

Bing** Her phone beeped. She had 92 missed calls. five from her father and the rest from her fiance. She kept staring at the screen and then she decided to check her notification bar. She had 110 messages, all from her fiance, Ben.

"Babe listen to me. It's not what you think."

"Can you please pick up my call? can we talk like adults?"

"Babe, please do not jump into assumptions okay? I love you, try to hear me out."

"Do not over think babe. Please just pick up my call babe."

"Where is your trust? Don't you trust me babe? Please you have to trust me. I had nothing to do with her. She is just a friend and you know that."

"I wanted to surprise you. I  was planning to. That's why I didn't tell you I was home. Trust me babe, I had nothing to do with her. I had no idea she was there, I was shocked myself. It was all her."

"Where are you, babe? Please talk to me me."

"No one can take your place in my life. I love you."

"Babe please tell me where you are. I want to see you."

"Babe, babe, please talk to me."

Amaya kept on scrolling down reading the messages. Each message she read made her thought of herself a fool. She couldn't believe how she was with him and never realised he was cheating. It hurt her to even wonder if all his feelings for her were false. Even though she had seen for herself how he was busy caressing another woman, she wouldn't have believed it. 

She had come all the way from Paris to shop for a wedding gown for her wedding. She hid her arrival date from her fiance, so she could surprise him along with the expensive pairs of shoes she bought for him. Little did she know that she would be the one receiving the shock of her life. Instead of surprising him she found herself falling apart in front of her eyes. Today was supposed to be her wedding day.

She gasped for air as she recalled that horrendous sight. She composed herself, knowing she was at the airport. But she couldn't stop tears from falling from her eyes.  Then she dialed a number on her phone..

"Hello!" A woman's voice answered

"Aunt, I'm coming back. And yes, you were right. Ben is an asshole."

(Dears readers, don't forget to drop a comment 😘😘😘 Happy reading!)