CHAPTER ONE

Hours of silence flooded Remi's room; she could not believe what was about to happen to her.

"Where is she?" her father said coldly.

"I don't know; maybe she should be in her room," her mother responded, coughing afterwards.

The silence in her room was so much that she could hear a needle sound, and yes, she did hear all her parents said.

A badge into the room; the door was opened ajar. The sound brought her back from her thoughts.

"He is coming this evening, and you are going with him," her father said authoritatively.

With so much shock in her eyes, she said, "Daddy, why are you doing this to me? I thought I was your best daughter, your only star. What has changed? What is happening?"

She moved toward him with tears rolling down her eyes in an attempt to touch him. Her father felt the pain in her voice, but that was the only thing he could do.

"As I said, my words are final, and you will do as I say," he answered her in words, looking away and turning to the door.

"Wait! I have something to tell you. I am not getting married to any man overnight," she sniffed with so much courage, moving back to her room.

The house became very hot inside; though it was cold outside, the laughter, smiles and energy the Bolajis had disappeared in a twinkle of an eye.

It was late as Remi wondered about it in her cemented duplex building. She was losing her mind; she moved to the sitting room and then to her room while her parents were upstairs discussing silently.

"Should I run? Where will I run to? I made a few friends cause I had everything a friend could give, and now things have turned around. How am I supposed to survive now? I have to think of a plan before midnight," she finalized it.

She walked to her room when she heard noises. This made her tiptoe, but she was still caught by a voice.

"Remi, what is wrong with you?" she heard it behind her back. She wondered why the voice seemed calm. If she could remember, she was the one being forced to get married overnight and should not be the insane one.

She turned, and it was her mother.

"Mummy," she said. "Why me?"

Her mother signalled that she should be quiet as she placed one of her fingers on her lips.

She dragged her to her room; on her bed, they both sat.

"My heartbeat," her mum ended the drama and spoke softly.

She interrupted her and said, "If you are not in support of this, why don't you stop your husband? Why don't you remind him it is still his only daughter he always fought for and sweated to protect? What has blinded him so fast that he forgot all the sweat, memories, and bond we shared? Mummy, why?"

"It is okay, Remi," she consoled her.

"Your father still loves you up till now," she added.

In deep disappointment, Remi rose from the bed and faced her mum with tears running down her eyes.

"Mummy," she called. "Can you remember when you both sweated to protect me? The story of how I came after the death of your first son, how my father got a new contract that changed and raised the family after my birth. The way I was pampered, the don't touch anything scheme you subscribed me to and after all, I made sure I never disappointed you and my brothers. I was in my best manners, obedient to all and very respectful. You and my father promised me a dream, so I could be successful, go to school and become the great star I wanted to be. But now you want to throw me into the hands of a man I do not even know overnight. I have no decision, no choice, not a day to think and accept."

"Enough, enough," her mother thundered.

Remi, in shock, moved backwards, still trying to maintain her balance.

Her mother said, "Your father loves you, so do I, but this is what it is. You are getting married tonight for your brother's visa approval. You know this family needs money, and this is the..."

"Mummy," she said in shock, holding her chest like she was going to have a heart attack. "I thought I came to comfort this family, as I am called. Why am I turning out to be the sacrifice? There are other ways to get that done, but why do you all choose my denial of everything..."

"Mummy," she said calmly while breathing gently. "Leave my room. Closing my eyes this time, I just have two counts, and you are gone."

Her mother never wanted any further scene; she left the room and headed upstairs to wait for her son-in-law at midnight.

Remi fell on her bed, looking up at the ceiling; she felt nothing around her but betrayal and imagined how she got into this big mess.

She thought of how her brother treated her in school. Her brothers would beat her for telling her dad the truth about what they did, which always got them punished. She recalled how her brothers were so jealous of how smart she was that they would even reduce her snack portion and sometimes threaten to lock her up if she reported. She recalled how her dad had always been her saviour, teaching her brothers a lesson every single time.

"Why the twist in my life," she said faintly. "What will I be doing in marriage? I just got out of high school; what am I going to do there? Do my parents have something they are not telling me?" She wondered, still very confused.

She moved her body on the bed; she felt something that didn't feel like her bedding. She woke up to check; it was a paper.

She pulled it out from her bedding; it was a little envelope. "What is inside?" she said aloud.

.