by Kiru Taye
Women led her with her friends behind. Ebony followed closely with Stella and three other girls including Tari, Mark’s cousin. The girls were all dressed in matching uniform outfits in cream and burgundy, the theme colours for her traditional wedding.
Traditional wedding. Faith allowed the words to play in her mind. She never knew a time would come when she would relish those words when associated with her. As an adult, she had always rejected the idea of getting married. When her girlfriends got excited about getting married, she’d always been nonchalant about it, choosing instead to focus on her career.
Now her career was taking a back seat as she focused on making a family with Mark.
Mark.
She glanced across the driveway of her family compound to where her soon-to-be husband was seated almost regally in his traditional Efik outfit with his father and brothers flanking him.
His gaze had been on her as soon as he had stepped out of the house. Her skin had come alive as it always did when he was looking at her. Through the veil, she could see the intensity of his gaze and it took her breath away. She smiled shyly and looked away as her face heated up.
She had never been one for public declarations or displays. But you couldn’t get any more public than a traditional wedding. When your family and friends stood by and watched you submit and declare to take a man as your husband. But she knew Mark loved her. He’d shown her that men were capable of deep love and that she deserved that love.
The girls in her entourage led her to the marquee where her father was seated with his kinsmen. The smile on her father’s face was the best she’d seen for years. She’d never known the rift with her father could be repaired, but after her mother’s hospitalisation and her subsequent engagement to Mark, he had mellowed. They hadn’t had an argument and he now allowed her to stay in the house anytime she visited Benin.
As a group, they stopped in front of where the Essiens sat. The lead woman spoke in Edo and her mother interpreted it in English. She was asking Mark to pay some money so he could see his bride. Mark stood and gave the woman some Naira notes. He was then allowed to lift the veil off her head and everyone cheered.
The music restarted and the rest of the Essien brothers stood and started spraying Naira notes over her body like confetti. The act was supposed to bless her with prosperity. Faith’s friends picked up the Naira notes and put them in a bag.
Faith was led to a chair opposite where Mark sat and settled into it and the wedding procedure commenced. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
Mark beamed at her from across the courtyard. Her nerves settled.
They were going to have a great life together.
Coming soon: Riding Rebel, The Essien Trilogy, book 3
Seen as the rebel Essien, Tony has always felt like an outsider. With a daredevil lifestyle, he’s more at home in leathers than in a suit, and more likely to be seen gracing the red carpets at a movie premiere with a starlet draped on his arms than in a boardroom. Still, he’s determined to prove himself to his family and build a successful movie business. Spotting Rita Dike at an event, he sees the potential star of his new movie and his next pleasure conquest.
Rita is a journalist looking for her big break. When she inherits the journal of her late best friend who claims Tony is not an Essien, she spots the perfect scoop. Her acting classes come in handy when she has to pose as an actress to get closer to Tony. Succumbing to the charms of dark and brooding Tony might just be the only way to get through the close ranks of the Essien family.
But as she gets closer to the truth, Rita risks losing the riding rebel who’s raided her heart. Can love heal hearts or will deceit break them?
About Kiru Taye
A lover of books, as a teenager Kiru Taye used to read novels under the blanket during lights-outs in boarding school. These days, with a young family to take care of, she's still sacrificing sleep for the pleasures of a good book.
After over ten successful years in the corporate rate race, she has chosen a different kind of creative challenge—transforming her wildly vivid imagination into sensual, atmospheric romance stories with passionate characters.
When she’s not writing or reading, she'd hanging out with family and friends or travelling. Born in Nigeria, she currently lives in the UK with husband and children.
You reach her via her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Pinterest
Follow her blog for latest news and giveaways: http://kirutayewrites.blogspot.com
Read book excerpts and free short stories on her website:
http://www.kirutaye.com
