My mom died at a very young age, and it affected me greatly. I still vividly remember that day like it was yesterday. I was just 18 years old, and I was in boarding school. That fateful afternoon, I got called into the principal’s office. The minute I entered, I saw my dad seated with the principal. He had this crestfallen expression, and it didn’t take much time to figure out something was wrong. I sat down, and he broke the news to me. My mom had died in an accident. Believe it or not, I didn’t feel any emotions at first. I was numb about it for several weeks, until a few days after the burial- it finally hit me that my mom was dead. She was gone. 

It was when everyone had finished mourning my mother’s death that I started mourning her. I cried for weeks, and when I had finally exhausted my tears, I wiped my face and sucked the pain all in. Before my mom died, I was an outgoing person- but after she died, I figured there was no point in being happy. Two years passed, and the pain was still there. Thankfully, it wasn’t as excruciating as before- but I still felt empty. There was this void and emptiness that lingered in my heart. My dad had tried to help on multiple occasions. He got tired at some point and just stopped trying. 

The straw that finally broke the camel’s back was when my dad told me he was remarrying another woman. I could feel the anger and pain building inside me again. How could he? It had been two years since my mom died, and the next thing he could think of was to remarry another woman. I felt betrayed, amongst many other infuriating emotions. Losing my mother was one thing, but seeing my dad marry another woman was another thing. My dad tried explaining that we had to move on and look on the bright side. I did not agree with him because what bright side was I looking at exactly?

After a lot of back and forth, he wanted me to meet the woman he wanted to remarry. I disagreed at first, but my dad left me no choice. My dad had reserved the finest table at the most expensive restaurant for this meet-up. This made me know this meant the world to him. We arrived at the reserved table in the restaurant, and I met a woman- who presumably looked like she was in her early forties; and a young man who looked like he was in his early twenties. I furrowed my eyebrows because I thought I was only meeting my dad’s soon-to-be wife. The first thing I noticed about the man was that he had mesmerizing eyes and a beautiful face. I had to avert my gaze because I was staring at him too much. 

We sat down, and my dad went ahead with the introductions. Her name was Tayo, and apparently, her husband had died five years ago. She had a son with him before he died, and he was the one seated in front of me. I started feeling anxiety rise in my throat when she started talking about the death of her husband. The pain of losing my mother was resurfacing, and I started hyperventilating. My dad and everyone else noticed, started looking at me, and asked what was wrong. 

I could tell I was having a panic attack. I stood up abruptly and ran as fast as I could outside. I just needed air and needed to be away from everyone. People stared at me, but I didn’t care because I wanted to be alone. The minute I got outside, the tears from my eyes started to roll down my cheeks. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned back to see Tayo’s son. He opened his arms, and I immediately went into them. I had just met this guy, and I was allowing him to hold me.

Eventually, we sat down on the bench, and we talked. Aaron told me he knew I was upset about the whole remarrying thing, and he wasn’t too pleased about it. Nevertheless, Aaron had come to terms with it because it made his mom happy, and he just wanted her to be happy. We talked a bit more, and it was then I realized he was in pain also. 

His name was Aaron. I think that’s where everything started from

We went back inside as I was much calmer. I apologized, and the dinner continued. After that much-needed talk with Aaron, I felt much better, and I was ready to see how everything panned out. Wedding preparations started fully, and I saw Aaron more and more. There was something about his vibe. Maybe it was because he was handsome, or maybe because he just understood me, or maybe it was because he knew the pain of losing a loved one. I started catching feelings for Aaron, and he didn’t make the situation better because he was around me.

The wedding day finally came, and both our parents got married. The day went by blissfully, and everything was just right. During the reception, we were all vibing, drinking, and having fun. I was on the dance floor dancing. I remember how Aaron walked up to me with this seductive look. He took my hand, spun me around, and led me off the dance floor. We both went outside. The party was still going on a blast, but we were outside catching flights and feelings. Under the moonlight, Aaron kissed me, and I returned the kiss with matched energy. We both started feeling ourselves. We were both in a secluded place, and we proceeded to give each other etched orgasms right then. It was indeed a marvelous experience. 

The affair started at full speed. We couldn’t get enough of each other, and it helped that we stayed in the same house. We’d sneak kisses at different intervals in the house, and we would sometimes spend the night together on rare occasions. It was safe to say that I had fallen utterly and irrevocably in love with Aaron, and he was just as in love with me as I was with him. 

We wanted to tell everyone about our secret affair desperately, but we were scared about what they would say, especially our parents. Technically, I wasn’t related to Aaron. However, my dad and his mother were still married, and everything would be complicated. The cat finally came out of the bag, and my dad caught Aaron and me kissing one day. As we suspected, they both made a big scene of the situation. They reprimanded Aaron. They wanted us to call everything off and went as far as threatening to send Aaron to Abuja. 

Aaron and I tried making them understand that we were both in love and weren’t related biologically, but they didn’t understand. Ever since my mom died, Aaron was the only person that had been able to cure the pain I felt. I was worried what losing him would do to me again. One fateful night, I was sleeping in my bed- when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. It was Aaron, and he wanted us to leave together.

“Go where?” I whispered

“We can go wherever we want to go in the world” He whispered back to me with the cutest smile.

Though it was dark, I could still see the glimmer of excitement in his eyes. He stretched out his empty palm, and I put my hand in his. An exciting adventure awaited me. I couldn’t wait to see how it panned out.