Mrs. Anozie frowned. "No, dear. She must not. Anything missing before marriage is even harder to develop afterward. It's only in rare cases that couples manage to build everything after the wedding."
"Besides, you don't prepare for war during the battle, you prepare before. Your friend must not rush. Being rushed into marriage by one's fiance/é is also a major red flag. No responsible and mature person would rush into something as serious as marriage."
"And remind her of this. Developing Eros doesn't mean engaging in premarital sex or anything that could lead to it, like kissing, inappropriate touching, staying late together, or cohabiting. Do you understand, honey?"
"Yes, Mom. I'll go tell my friend now. Greet everyone for me, please. Bye, Mom." Olaedo quickly ended the call, trying to keep her voice steady and emotions hidden.
As soon as the call ended, she leaned against the wall, feeling drained. Her mother's words echoed in her head: marriage without the four types of love and open communication was a no-go. Financial stability mattered, but not as much as these.
She thought about her brief interaction with Chibuzor. He offered financial stability, and they could manage Philia through friendship and comradeship. Communication might come with time. But love? True love? She was not sure.
'No responsible and mature person would rush into something as serious as marriage? I guess I'm not as matured as I thought'
"I'm sorry, Mom, but I have to do this, for the family, for my employees, for my company, and for myself. I can't lose everything I've worked for since I was seventeen."
She washed her tear-filled face and dried it with a handkerchief before returning to the private room. Inside, Chibuzor was staring at his phone, his frustration evident.
"That woman," he muttered to himself. "All she had to do was say no instead of leaving me here for an hour! And me, the bigger fool, actually waited!"
Before he could leave, Olaedo stepped in, calm but resolute. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting. I had things to sort out. I agree to the contract. Where do I sign, and when do we register our marriage?"
Chibuzor wanted to say something, but then he noticed her red eyes. 'She cried? Is marrying me really that bad?'
Without a word, he silently pulled out the contract and waited for her to sign it. Once done, he drove them to the federal marriage registry.
Thanks to Chibuzor's connections, they skipped the usual process of filing a notice and verifying documents.
When the time for the marriage ceremony came, the registrar and witnesses stood waiting for them to exchange vows.
Chibuzor groaned internally. He had wanted to skip this troubling part too but remembered that while his grandfather might believe he skipped filing and verifying documents because he was in a rush to marry the love of his life, no one would buy that he also skipped the vows, especially the vows.
It was the one moment to confess feelings and make the bride shed some tears of joy.
Realizing he had forgotten to tell Olaedo to prepare her vows, Chibuzor went first, hoping to give her enough time to improvise.
He cleared his throat dramatically. "Miss Anozie Olaedo, it feels like I just met you today, and yet here we are. Love works in mysterious ways indeed. You are useful to me in so many ways. In fact, you complete my quest and protect me, even from my own family members. I won't say that I love you because I know you already know how I feel about you. To a successful partnership in marriage."
'I've lied enough for the past ten days,' Chibuzor thought with a sigh. But that? That was brilliant. There wasn't even a lie!
Olaedo, meanwhile, was frantically trying to force herself to cry. She squinted her eyes, thought about sad movies, and even pinched herself under her dress.
"..."
'Ugh. What kind of bride doesn't cry on her wedding day?' she scolded herself. 'It seems I'll have to work on this later,' she sighed in defeat.
Finally, she gave her vows. "Chibuzor, you are a man I respect. I have looked up to you since I was younger, and you've inspired me to be who I am today. There wouldn't be a me without you, and I'm so glad I found you in this life. To a successful partnership in marriage."
Chibuzor blinked. 'Is she giving a motivational speech?' he wondered. 'She sounds like she is nominating me for an award, not marrying me.' For a moment, he could not shake the feeling that her words were sincere.
Meanwhile, the witnesses exchanged glances, a shared look of skepticism spreading among them. Something about these vows felt off, but they couldn't put their finger on it.
"Maybe this is how the rich confess love," one witness thought, clapping awkwardly. Another muttered under his breath, "Useful? Quest? What is this, a marriage or a video game?"
Still, the words were charming enough on the surface, so the room filled with polite applause.
As the clapping died down, one particularly bold witness leaned toward the registrar and whispered, "Are we sure they're in love? I've seen more chemistry between oil and water."
The registrar shrugged indifferently. 'I just want to finish this quickly, go home, and crawl into my soft bed. This couple has no sense of time, they actually showed up when we were closed! They're truly birds of a feather, perfect for each other.'
He almost barked at them in frustration, but when he noticed they were influential and wealthy, he buried his irritation deep down and mobilized the staff to get to work on marrying these "great Buddhas."
After they signed their certificates, they were directed to an old photographer.
The photographer calmly adjusted his camera. His job was usually easy, couples knew how to pose. It didn't matter if it was a professional couple pose, as long as it gave off the vibe of, "We're married, so why are you still single?"
He waved at the couple to get into position, but what he saw left him speechless. Chibuzor stood stiffly like a tree, while Olaedo mimicked him from about two feet away.
'What is this???'
Deciding to help them out, he figured they were just shy. "Stand closer and put your hands on her waist. You're in love, right?"
But it only made things worse. Now Chibuzor's face looked like a cow being led to slaughter as he glanced at Olaedo's dark expression.
He slowly put his hands on the back of her waist, careful not to touch her clothes, let alone her skin. Their expressions were as deadpan as if they had just signed a multi-million-local currency contract.
Oh wait... they did.
"How do you expect me to make this look believable?" The photographer exclaimed. "Who marries and stands like colleagues at a conference?!"
He finally gave up, snapping their picture as best as he could, muttering under his breath, "I could live a few more years if I never see a couple like you again!"
Outside the court, Olaedo couldn't help but mock her newly-wedded husband. "Afraid to hold a woman, huh? You almost sold us out in there!"
"I almost sold us out?! It's your face that scared me so much I didn't even dare touch your clothes!" Chibuzor fired back, his expression darkening. "How are we going to convince our families and the whole world that we're in love with this terrible acting?!"
Seeing the tension, Olaedo backed down and offered a solution. "We need to practice some poses to perfect this fake love. I didn't think we needed it when I saw it in your contract, but I stand corrected."
Chibuzor nodded in agreement as they headed to the car. "I'll take you to your place to pick up some things, then we'll go to our home. Everything else is already arranged."
Our home.
Those two words weren't strange to Olaedo. They were Maduabuchi's favorite words, the ones that brought her peace whenever he said them.
But hearing Chibuzor say them, she couldn't help but tighten her defenses. She leaned closer to the window, staying silent throughout the journey.
'No man is going to deceive me with those words ever again!'
When they arrived at her house, they climbed two stairways before stopping in front of a door on the right.
'She lives in a rented house?'
Chibuzor was surprised, guessing it was likely a modest two-room apartment with a living room, two toilets, a guest room, a kitchen, and a master bedroom. For a billionaire, she was remarkably frugal.
Olaedo opened the door absentmindedly and stepped inside. Chibuzor, however, froze in place, unable to enter.
The living room was a disaster!
Clothes were strewn across the sofa, dirty rugs lay haphazardly, and the television was bizarrely draped with a blanket. But none of that compared to what he saw next.
'What's with the pile of ashes by the bedroom door?!