It was a strange feeling, this lightness in her chest. Her giddiness, her happiness. It was strange because it was the first time she was inlove, her stepsister Macy speculated when a flushed Tolani disclosed her feelings.
Her boyfriend, Nigel loved her too. Problem with her now strict family was he was 80 and moving too fast. Of course he was. Nigel could be Tolani's grandfather.
She accepted the proposal—diamond ring 3—but told him they should wait a year before trying the knot. Patient, Nigel accepted with a sloppy smile. Regrets filled her when Nigel died the next year of Hepatitis C Virus.
Her sweet loving affectionate Nigel was the most wealthiest man Tolani had ever been with and the first she ever truly loved.
Wailing, Tolani mourned for the money she'd never have and the man she'd never tell she loved ever again. Nigel's death wasn't the only highlight of her 31 year life, her stepsister Molly giving birth, Ogun marrying the woman of her dreams, Tobi adopting a three year old boy with his husband and Tolani meeting Ian Cooper.
Ian Cooper was supposed to be a rebound. A fling. And he'd been. It was meant to stop there but Tolani still overwhelmed with grief, her decision making skills slumped. Determined to forget Nigel and how he made her laugh the silliest, Tolani accepted Ian's proposal adding the diamond ring to her collection.
Hmmph. A 70 year old red-haired with two pampered adults who promised to love, take care of and support her with a net worth of 9 million pounds. You'd think that was the most joyful moment of her 32 year old life. No, her most joyful moment was being pregnant with their baby. A girl.
When she gave birth to Chinyere Onitsha -̶C̶o̶o̶p̶e̶r̶ Tolani firmly believed she'd made the right decisions with her miscarriage and abortion. Even if she could go back, Tolani wouldn't change them. Charlie Charlton's children would've been hated by her.
Supple, fertile, slick, Ian slowly made love to her taking advantage of Chinyere sleeping soundly in the next room. Inevitably, Tolani got pregnant again. Oh, how she wanted to kill an hysterical Ian. A year apart, Ifeanyi Onitsha-Cooper proved to be daddy's boy while Tolani on her end was wrapped around her daughter's thumb.
During her marriage with Ian Cooper, Tolani's life wasn't exciting. She couldn't pinpoint when she started hating her husband because of what he could've or couldn't've done but with all her heart, she loathed him. Him and his fussy adult babies.
However, Tolani could exactly pinpoint when she had a falling out with Rose. Or at least, when she started to fall out with her. No, Rose hadn't found out Michael's infidelity and Tolani's betrayal.
Their friendship started petering out during her mourning process. For the love of all that was nasty, Rose couldn't understand why she was 'upset' over an old man's death.
Now and then, Tolani hears about Lie To Me through her parents as they were still friends with his parents. Despite her loathsome marriage, Tolani never wished she stayed with him as she'd never know what passionate sex was like with Michael, never would've met a love like Nigel and most importantly would've never met her daughter as she knew she would've never had Lie To Me's child.
Tolani honoured the truth that she could've done better. Therefore she blamed her being young and moved on. By the time her ten year marriage anniversary with Ian Cooper rolled around, Tolani hardly noticed.
It was when her daughter aged nine that she remembered her life a decade ago. A life of mourning Nigel and marrying Ian. Seemed forever ago. Two years later, a 44 year old Tolani cried like a raving baby when her daughter Chinyere started secondary school.
Eleven years old now, growing up so fast. Tolani celebrated the death of her husband who died of old age at the grand age of 87 when she was 48. Ifeanyi, young secondary kid of 14 was magnificently sad.
Chinyere dealt with the death affably because Tolani was a major presence in her life she quickly got over it. Besides, her father was old. Ifeanyi refused to dwell on that.
Her twelve year marriage to Ian Cooper gave her three million pounds and an equestrian property worth over a million pounds. The following year after Chinyere's sweet sixteen, Tolani changed her palette to date a black British bloke, Archie McKean.
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