THE CONTRACT MARRIAGE

36-KERFUFFLE

OMNISCIENT

Air conditioner and the strong scent of Cinnamon and Anise hit her nostrils as soon as she settled inside the black Mercedes Benz S680. The man in the suit closed the door after she entered then rounded the car to pile in the backseat beside her.

A minute later, the fleet of cars zoomed off at a uniform speed. Even with a million questions in their minds, no words were exchanged. Not until he opened his mouth and asked a question she dared not answer.

"How are you?" Saif's hands were clammed with sweat. He placed them on his thighs and turned his body to fully face the woman whose eyes never left the tinted glass windows.

Sumaira pressed her lips together, her vertebral column so straight it could compete with a stick. And without so much as looking at him, she responded with yet another question.

"When did you return?"

"I headed straight here from the airport to congratulate you," His lips stretched into a smile even with the aloofness in her tone.

"You came back because you were afraid I might end up marrying someone else," Her words left him with a gaping mouth.

After opening and closing his mouth thrice without a successful retort, he had no choice but to nod. He got stronger just for her, and she became even more brutal.

"Yes... As mentioned earlier, I apologize for coming unannounced, the situation demanded that. Anyway, here is the proof I told you about," He pulled out his phone and clicked on the photos app.

After surfing through the most recent videos, he finally found the one he was looking for and handed the phone to her. Now, Sumaira faced him fully, incredulousness dancing in her eyes.

"Trust me and play the video," Something about his beam compelled Sumaira to obey his words.

And the moment she pressed the play button, watching as her father's face came into view, she knew there was no going back for her. The man was true to his words, it was her time to fulfil her end of the bargain.

"ASP. Sumaira Muhammad Babangida, if you're watching this now, just know that I made a promise to Saifullah that I'll turn myself in to the authorities once you get married to him in the next two weeks. Furthermore, what I'm holding here are the pieces of evidence that'll aid you during the court trial, they contain all the money-laundering and human trafficking crimes I committed and even more details. This is what you've always wanted, right?"

The engineer smiled ruefully and turned off the camera, which brought her to the end of the video.

For more than five minutes, she had no idea where her senses took her. It wasn't until Saif snapped his fingers in front of her face that she realized she was clutching his phone so tight it might crack.

Sumaira smoothed her furrowed eyebrows and gave back his phone. Her body threatened to shake but she fought with it to stay cool. She wouldn't allow herself to showcase any emotion.

"I requested for him to change it to three months or more, but he refused. That leaves you with little time to think," Saif spoke, after which a sigh escaped his lips.

Sumaira paid no heed to him. And just as she was about to text her father on the phone, as though he knew she watched it, a message popped up from him.

Dear daughter, that's the most I can do for you as a father. Take it or leave it.

She had been looking forward to that time for almost all her life. And just when she had it served to her on a silver platter, she had no joy that came from defeat and the fire that kept her going extinguished, as though her life was not of purpose anymore.