"Daddy", Fola called, coming out of her bedroom.
"Yes dear, I'm here", her father answered from the sitting room.
Their relationship over the past few months has been amazing.
It was the fourth month of Fola's stay at home which was due to the ASUU strike. It was March already and they were yet to resume.
Mr. Obed was doting on both his wife and daughter and Fola was in love with the improvement. This made her enjoy her stay at home.
'Alas!', she thought drily with a smug smile.
Even though they were now on good terms, he was still insistent on her marriage with Olamide.
Fola thought if that would make the relationship between her father and mother grow daily, she was ready to give it a shot.
A shot she had given it and it was beginning to change her being....it was changing everything about her.
She decided to shut her mind totally about Iremide. His thoughts bring nothing to her but aches and confusion.
She stopped calling him and rarely picked his calls. After a while, Ire stopped calling totally and this assured her that he has given up on her.
Olamide was becoming more loving by the day and she was getting used to him. They usually hang out twice a week.
Being the romantic guy he was, Olamide never fails to say sweet words to her which always made her blush.
'That was a gateway to getting a woman', he realized. 'Women adore men that praise and compliment them and Fola was not an exception. It can make an irate and nagging woman succumb to a man's wish. Women are flexible creatures. The secret is getting to know the right buttons to press', Olamide mused to himself.
He was doing all he could to win her heart.
Due to the care and sweetness her father was showing her, she was ready and willing to play along even if she would end up regretting her decision in the long run. This was because her mother's happiness was at stake.
'If going along with this will bring my family together, I will obey dad', she once told her mum.
Her mother cried herself to sleep because her daughter was ready to sacrifice her future for her sake.
Fola's mother was against it but Fola wouldn't seize to show her and everyone that she is truly the daughter of her father.
She stubbornly stood her ground and all Mrs. Obed could do was call on her Creator to grant her daughter everlasting happiness and the very best.
"Daddy, where is mummy?", she asked her father all dressed up to go out. She was wearing an embroidered red gown which stopped at her knee. She was on heels and heavily made up and she knew it.
She was changing and everyone knew it. That was what Olamide liked, a sophisticated beautiful woman.
"Wao!, where to?", Mr. Obed asked, amazed at her appearance and looking at her from head to toe.
"I am going out with Olamide", she replied smiling at him.
"That's sweet", he said and sighed.
"What is the matter, dad?", she said sitting next to him. Her perfume filled his nostril as he looked up at her.
"Nothing dear. I just want to give you a piece of advice."
"Alright, I am all ears", she uttered, dropping her Gucci bag next to her on the couch.
"No sex before marriage", her father blurted and she gasped at his bluntness.
"Come on dad. You should know me better", she stood up furiously.
"I didn't mean to upset you. I just thought it should serve as a reminder. I know you are a decent girl but I am just trying to perform my responsibility as a father. If a man disvirgins his wife on their wedding night and in their matrimonial home, it is a memory that will last forever. Whenever I am mad at your mom for misbehaving, the thoughts of our first night as couples appease and dissolve my anger. I respect her for that and I want the same for you dear."
"Dad, I have heard you. Talk to you later", Fola said moving out. I will be back before dusk."
"Alright dear, take care and my regards to my son-in-law."
Fola on her way out thought hard and long about her father's utterances. She remembered her first kiss with Olamide the previous day. Even though it was a stolen kiss, she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed it.
Olamide was gradually changing everything about her. She was transforming from a lady into a grown-up woman all of a sudden.
She couldn't fathom how and when it happened. She then wondered if he would eventually ask her for sex.
She sighed heavily as she got to the bus stop where she was supposed to wait for him. She delved her hand into her bag to fish out her phone. She called his number and he picked at the first ring.
"Babe, I'm close by."
"Ok", she replied.
Few minutes later, he pulled over and she entered his car. He was all smiles but he was quick to notice the faraway look on her face.
"Babe, what's the matter?", he asked her.
The question jerked Fola out of her reverie and she replied, "Nothing."
"Are you sure?", he asked as he ignited the car into motion.
"Of course."
"Alright", he said and smiled. "You look beautiful as always."
"Thank you", she muttered.
"There is something I want us to discuss about when we get to our destination", his left hand was on the steering wheel and he held her with his right hand. He pecked the back of her hand and it sent a cold shiver all over Fola.
She looked into his eyes and saw love? Lust?... She couldn't tell.
Their eyes were still interlocked when they heard shouts from passersby.
Shocked, Fola looked out and saw an old woman sprawled on the floor in front of their car.
Olamide quickly stepped on the brake to avoid hitting the woman.
Crowd was beginning to gather as Fola and Olamide quickly came down from the car. A lady in the midst claimed the old woman was about to cross the express road when she saw Olamide's car coming toward her and fell down out of shock.
Olamide with the help of one other guy quickly carried the frail-looking woman to the passenger's seat and he zoomed off with Fola to the hospital.