CHAPTER 1: THE BORROWED WEDDING DRESS

The dress was not mine. Nothing about today was mine.

"This is your only option, Amira. If you don't marry him, we lose the house. Your mother will be on the street."

My sister Layla's voice was shaking behind me. I stared at my reflection in her cracked bedroom mirror. The white lace dress was too tight on my chest and too long at the feet. It was her friend's old wedding dress. It smelled like old perfume.

"I'm 21, Layla. You're asking me to marry a man I have never met for your debt?"

"It's not just my debt!" she cried. "It's Mama's hospital bill. It's the rent. Zayd said he will clear everything. Eight million naira, Amira. Where will we get eight million?"

Zayd. That was the name. Zayd.

The rich man who owned half the shops in Yaba Market. The same arrogant man who came to Layla's small tailoring shop last week, looked at my designs, and said "Pretty, but cheap. Like most things in here."

I had poured water on his shoes.

And now I was supposed to marry him.

The car horn outside made us both jump.

"He's here," Layla whispered.

My heart wanted to stop beating.

The wedding was not in a big hall. It was in a small registry office at Ikoyi. Only five people were there. My mother was too sick to come. Layla, two men in suits who worked for him, and me.

And then he walked in.

Black kaftan, crisp white cap, expensive watch that caught the light. He looked like money. He looked like troubled.

Zayd Alhassan.

He didn't even look surprised to see me. He looked... satisfied. Like he had been expecting me.

His eyes went from my face to the cheap borrowed dress. A small smile touched his lips.

"You came," he said. Not as a question. As a fact.

"You gave us no choice," I snapped. I could feel tears burning but I refused to cry.

He stepped closer. Close enough that I could smell his cologne. Expensive and calm.

"There is always a choice, Amira. You chose your family. That's why I chose you."

The registry woman called us forward. My hands were shaking so badly I could not hold the pen. Layla had to hold my elbow.

Do you take this man...

I could not hear the rest. I heard Layla whisper "Say yes."

"Yes," I said. My voice was dead.

Do you take this woman...

"I do," Zayd said. His voice was deep and very sure. "For the next 30 days, and for many more after that."

I turned to look at him. 30 days? What did he mean 30 days?

He leaned down, right next to my ear, so only I could hear him. His lips almost touched my ear and the whole room disappeared.

"You can leave after 30 days, Amira," he whispered, his smile gone, his eyes burning into mine. "But I promise you... you will be begging me to stay."

The registry woman smiled. "You may now kiss the bride."