Free Forbidden Dance: Will She Forgo Her Marriage for a Lifetime of Happiness? by Stella Eromonsere-Ajanaku Page B

don’t recall your response.” Alero knew he was being stubborn, but how could she get rid of him?
    “You can take as long as you need to give me the answer I’m after. We have the whole time in the world.”
    She shifted from one foot to the other. If she brushed past him, he would pounce on her.
    “How long are you here for this time? We both know Mr. Sexy Film Director can’t stay away from LA for more than a week.”
    Kyle frowned and his jaw tensed briefly. “I deserved that. I’m a changed person, babe. Since you left me, I haven’t been to LA.”
    Alero covered her mouth with both hands to contain her gasp. “I don’t believe you.” His work was his first love, and she had struggled to compete, but failed miserably.
    “Dickson has been running Thomson Productions for the past six months. If you doubt me, I can put a call through to him.”
    She slid to the floor. In her mind, she assumed Kyle had got on jolly well without sparing a thought for her. “Why did you stay in London? I never got you to stay for more than a week. I felt like a loser wife.”
    He sat on the floor and spread out his legs on both sides of her body to keep her locked in. “When you left me, my world fell apart. The idea of going back to work filled me with disgust. I instructed Dickson to run the business.”
    A bright spark lit in her heart. “So what have you been doing? Partying in London?”
    He groaned. “I searched for you in every place I could think of. I recruited investigators to find you in Nigeria and in London. Little did I know we were looking in the wrong cities.” There was a glow in his eyes. “I haven’t had time to think about parties in the past six months. I flew to see your parents in Warri, two months ago.”
    Alero bent down her head. “Gosh!” While she thought Kyle had forgotten he was ever married to her, he had found his way back to her parents. They would be so disappointed in her behaviour.
    ‘A married woman must remain faithful to her husband, even if he marries more wives’, her mother often said when she was in her teens.
    “What did you say to my mum?” Alero held her breath. She had avoided her parents’ phone calls in the past few months because she didn’t want an earful. She was sure Kyle had bad-mouthed her in the worst way possible.
    He shrugged. “Only that you sent them your love and gifts. I bought them some items. Your dad’s the proud owner of a new Mercedes-Benz CL-Class.”
    “Thank you, Kyle.” She scrambled to her feet and fled from her husband. Alero’s throat burned with tears. He followed her up the stairs to her bedroom. When she attempted to secure the door, he slipped in.
    “What do you want from me, Kyle Thomson?” Oh, so her parents called to thank her for Kyle’s gifts but guilt stopped her from picking their calls. Who would have known Kyle could borrow a new heart from nowhere?
    “I came to Casablanca with only one demand in mind. One demand, Alero.” He stood with his hands folded over his chest.
    Thank God, his nipples were out of sight.
    “What is it?” To her ears, her voice sounded weary and high-strung. It was all too much to take in.
    “Alero, I want you back.”
    She slid down onto the chaise lounge by the window. Air flew out of her throat.
    “I’m too far gone in my new life to turn back.” She bit her top lip. Regret slowly eased into her conscience.
    “Says who? Give us a chance? God forgives us. It took me a couple of months to shed the guilt I carried around, and to forgive myself for all I had done to you.”
    “I’m not the same woman who left London.”
    Kyle knelt before her. “Hey, I know you’re not the same woman I married. I understand that. Neither am I the same man who asked you marry him. We have faltered, but we can move on together, because we can find the love hiding in our hearts through God’s grace. I want to be the man you can be proud of.”
    Still, her heart toughened and wavered. “Since when did you