A bed of trials episode 1
A Bed Of Trials (episode 1)
The foundation of many relationsh¡ps today is sadly built on shallow grounds and decked with a low tendency to weather the trials that life might throw at them. It’s sad that so many people go into relationsh¡ps with zero tolerance for bad times and that’s why most love stories go from sweet to sour in just few years of the couple being together. Have you ever just looked at your partner and ask yourself this critical but sincere question; “if he/she loses everything they have today, will I still be by their side supporting them through the bad times or will I take the back door out?”. It’s one thing to confess something with your mouth and another thing entirely to back it up with accurate actions. No one wishes for bad times but that’s unfortunately an inherent part of life and this and more was the fate of a selfless couple by name ‘Olivia’ and ‘Edward’.
Few years back, two beautiful and amazing individuals found love at a conference hosted by a foreign company that had just began operation in the country. Olivia happened to be a partner with this new company, while Edward came to the conference as a representative of his firm which was at the verge of closing a huge deal with this new company at the time. When they first set their eyes on each other at the conference, it was a love at first sight for Edward because he was mesmerized by the smart pretty damsel and her fluently diction.
Initially, Olivia seemed intimidating with her personality because she came off as a successful outspoken lady in her prime. On the other hand, Edward didn’t feel threatened in anyway because he was also a ‘Spec’. He occupied a high position in the firm he worked for and earned money in good figures. This knowledge about himself gave him the confidence he needed to approach a high class lady like Olivia.
The seminar lasted for about six hours before it came to an end. As everyone took their leave one after the other, Edward hastened up every minor meeting he had so as to be able to approach the pretty damsel before she leaves. Immediately he was done greeting few important personalities, he hurried out of the building and stood in front of his black G-wagon that was parked not too far from the conference hall entrance. After about ten minutes of waiting, Olivia finally came out from the building and majestically walked towards her car that was parked not too far from his. Without wasting another second, he knew it was time to make a fast move on her.
“Hello Miss, can I speak to you for few minutes please?” Edward asked as he walked towards Olivia. Immediately she looked and saw him walking towards her direction, she smiled faintly because she had also admired him back at the conference. She stood still and waited for him to get closer to her and when he eventually did, her face Lit up with a smile. “Hi, how are you doing?” Olivia asked as she fondled her car keys, “I am doing good and you” Edward responded and she replied “I’m fine, thanks!”.
As they stood there staring at each other, Edward broke the awkward silence immediately because he didn’t want to lose any opportunity of getting Olivia’s number that evening at least. Without hesitating, he continued the conversation. “You were really amazing in there and aced your speech as well. You surprisingly made the business gurus at the conference pick up their handouts to go through the policies and agenda over again, just because of the magnitude of wisdom you were spitting. I was blown away and couldn’t help but get to know you better. I know this is a bit unexpected so pardon my zealous attitude” he said with a senses of humour and Olivia smiled hærd. She began to blush as she couldn’t conceal the fact that she was flattered by what Edward had said. It was such a random encounter she didn’t plan on experiencing that evening but deep down, it felt good and she was happy it happened.
When Edward was done flattering the pretty damsel with his constructive sense of humour, Olivia had no option than to bring down her guards and intEr×¢t briefly with him. They spoke for a while before he asked for her number. Olivia refused giving her number to him and asked for his card instead. “Give me your card or your number, I will call you instead” she said with a smile on her face but Edward wasn’t sure it was the best decision to make for he was a bit scared that she won’t call nor reach out to him. “How am I sure you won’t toss my card away the very minute you drive out of this place?” he jokingly inquired and she assured him that it won’t be the case. “Don’t worry, I won’t do as you fear” she said with a smile on her face. In order not to stress the matter, Edward agreed and gave his card to her, since she bluntly refused to give hers out. Briefly after the card was given, they said ‘Goodbye’ to each other and parted ways.
That day was the beginning of something beautiful between both parties. Olivia finally surprised Edward with a phone call after over two weeks of waiting. He almost gave up hope that she would ever call him after every attempt to locate her social media handle or accounts failed woefully. It was as though Olivia wasn’t a part of this earth because there was no single trace of her anywhere. She was truly a rare gem and it took him only two weeks to realise that fact.
One cozy evening, as Edward sat in his balcony sipping a glass of wine, his phone rang and immediately he looked at the number, his instincts told him it was Olivia calling. However, still unsure, he picked up but didn’t say a word. “Hi Edward, this is Olivia speaking. Just thought about you and decided to put a call through; trust you have been?” she calmly said and instantly, his doubts were cancelled. Happy and excited to hear from his runaway crush who had abandoned him for weeks, he responded almost immediately she was done speaking. “I must be dreaming because you were the last person I thought would surprise me with a phone call today. I have been trying to find you for the past two weeks since you weren’t bothered to call me all these while. Today must be a lucky day for me and I am so happy to hear from you finally” he happily said.
On seeing the excitement in Edward’s voice, Olivia felt a bit guilty for not calling sooner but at the same time, she was happy to have called finally. They spoke at length that evening and didn’t want to get off the phone. Surprisingly, they found out that they enjoyed talking to each other. Their vibes were alike and they seemed compatible. The fact that they were both business gurus with the same work ethics, mindset and standards took their compatibility to a wh0le different level. As a result of this, they became extremely close in no time.
As the friendsh¡p between Olivia and Edward graduated into something bigger, they figured they were gradually falling for each other. However, Olivia played tough and hærd-to-get as long as she could before Edward finally gained complete access into her heart. The fact that they stayed as friends for a long time before becoming lovers, made them value their relationsh¡p even more. Despite their busy schedules as top business personnels, they still made out time for each other.
It’s been seven months since Edward and Olivia went from ‘friends’ to ‘lovers’ and with a good intention for the future of their relationsh¡p, he felt it was time to make things official with her and what better way to do so than to propose. As at that time, Edward was in his late 30s while Olivia was in her early 30s. They were mature adults that knew what they wanted from each other and didn’t want to go beating around the bush. Edward knew it was time to make things official and after series of planning to give Olivia the perfect proposal, he finally popped the question one fateful day in his living room.
Being a reserved and quiet man, Edward didn’t want to make a big show so he invited Olivia’s family members and also few of her friends to witness the special day. A decor artist was hired to decorate the wh0le living room to make it more special for the occasion. With everyone present and the mood set, Edward phoned Olivia to inquire how close to his house she was as they had discussed about her visiting prior to that moment. Edward had tricked Olivia into believing that he wanted to spend some quality time with her because he missed her dearly during the week. She had no idea that her man had a cute proposal surprise up his sleeves.
After about 20 minutes of waiting, Olivia finally drove into the estate but couldn’t sense anything suspicious because everyone that was present had parked their cars several blocks away from Edward’s house. It was when she opened the door and saw the decor and her ‘beau’ with one knee down that it dawned on her that she was getting proposed to. After a heartfelt proposal speech, Edward finally popped the golden question; “will you marry me” and Olivia scre-med “yes”. Immediately the ring was ins**ted into her finger, everyone came out from hiding with their cameras all out and Olivia’s excitement tripled when she saw her parents, siblings and close friends. She was all shades of happy and couldn’t have wished for a better proposal than what she got.
A week after their engagement, wedding preparations began. With the help of a good wedding planner, they were able to org-nize a classy wedding ceremony with less than 200 guests. Most attendees were business associates and friends of the couple from all over the world. The wedding was Lit and lasted in the memory of those that attended.
It was such a beautiful day to remember as the couple danced slowly to their wedding song. They held on to each other and cried whenever they couldn’t hold their emotions together. That night when the couple retired to their hotel room for their wedding night, they didn’t rush to take their clothes off and be in each other’s arms, but rather, they sat on the bed after taking their shower to speak deep positive words into their marriage.
As Edward sat in front of his wife who was almost unclad, he held her hands and looked into her soothing eyes. He took a deep breath and began to reaffirm his vows to her. “Baby, this is the beginning of another chapter of our lives and I couldn’t be more happy to be going down this path with any other person than you. I know tomorrow is unknown but I promise to never disappoint you. I promise to never let you or our marriage down. I promise to love you unconditionally till the day I take my last breathe and I promise to make you the happiest woman in the world. I love you baby and can’t wait to grow old with you” he calmly said.
Immediately Edward was done with his heartfelt vow, Olivia dropped a tear and looked into his eyes too. She leaned forward and k-ssed his forehead. “Baby, I want you to know that whatever happens in this life, I have got your back forever. I will never disappoint you too and I promise to be the best wife that I can be to you. I love you so much and I am so happy to be going down this path with you. You can always count on me for anything just like I know I can always count on you. I love you so much and can’t wait to grow old with you too” she said with tears flowing down her eyes. At that moment, emotions were on the high and that was when they finally gave their bodies to each other. What a remarkable wedding night to remember!
With each passing day, life was nothing but blissful for the newly wedded couple. They loved each other unconditionally and made each other happy. It felt as though the wh0le universe was smiling towards their marriage because it was truly a bed of roses. Despite being prepared for challenges, they weren’t having any and it made them extremely happy knowing that they were a problem-free couple. Things went on perfectly well till a horrible news came knocking one fateful day that changed everything.
It happened that there was an issue at the top hierarchy where Edward worked and he was unfortunately implicated which led to him being fired from the firm he worked in. It was a devastating news for the young man who wasn’t even up to a year old in marriage. The courage to break such news to Olivia wasn’t present at all because he didn’t know how she was going to react; especially since that was one aspect of his life that made them extremely compatible. It was a nightmare in broad day light.
As Edward drove back home that night with his sack letter lying on the passenger section of the car, he felt empty and like a failure. The only thoughts running through his mind was how he was going to inform his wife that he no longer had a job. This was a position he never imagined himself to be in but sadly it was his reality.
Unknown to Edward, Olivia just found out that day that she was pregnant and could wait to break to the good news to her husband. She prepared his favourite meal to set the mood for the good news she was about to tell him. What a sad coincidence!
After a 30 minutes drive, Edward finally arrived home and walked towards the entrance door. Immediately he opened the door, Olivia ran and gave him a tight hug. “Baby you are welcome; how was work today? I made your favourite meal” she happily said as she held his hand to guide him into the house. However, before Edward could step one foot into his house, he didn’t know when he broke the sad news to his wife. “I got fired today: I have lost my job” he soberly said.
Confused and shocked to the brim, Olivia scre-med “You say what?”.
End of episode 1 😉
Stay tuned tomorrow for the next episode to see what happened next.
✍🏼 Written by Sonia Okehie