And he agreed to wait?

“You’re not intimate with him yet? And he agreed to wait?”

Gladys sighed. “We discussed it and he seemed to accept that I would prefer the relationship to be very well established before we made love. But he's not been handling the wait very well.”

“Did you tell him you wanted to get married first?”

Gladys covered her face with both hands. “That would be ideal wouldn’t it? But no, I just want a commitment from him both in feelings and actions.”

“You’ve been dating a while. Did it only come up as points of discussion? He never had any problems with it practically?”

“Well it cropped up a few times when I stopped things from going too far. This time, he was really annoyed and played the marriage card.”

“You mean that you had been holding out for marriage?"

“He didn’t say it in those words but I was still insulted by the way he raised it.”

“Edward should have known you would take it hard.”

Gladys sighed and rubbed her eyes, "I don’t know what got into him that night..."

"When did this happen? Let me guess, Thursday night? At her niece's nod she continued with a small smile, "No wonder you've been so moody since then. But you should know that by now that sexual frustration can make men do strange things.”

“He actually asked me to marry him.”

Aunt Isioma sat up straight. “Did he now? This is more serious than I thought.”

“I’m really confused. I love Edward but I want him to acknowledge that he loves me. In the past, he talked about how he’s much wealthier than I am, asking if I was in the relationship for money. We got over that but I still worry what the future might hold if he cannot trust me enough to give his heart fully to me, to accept me as I am. I’m not ashamed that my family’s not rich; in fact I am proud of the values I learnt from my background.”

Auntie Isioma tapped her teeth for a moment and then spoke, “Your relationship with Edward gives me echoes of how I met my husband.”

Gladys raised her eyes and grimaced, “You mean the classic tale of rich boy, poor girl…”

“But it’s not the same, so don’t allow anyone say otherwise. Yes, not even the tabloids. You are educated and have a proper job. Your mother is doing well and your brothers have their whole lives ahead of them. You also have me and my family in your corner.”