First Social Media Post 2

"Got it!" she exclaimed, snatching up the phone to inspect the image.

"Not bad," Chibuzor admitted, leaning over to peek.

"Not bad?" she huffed, mock insulted. "This is perfect! Now, let me draft the message to go with it."

He leaned back, arms crossed, watching her with mild curiosity. "Alright, Miss Social Media Strategist, let's see what masterpiece you come up with."

Olaedo ignored his teasing, her fingers flying across the screen as she composed the caption that would seal the illusion of their perfect 'couple life.'

"You choose and tell me which one's the best," Olaedo said, her tone casual, though her eyes betrayed her nerves.

Chibuzor took the phone from her, scrolling through the draft messages she had carefully composed. He read each one slowly, weighing their potential impact as if this was a life or death decision. Then again, it was, since it was their first couple picture.

Message 1:

Watching a movie with hubby! A knight in shining armor just saved the princess. I have my knight in shining armor right here 🥰

Message 2:

The knight saved the princess? When does my darling get to save me?? Should I stage a kidnap? 🤔

Message 3:

Hubby looks so peaceful in his sleep. My handsome knight. Shhh, he doesn't know I took this. 🤫

As he read, Chibuzor felt a pang of discomfort. Each message dripped with affection that wasn't real, a fabrication crafted to fool the world into believing in their 'perfect' marriage.

The absurdity of it all made him sigh inwardly.

Olaedo, noticing his expression, raised an eyebrow. "What's the problem? They're good, right?"

Chibuzor shrugged slightly. "They're... convincing."

"Which one?" she pressed, leaning closer, her eagerness making him chuckle despite himself.

"Alright," he said, rubbing his chin like he was deciding on a million dollar investment. "Message 1 is sweet and safe. It's the classic fairytale angle. Message 2 is playful, but it might raise a few eyebrows. Staging a kidnap? That could come off weird to some people. And Message 3..." He hesitated.

"What about Message 3?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"It's fine," he said, choosing his words carefully. "But it makes me sound like some oblivious, sleeping beauty, which I'm not."

Olaedo snorted, trying to hold back laughter. "Sleeping beauty? That's rich coming from the guy who agreed on taking a picture where you looked like you didn't know what was happening!"

"Touché," he admitted, smirking.

"So which one?" she pushed again, pointing at the phone.

"Message 1," he finally said. "It's simple, sweet, and keeps us in the fairytale theme."

Olaedo nodded, seemingly satisfied. She grabbed the phone and began typing the final caption. Chibuzor watched her work, a fleeting thought crossing his mind. 'If only this wasn't just an act...'

"Done!" she announced proudly. "Ready to post?"

"Go ahead," he replied, leaning back on the couch, bracing himself for the flood of likes and comments that would soon pour in, feeding the illusion of their perfect life together.

As Olaedo was about to hit "post," Chibuzor stopped her, his gaze fixed on the last message. An idea sparked in his mind, one that could buy him a few more moments with her.

"Wait," he said, sitting up straighter. "The last message... it doesn't match the picture we took. How about we take another one? This time, I'll actually pretend to be sleeping. I think that message has a better chance of convincing people." His tone was steady, but there was a subtle eagerness behind it.

Olaedo blinked at him, her thumb hovering over her phone screen. "Really? Um... oh, okay. I was thinking we could just go with the first message like you said before, but if you think this one will do a better job at selling the act, then sure, let's take another picture."

She sighed, shifting on the couch. "This isn't comfortable at all. But hey, I signed the contract, and I'm getting paid for it, right?" she added with a touch of amusement, mostly to herself.

Chibuzor chuckled softly, though his laughter felt hollow, almost as if something was holding it back. "Yeah," he agreed, leaning back into the couch. "Very uncomfortable."

She glanced at him, puzzled for a moment, but brushed it off. "Alright, Mr. Sleeping Beauty," she teased, pulling out her phone and setting up the camera. "Let's make this convincing."

He nodded, closing his eyes and adjusting his posture as if he were genuinely relaxed, though his mind was far from it. As she angled the camera to capture the perfect shot, her laughter rang out when he exaggerated a peaceful expression.

"Wow," she said, snapping the picture. "If I didn't know better, I would think you were genuinely enjoying this marriage."

"Who says I'm not?" he replied without opening his eyes, a teasing edge to his voice.

Olaedo rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Alright, let's see how this looks."

She checked the picture, tweaking it slightly before adding the caption:

"Hubby looks so peaceful in his sleep. My handsome knight. Shhh, he doesn't know I took this. 🤫"

"Perfect," she said, satisfied, and clicked "post."

Chibuzor opened his eyes and watched her for a moment. The genuine smile she wore as she uploaded the photo tugged at something in his chest.

"If only this wasn't just for show," he thought again. But instead of voicing his thoughts, he simply leaned back into the couch, waiting for the next activity

Olaedo scrolled through her phone as she sat on the edge of the couch, taking a break. Her eyes widened slightly, and she leaned forward, tapping on an article. "Hey, look at this," she called out, waving him over.

"The news from the ball is all over the media channels. They're mostly encouraging. Barely any mention of anything bad that happened."

Chibuzor, still adjusting his sleeves as he walked into the living room, raised an eyebrow. "Of course. I told you, I have everything under control."

Olaedo looked up at him, a glimmer of disbelief in her eyes. "You really took care of all of this, didn't you? It's... impressive."