WHEN THE HEART KNOWS

Nma woke up slowly, stretched and yawned, casting her eyes about, she gasped delightfully and watched in growing wonder as a spectrum of orange and red cast its rays into her room. In joyful wonder she noticed the beautiful sunrise coming from the window and sighed happily and sat up. She loved it when the day began like this; it brought promises of a terrific day ahead. She looked around her room and smiled, it was a beautiful room and every morning she woke up in it, she looked at it like she was seeing it for the first time. The walls were done in sparkling white and the floor was covered in a rich chocolate tiles. Her ivory carved dressing mirror was at one corner while some white leather couches were at another and her bed spread matched her floor. She got up from the bed and stretched again breathing in the sweet fresh air, exhaling slowly and lingeringly. “This is what it feels like to be young, independent and successful”. She sighed happily. She was only twenty six and already had her own thriving business, a clothe line that was gaining popularity by the day. She moved to the window as if the sunrise called out to her, she wanted a closer look of the beautiful orange bloom, to her it was one of those nature’s unique gift and most people took it for granted but not Nma. She often wondered why some people never stopped to admire it and exclaim in awe again and again the majesty of our God. Suddenly through the well manicured izora flowers which also served as a demarcation between her and the next house, she saw her neighbor, a married woman whom she had never learnt to get along with give her a disapproving look and drew up curtains hastily. Nma looked at herself in wonder and realized she was still in her lacy knickers and matching top, she hastily used the drapes to cover herself laughing as she breathed in lingeringly once more the freshness of the new day. The negligee was one of her latest design and she was just trying it out. She was not only a very good and highly creative designer; she was also an accomplished tailor. She had learnt to sew on her father’s lap because there was no one else to hold her while he worked, her mother having left when she was a baby. Her father was a good tailor, he started the NMA collections but he died before he could see it become successful, she sighed unhappily at the thought. She wasn’t going to allow herself dwell on that particular thought today, not with the day whispering delightful promises. She pushed the bitter memories from her mind as she pushed herself away from the window and picked up her small watering can and went to water her plant. She had bought the green plant thinking she could start a garden but the demands of her work didn’t allow her the time for such luxury. As she watered it she noticed the single rose standing in a glass jar next to the plant, dropping the kettle she picked up the rose and carried it to the mirror. The rose was given to her by one of her numerous admirers. But this one stood out from the rest. He was a successful banker, handsome and humorous, kind and generous from what she had seen so far from their numerous dates, still she just couldn’t bring herself to make the commitment necessary to solidify the relationship. At twenty six she still had time to get into a well meaning relationship, she thought ruefully. Now was the time to take her career further and higher, the sky was her beginning. She was going to create designs that would put her clothe line on the world’s map and she was going to diversify into other credible ventures. Designing was her life; she had been designing since she was a child. Her father allowed her to practice with brown paper while he worked. From there she graduated to pieces of cloths, by the time she was ten, her father would allow her to cut the material for him and also allow her to sew the simple styles. “Oh Dad, How do I come to terms that you are no more even after ten years?” She cried silently as she put the flower back inside the jar. “If you were here I would have asked you what to do about Ken and his persistence for a commitment” she said aloud bitterly. How was she even going marry him when he believed she was going to be twenty nine on her next birth day, she murmured and moved to run a bath for herself. The man was just totally blind without his double lens. On their first date when he had asked her how old she was, she had playfully asked him to guess and to her greatest astonishment he had said twenty nine. She was so taken aback that she refused to correct him, Not that she blamed him, it was rare to see a twenty six year old who was as successful or as ambitious as she was. She climbed into the oval shaped bath tub; she didn’t think a brief shower would satisfy her today. She sighed with satisfaction as she breathed in the scent of the bath gel. It is a sweet smelling herbal mixture recommended to soothe the nerve and tone the body as well as complexion. Few moments later, she was drying her body and applying her moisturizing lotion. She rummaged through her drawer for some underwear. Then she went to stand in front of the mirror to examine herself. She wasn’t totally vain but she loved her body. She looked at her tiny waist and flat stomach, her waist looked like someone has carved out a U at both sides and this enhanced her well rounded her hips. She was not very tall but she made up for that in other areas because she thought she was too tiny for her well endowed busts. She smiled at the thought but she had got the perfect face to carry it. Her face was small and oval with large slanted eyes the color of hazel. People usually thought she wore contact lens. Her nose was small and pointed and her lips were full and luscious. Someone actually told her they always looked like she has just been thoroughly kissed. She shook head at the thought and sighed ruefully, people always saw a pretty woman when they looked at her but she knew she was more than a pretty face. People told her that her best assets were her eyes; others believed her figure was her flag bearer but they were all wrong because she knew perfectly well what her best assets were, they were her brains, but her father thought her best asset were her kind and gentle manner, She thought as she sat on her stool to apply her make up. Her face didn’t really need much make-up, but she liked to indulge herself sometimes. Her foundation, mascara and lip gloss were all she needed on her face. Sometimes she had gone without make up and Ken even preferred her face that way but she was not the type to live by another person’s preference. That was the power being independent and having your own money gave you. When she was done, she stood up and walked into her vast and very rich closet and put her hands on her hips, trying to make up her mind on what to wear. Her father had often wondered why and how she could spend an eternity making up her mind on what to wear alone. She smiled and extracted body con skirt, wore it with a red camisole and topped it with black wrap around jacket. She wore black high heel shoes and bags. The dress was one of her latest designs. She matched to the mirror to get another look at her appearance. She ran her hands through her blond colored braids which matched her eyes perfectly and decided to let them run free. The braids were long, very tiny and waist length. She did a full turn in front of her mirror, feeling every inch the designer. Nma came out of her room and walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The kitchen was not what you would see in a mansion but it was every single independent woman’s dream come true. The tiles on the wall were brown and white. The combination made you think of delicious meals. She had all the latest gadgets a kitchen should boost of. She had taken her time in doing up the kitchen not because cooking was her hobby but because when she cooked, she liked to indulge herself. She also liked the comfort the machines gave her. She poured herself a large amount of orange juice and placed some fruits in a plate. She wasn’t the type that got fat easily but she hadn’t touched anything fattening since her sixteenth birthday. Then she was so obsessed with becoming a run way model but her height had discouraged her, she wasn’t just tall enough. As a result she didn’t keep fattening food in house. She couldn’t be short and fat at the same time she had thought then. Nma came out of her kitchen and picked her car keys in the living room. Her car was a brand new Honda accord. It was one of those extravagant purchases made to keep up appearances especially with her clients and investors. But this was one extravagant purchase she never regretted. She reversed swiftly left the bungalow behind. A very pretty girl smartly dressed in a navy blue trouser suit walked into a very well furnished masculine bedroom. She folded her hands across her chest and smiled with relief. The relief slowly turned to mischief as she looked at the hunk of a man sleeping soundly in the center of a wide bed. The man looked quite peaceful in his sleep. One of his bulging muscular hands was beneath his head while the other one lay across his well muscled stomach. The man possessed a very unique face, dark and handsome. No wonder women fell over themselves to get him to notice them. The girl smiled wearily. It didn’t help that he was Uche Okoha, a billionaire and the richest bachelor in town. She watched him sleep quietly and she knew that many women wished to see him this way and many she guessed have gotten the privilege. The man was quite a playboy, changing women like they were Kleenex. Not that she believed all she had read on the tabloids. Identical things had been written about her and they were not all true. She smiled and then she remembered her reason for coming to see him; The man had kept her dangling, if she had not discovered him this morning; she would still be wondering if he was yet back from his trip to attend her party tonight. His presence was especially important to her because she was getting married to one of his best friends and it had taken him a lot of time to come to terms that she, his little sister was getting married to his friend. He had nearly killed Charles when he learnt of their romance earlier in the year; it was a tough battle to convince him otherwise. Being certain that he was home and would be attending the engagement party, there was another thing she wanted for him. She wanted her brother to be as happy she was and that meant finding a way to make him stop seeing the spoilt rich brat Angela. She had her plans and she was sure it would be successful. She smiled and uncrossed her hands and walked up to him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheeks briefly and smiled as he woke up confused. No wonder women cried for days when he dumped them. What woman wouldn’t want the monopoly of watching him wake up every morning? She waited for him to see her. Uche opened his eyes slowly; he was a bit confused, he was sure he went to bed alone last night. Of course he did, his jet didn’t touch down till the early hours of the morning and he was so tired that all he thought about was bed and sleep. The kiss was not the kiss of any woman he knew, it was devoid of all passion. It was more affectionate than passionate and he didn’t think he knew any woman who could kiss him with such pure love devoid of lust, except his mother and probably his sister. His sister, he dawned on him then. She had always been a constant nag since she was born and she had gotten worse ever since he accepted and blessed her marriage to one of his closest friend. She was so scared that he was still too bitter and might boycott her engagement party. He stretched and smiled so like her to come and find out first hand if he was really trying to avoid her party. He opened one of his eyes and saw her and smiled “How do you get any work done if it takes you this long to wake up” she said and let out a screech as he dragged her down on the bed and tickled her. She laughed and begged him to stop. He stopped and she scrambled away from him. “What are you doing here brat?” he asked lying back down to catch his breath “To see if you would dare miss my party” “I already gave my promise. You know how good my word is” “I was a little worried you might change your mind considering the…” she trailed “I have totally forgiven Charles for loving you and I have come to realize that he is actually the best man for you. I am very happy for you” he smiled at her and got up from the bed, he was wearing satin deep blue short boxers which showed his athletic thighs. Eva looked at her brother and sighed. It wasn’t as if this was the first time she was seeing her brother’s naked chest but being in love with a man she totally idolized, she then understood the predicament of all those girls who pined for him. ‘I thought you slept in the nude” she teased him “Aren’t we lucky that I was too tired last night to shed all my decency?” “Well you are lucky it was just me, it could have been any of your girlfriends” “And which of the companies do you think a man would prefer this early in the morning, his sister’s or girlfriend? She threw him a pillow which he expertly caught. “Even if the woman is Angela?” she asked because she wanted an opening for her mission. “So tell me apart from making sure I would come to your betrothal party, what else brought you here?” “How well you know me, I came to tell you that I want you to bring a woman other than Angela to my party” He raised is eyebrow at her. “Really and why do you suppose I would be bringing her?” “She told me so and I won’t have it Uche. You and I know what kind of a person she is; she is not the kind of woman you should be thinking seriously about” “I am thinking seriously about her? It amazes me how you seem to know more about what goes on in my mind than I do” he said heatedly “She has become your permanent escort for months now. You attend every function with her” she complained “You told me rightly not so long ago that your private life is none of my business and they say respect is reciprocal” he told her angrily “Except that this is my party and I don’t want to get angry for one second and I seem to grow angry every time I see Angela” “And if I insist on bringing her?” “Then I would know that contrary to what you say, you have not forgiven Charles and I and you are bringing Angela as a form as revenge” Uche couldn’t believe her reasoning it was too ridiculous and he began to laugh while she stood up. “Sometimes Uju you make me wonder, I am glad that Charles has taken you and your troubles out of my hands” “It is Eva and not Uju; I will see you at the party with a new date?” “Do you by any chance know how and where I might come up with one at such a short notice?” Eva turned and looked at him and smiled mischievously. “You are Uche Okoha” She closed the door after her. Uche heaved a sigh of relief and began to march towards the bathroom, thinking which of the many girls he knew would serve as his date tonight. Then suddenly he saw her face, the hazel eyed beauty who had been hunting his dream ever since he had the misfortune of setting his eyes on her not once and each time he did, she was escorted by a different man. The only thing common in all the men he had seen her with was that they were all besotted with her. He smiled ruefully; he didn’t want to become a victim of a scheming beautiful woman. Was he not trying to escape Angela? But something inside him believed that the hazel eyed goddess was different and probably it was time he found out how different.