Chapter 5: When Two Hearts Start To Notice
1069 Words
Daniel didn’t know when it began to happen, but the days after their lunch felt different.
Brighter.
Lighter.
More alive.
He woke up earlier, humming to himself.
He went to work smiling.
He checked his phone more than he should have.
And every time the screen lit up with a message from Amira, the joy in his chest was impossible to ignore.
Meanwhile, in Amira world…
Her phone buzzed so often with Daniel’s name that even Tomi started teasing her.
“Girl, just admit it,” Tomi said as they sat in Amira room one evening. “You like him.”
Amira hugged a pillow to her chest.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“Yes, you do,” Tomi said, rolling her eyes. “Your face literally glows when you get a message from him.”
Amira let out a helpless laugh. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?”
“You know my father.”
Tomi’s smile faded. “Ah. Him.”
“Yes. He’ll never approve.”
“Approve of what?” Tomi countered. “You’re not dating him… yet.”
Amira looked down at the pillow, fingers tightening around the fabric.
“I shouldn’t even be thinking about dating anyone,” she murmured. “I have responsibilities. Expectations. My father wants me to take over the family company someday. He has this whole vision for my life.”
“And where in that vision are you?” Tomi asked softly.
Amira didn’t answer.
She didn’t have to.
Back on Daniel’s side of the city, Emeka started noticing things too.
“Guy,” Emeka said one night while they made dinner, “you’re looking too happy these days. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Daniel replied, stirring the pot quickly.
Emeka laughed. “Ah. It’s like that.”
“It’s not like anything,” Daniel insisted.
“So you’re not seeing anyone?”
“No.”
“Talking to anyone?”
Silence.
Emeka grinned. “I knew it!”
Daniel sighed. “It’s not… serious.”
“But you want it to be,” Emeka said, not asking but stating.
Daniel looked away, jaw tightening slightly.
“She’s… different.”
“Different how?”
“Different from anyone I’ve ever met,” Daniel said quietly. “She’s kind. She listens. She makes me feel like—”
He paused, unable to find the right word.
Emeka waited patiently.
“—like I matter,” Daniel finished softly.
Emeka’s smile grew gentle. “Then don’t lose that.”
Daniel nodded, though uncertainty tugged at his heart.
He liked Amira. Too much, maybe.
But she came from a world he didn’t belong in.
And that truth haunted him like a shadow.
Days later, Amira and Daniel made plans again.
This time, she wanted to see where he spent his time, not in fancy restaurants or polished cafés.
“Show me your part of the city,” she had texted.
So Daniel picked a place without thinking too hard—the open-air night market.
The evening of their outing arrived with warm breezes and distant music.
Lights hung between stalls, flickering softly as people wandered from one vendor to another. The air carried the aroma of roasted corn, peppered suya, fried plantain, and sweet puff-puff.
Daniel stood at the entrance, waiting.
When Amira arrived, dressed in a simple blouse, jeans, and sandals, she blended in more naturally than he expected.
He smiled. “You look… calm.”
She laughed. “That’s a strange compliment.”
“It’s a true one.”
They walked side by side through the market.
Daniel showed her his favorite plantain stand.
She made him try a drink he’d never heard of.
They stopped to watch a group of children dancing.
She dragged him toward a vendor selling bracelets, insisting they each pick one.
He picked a thin brown leather one.
She picked a sunrise-colored beaded one.
When she slipped hers on, she looked at him shyly. “Now we match.”
Daniel’s heart stumbled.
A breeze passed between them, warm and gentle.
They wandered deeper into the night, talking about things that mattered—and things that didn’t.
Her laughter mingled with the music.
His voice grew more confident around her.
Their hands brushed more often now.
Neither pulled away.
But the moment that both of them would remember for years came quietly.
As they neared the middle of the market, they passed a small booth where a local musician was strumming a guitar, singing an old love song—soft, sweet, timeless.
Amira slowed down.
Daniel noticed.
“You like the song?” he asked.
She nodded. “My mother used to sing it.”
Her voice carried a memory—a softness Daniel wanted to protect.
Before he could say anything, a woman near them whispered to her friend, “Isn’t that Chief Bello’s daughter? What is she doing here? And with who?”
Amira stiffened immediately.
Daniel heard it too.
Their worlds.
Their differences.
Their realities.
They all crashed into the moment, sharp and uncomfortable.
Amira forced a smile. “Ignore them.”
Daniel swallowed. “Are you sure? I don’t want—”
“Daniel,” she said firmly, placing a hand on his arm. “I’m with you because I want to be.”
The warmth of her touch reached him instantly.
He nodded slowly. “Okay.”
Her fingers lingered on his arm before she withdrew her hand.
Later, as they walked toward where her driver waited, the mood grew softer again.
“Thank you,” she said. “For tonight. I feel… free.”
Daniel looked at her gently. “I’m glad.”
She stepped closer. “Can I tell you something?”
“Anything.”
“I like this version of the world. The one where it’s just you and me walking through markets and laughing at nonsense.”
Daniel’s heart tightened painfully, beautifully.
“I like it too,” he said.
A pause.
A soft breath.
A moment that almost turned into more.
But she didn’t kiss him.
And he didn’t step closer.
They weren’t ready yet.
Some hearts take their time rising into love.
As her car drove away, Daniel watched her through the shadows of the night market lights.
He didn’t know where this was leading.
But he knew one thing:
He wanted to follow it.
Wherever it went.
- Writer
