AMBER ROMANCE

WHEN THE HEART KNOWS

CHAPTER NINE 

Nma drove home, confused and worried; she didn’t know what the scene in Felix office meant to her relationship with Uche, she didn’t know if she was ever going to see him again. He had left when she asked him to with an expression that looked like curse me if I ever bother again. She chuckled at the thought. One thing strange was that he did not ask his men to leave, they had remained behind. She looked at her rearview and saw them in their dark shaded black jeep following some few blocks behind her. What had she gotten herself into? The press were no longer after her, she was sure they were scared off by those huge mean looking mean in dark suits and shades.

As she drove past the mall, she remembered her empty cupboards and pots and decided to go for a shopping. She still couldn’t believe Uche’s audacity and accusations as if he owned her. But if he was actually jealous like Felix thought, shouldn’t she be happy about it she reasoned. It meant that he really cared for her, she thought thrilled. Then another nagging thought occurred to her he had never said he loved her, not for once. He said he liked her, he was attracted to her, and he found her beauty bewitching and that she has got all he needed in a woman, but never a word of love. She sighed and hushed herself; it was too soon for him to talk of love. That he cared for her was enough for the time being.  She concentrated on her stirring as the mall loomed ahead.

Uche was pacing back and forth in his office; he was trying to understand what came over him at Nma’s office. He wasn’t the type to give in to jealousy but his behavior there said he was extremely jealous. Fine he agreed he was territorial with his women but there was a huge difference between being jealous and territorial. He only wanted to sleep with the woman, he reasoned, or did he? Could it be possible that what he wanted from her had changed over the past few days without him knowing?  He blinked severally as if to make sure that he was still the same man who had vowed that he wanted nothing emotional to do with women anymore. His pact with them was sex and nothing more. He was going mad he concluded. To be having these thoughts in the first place suggested nothing but that. Fine he agreed Nma was the type of woman a man would easily fall for, she was beautiful and intelligent and had the knack of keeping a man unsure of himself but he wasn’t the type of man to be intimidated by a woman, he was Uche Okoha and he was sure of himself. Women like Nma pretended to be a little tougher and a little different from other women so they could get more from him while getting a little respect in return. He heaved a sigh having come to that conclusion. Then Nma’s shocked face flashed before his face and he shuddered. He had acted like an ogre. Where was his reasoning ability? He was known to be level and cool headed in situations where others would act differently. But since he met the little temptress, everything about him had changed. No, he thought, he was not changing and least not over a woman. She was pretty but not by a long haul the prettiest woman he had ever seen. If women prettier than her couldn’t change him then she was not going to change him either.

He sat down, trying to concentrate on the work before him but concentration eluded him. What was it about her that made him restless and somehow unsure? He wasn’t a man to give in to vanity but he knew that one of his secret to success was the ability to discern and read situations perfectly. Apparently this ability didn’t apply to the golden eye beauty. What was it about her that set his nerves jumping and determined to have her? Ever since he set his eye on her he had become almost obsessed with the thought of her.

He glanced at his watch impatiently. What was actually going on between Nma and Felix when he opened that door?  Were they really lovers or was he just imagining things. Felix was the same man he saw kissing his wife some weeks back. He was sure Nma was perfectly aware of that fact. Then maybe the embrace was as innocent as they had explained. Innocent or not he thought, he acted like a rake back there and he needed to make amends.

“Is that a fact?” a nagging voice taunted

Well no, he accepted. Okohas never surrendered, never retreated and never apologized least of all to a woman. Then how was he going to see her again?  He asked, he agreed he was indeed mad if his problem was how to see the woman again. Given he was yet to get want he wanted which was sleeping with her but he wasn’t going to apologize his way into her bed. She would be reaping the benefit of sleeping with him and he wasn’t going to part with his money and connection while satisfying her carnal needs and with an apology to embellish it, he vowed.

Felix got home and walked tiredly to the bed room searching for his wife. He didn’t see her but he heard the shower running and smiled. What else could a man ask for after being accused of incestuous behavior, he sighed and walked into the adjourning bathroom?

“I was wondering if you were going to join me” Tessy smiled at him opening the shower cotton. Like always his heart skipped a beat just like the first time they met.

“You had a rough day?”

He loosened his tie and began to unbutton his shirt. “I was accused of sleeping with Nma today by a raving lunatic”

Tessy laughed “I am sure this person doesn’t know you or Nma well enough to understand the closeness”

 “He burst in through the door and saw Nma in my hands and jumped into conclusion, and I was just warning Nma off him when it happened”

“One of Nma’s admirers, I sure like to meet this one who is not scared of you” it was most times a source of arguments between them; It was like Felix took pleasure in scaring away any man who might be interested in Nma. He didn’t believe any man was good enough for her. If she didn’t know him and trust him, she would have jumped into the same conclusion but she knew that Felix felt nothing but a father’s love for Nma. She smiled and then she wondered who the man was. The man sounded like he was what both Felix and Nma needed.

“So who is this man who has gotten you all worked up?”

He smiled at the pun. His belt unbuckled at last, he looked up. “You could lend me a hand”

“No” she smiled coolly at him. ‘”So who is he?”

“Uche Okoha, the mad man thinks that being rich gave him the royal right to act as he wants”

“Oh mine! You mean the guy is besotted with Nma!” Tessy cried excitedly. “The guy is real cute”

“I wouldn’t mind if you concentrate on the man in front of you”

She looked at him and smiled.

“And besides how would you be knowing if he is besotted with Nma or not”

“That’s what it would take to make a man like Uche Okoha angry enough to speak without thinking. The guy looks quite controlled, throwing accusation means he is jealous and spoke out of jealousy”

“He is stark raving mad” Felix concluded.

“Yes that’s another way to put it and No wonder you needed soothing, common honey let me sooth you, the way only I know how” she purred.

“I think this time around, you have met your match honey, Uche Okoha looks like a man who is stubborn enough to get what he wants”

Felix kissed her, “Uche Okoha will have to prove himself that he deserves my Nma.

Nma managed to open her door with all the bags she was carrying, she kicked the door closed with her feet and hurried into the kitchen. She breathed a sigh of relief when she dropped her shopping bags on the kitchen table. Then she proceeded to placing everything at the appropriate place. She decided to make a pot of stew and vegetable soup. She had just learnt to cook the soup through one of her Calabar friends and she had been waiting to test her skills on Felix and Tessy but since the opportunity was not presenting itself, she could as well do a little private tasting before she showcased her skill. As she prepared the food, her thoughts went back to Uche and what she was going to do about him, had she lost him forever? Would he come back? She sighed. Maybe she should give him a call and say what to him she asked herself. He was the one who needed to apologize to both her and Felix. How could he throw such foul accusations at them? He insulted them and there was no way she was going to apologize to him for that. But what if he never came back, she asked and her heart gave a frightened lurch at that thought. Scary it might seem now but if that happened, she would move on with her life. After all she barely knew him, so his loss would not be that painful.

After her bath, she wore a simple mini A line gown. She powered her face and decided to spend a good time enjoying the vegetable soup but as soon as she got to kitchen, she had a rethink and immediately started preparing the stew. She wanted to finish the cooking and take a much needed rest. She needed time to think about what to do concerning Uche. She was in love with the guy and the only way that love could survive was if she married him. She laughed at her own foolishness. How was she going to get him to marry her, by carrying him off to the chapel kicking and screaming? She sighed, if only she was like other girls who could afford to sleep with any man they choose as far as they wanted or convinced themselves that they were in love, as if being in love justified sin of any kind. She stood up to check the stew. It was cooking nicely. She looked longingly at the vegetable soup and she decided she could leave the stew cooking while she ate. She was happy that she would not have to worry about cooking at least for the next one week. As she carried the food to the table trying not to worry about Uche a knock on her front door startled her and she left the food reluctantly, praying that it would not be her foolish rich friends. She was going to give them one excuse or the other. She was definitely not in the mood for one of their visits.

In the living room she ran her hands through her braids before opening the door. She fixed a pleasant smile on her face, after all they were good customers and she still wanted them to be loyal to her label. She opened the door and felt excitement sip in through her spine. Uche was standing there still in his office clothes, except that the tie was gone and so was the jacket. Some parts his shirts have come off the waist bands and he was looking delicious and rakish like he had just been ravished by an impatient lover. And the mixture of both was tempting, very tempting for any hot blooded woman.

“May I come in? He asked quietly and her heart skipped a beat, she stood transfixed on the spot drinking in his handsome face. Could he ever be hers? She asked herself.

“I know you might be opposed to the idea” he said and smiled. That smile, if only he knew what that smile did to her. But at the back of her mind, his voice jolted her back into her senses and she looked down ashamed of her thoughts. If he could read her thoughts, she was sure he would be scandalized.

“Yes please you may” she answered leaving the way to give him room.

“This place smells nice, what going on?”

“Oh! I am cooking”

“I didn’t know you cooked” he said surprised

“I thought all men took it for granted that all women cooked” she said easily

“Not the kind I am used to” he replied. Now that was something. He could count on one hand how many women of his acquaintances that cooked. Right then he understood why women who cooked attracted his friend Stanley. There was something about them that kicked a man’s protective hormones into action. Right now she felt all soft and woman and his protective instincts were jumping into action. Then he looked at her tenderly as tenderly as he was feeling and his breath stopped for a second. She was looking incredibly sexy and woman in her gown and apron and he wanted to take her in his arms but he remembered his mission and decided that particular action would have to wait till later. “How are you?” he asked instead.

“I am fine” she answered coolly “Would you care to sit down?” she added.

He nodded and sat down “Let me get you a drink”

She began to leave but he caught her hands and drew her back “stop”

“Stop what?” she asked him curiously

“Stop acting like we are meeting for the first time”

She sighed and regarded him for a time, “I am sorry but that is exactly what it feels like” she answered him “what can I offer you?”

He ignored her question and decided that they were never going to get anywhere unless he cleared the matter first”

“About this evening”

“Yes this evening, I have never been insulted like that before, I asked myself if I really knew you and I realized that you are a total stranger”

“That is why I am here” he said quietly

“Why? To find out if Felix came home with me?”

“No that’s not why I am here”

“Well then speak up because I have very little time left to entertain” she glared at him

“You have every right to act the way you are doing now but…”

“But what, I am over doing it?”

He heaved a sigh and smiled inwardly, well this was something for the tabloids, he thought. Money magnet Uche Okoha tongue tied over a girl who was barely out of the school room, he chuckled at the thought.

Nma was infuriated by his amusement. Probably he found her paranoia amusing. She guessed it was not the way his normal girlfriends reacted. They probably gave him a pat on the back when he hurt them. Well she wasn’t one of his normal girlfriends and she would be walking out of his life fast before she let him hurt her and get praised for it.

“What’s funny, you expected me to pat you on the back like most of your girlfriends....”

“I came to apologize but the thing is it is not something I am used to. I hardly ever had to apologize to anyone before and I guess I am making a mess if it” he said cutting her flow of angry word.

That got her and she stopped talking and stared at him dumbfounded. She knew that he was arrogant but she never knew how much. What was even more surprising to her was that his arrogance would allow him to condescend to this level. At least that was a beginning she thought, she was getting to the man at last.

“How come you no longer think Felix is my lover?” she asked

“I don’t?”

“Are you saying he could be?”

“That is what I am here to find out” he replied “For jumping into conclusion I am sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I was worried after I saw the papers and I wanted to make sure you were alright, finding you in his hands was a blow and I over reacted”

She couldn’t really bring herself to say anything at the moment; her brain has just refused to function.

“So tell me, was I wrong?”

“Wrong?” oh for crying out loud, she chided herself, quit acting like an imbecile.

“Was I wrong about you and Felix, I want to understand your relationship with him”

She let out her breath slowly, if he could come down from his high horse to apologize to her, the least she could do was explain to him why she and Felix shared a deep and strong bond.

“Felix is like a father and a big brother to me; I have known him all my life, he came into our lives right after my mother walked out and he became my friend, my confidante. When my father died, he took me in without questions. He and his wife are the only family I have right now. When you came in this evening, he was just consoling me because he too had seen the papers and wanted to make sure I was alright and he wanted me to be careful”

“…Careful of whom?”

“Uche Okoha who is well beyond me, more experienced and more matured than I am and he was scared I was going to get hurt”

Uche raised his eyes brows “Did he know that for sure?

“He believes he does and your action didn’t help at all” she replied him

“So you decided to hug him to show him how wrong he was”

“I am not going to be explaining to you every time I give Felix a hug and if by now you still believe I am sleeping with him then this discussion is over”

“Were you trying to convince me?”

She glared at him angrily and he smiled

“You have been teasing me”

“And you look incredibly sexy when you are angry”

She heaved a sigh and turned to check her cooking but he stopped her. She turned to look him.

“Listen honey if I still believed you were sleeping together, I wouldn’t have come here, I came here because it somehow dawned on me that you were telling the truth” then he kissed her. It was a kiss that started slowly. Nma took her time to enjoy the kiss, when he set her away, she reluctantly let him go. He drew her down to seat and stretched out.

“Making up is always sweet” he hugged her to himself.

“Next time when you get jealous of somebody try and control your temper and demand for an explanation” Nma advised.

“Fair enough, so now I demand an explanation about Ken, you don’t ever wear his ring and you seem to enjoy my company more than that of the man you called your fiancé.  Who exactly is he?”

“Are you afraid of being two-timed?” Nma taunted

“I demand an explanation” he insisted.

“Very well, but not now, I have something on the cooker” she said moving towards the kitchen

Uche shot out a hand and grabbed her. “Now or…?” he threatened.

“Or what?  Nma said enjoying his frustration.

“Watch me” he said as his lips descended on her and started kissing her, “tell me” he murmured between kisses.

“Is this your idea of torture?” Nma murmured

“Really” murmured Uche, “something’s burning” he revealed.

Nma sniffed into the air. “Oh no!” she exclaimed trying to get up, “that would be the stew” she explained, trying to get away from him.

“Oh no you don’t” Uche said restraining her. “This is my idea of torture. Now tell me about Ken, before the whole house burns down”

“After I check the stew or your prediction will come to pass” She complained

“Luckily I can afford the cost of rebuilding. So what do you say?”

“I’ll tell you in the kitchen”

He let her go and Nma rushed into the kitchen. She removed the pot from the fire. just as she was checking it, Uche strolled in. she turned and her heart skipped a beat as she took in his rumpled appearance again, he looked like she had spent the last thirty minutes ravishing him instead being angry with him. She turned back to her cooking to hide her smile.

But he put his hands around and drew her to him. He looked into the pot

“Looks appetizing, eating rice would not be a bad idea”

“Okay” she measured out the rice and began to wash it.

“Could you add some fried plantain and beans, that is the only way I can eat rice and enjoy it”

Nma smiled at the easy way he said  it and she fell in love with him more because doing those homely things for him made her feel closer to him. She took some ripe plantain for frying and began to peel them.

“So you can start now” Uche said, fascinated by the movement of her hands. He loved the fact that she was cooking for him. The easy way she decided to do his bidding. How a man could feel like a king because one woman was cooking for him and became suspicious if another as much as voiced the desire to do so was beyond him. If he could answer that then he would have answers to his deep feelings for her. He stopped, shocked at the thought. When did he conclude that his feelings for her were deep? As far as he knew, what he wanted from her hasn’t changed and they were not going to change.

Nma turned and faced him. “Ken is a friend; we went out a few times before he began to want something more permanent.  He wants to marry me.” She sighed and turned back to her chopping

“And you were going to marry him?”

“Were?” she teased him

He frowned and stared at her, “You are going to marry him?” he asked seriously

“What do you think? Do you think if I was going to marry him I would be here with you?”

After a while he answered “No I guess that wouldn’t be right and I like to think that you are a lady with some principles” he said “but I am confused because you told me a different thing”

“Only to scare you away” she smiled. “You were so arrogant and conceited thinking that I was yours for the taking and I wanted to burst your ego” she told him

“You mean all these while, I’ve been waging a battle against no one”

“You can’t blame me, you came into my life and all of a sudden I lost the control of my once orderly life. I needed leverage”

“You deserve a punishment for the kind of sleepless night you have caused me” he teased. He was happy that Ken and Felix were no longer an issue. So nothing was going to stop him from taking what he wanted and she no longer had any excuse to give him. He smiled at the thought and looked around the place. The place was cozy enough he decided. He looked up at her, she was in a good mood and he gave her his best seductive smile, the one he had found out women found hard to resist.

“I’m not scared, I kind of enjoy your idea of punishment” Nma laughed Oblivion to what was going on in his mind. She was happy and she was letting it show, she had decided to give Uche and herself a chance, it was a chance she had to take. Moreover how was she going to know if he would accept her the way she was if she didn’t try? She only wished she wouldn’t regret it.

“The punishment this time will be different”

“And better I hope?” taunted Nma

“Don’t push me minx, by the way can I help?” he asked

“You can start with the salad, that is if you know how to” she said pointing to the fridge.

“In my experience, the lady always says no and then they would ask me to pour myself a drink and make myself comfortable” Uche muttered going to the refrigerator.

“I am not like your other ladies Uche. And I don’t need to impress you”

Uche brought out the salad ingredients and started on it.

“Be careful, so you don’t chop your fingers” Nma teased

“let me tell you something girl, I washed plates to see myself through university and I also was once a waiter, sold ice cream, so I’ve encountered this kind of domestic duties before”

“With your father’s wealth, you worked to pay your fees?”

“My father wanted me to study, become a man and responsible; he felt if I work for all I achieve, I would be more able to handle the responsibility that comes with the empire. He also thought that if I had little money in my hands, I wouldn’t have enough to do drug, womanize or party about town” he answered her and attacked the salad “And mind you it was the first time I was working for my money, I enjoyed the experience. The money I made then was good. They were the only moneys I could really call mine” he said soberly

Nma raised an eyebrow. “No wonder you are not like other rich men’s’ sons I’ve come across” she said frying the plantain

“The ones you have come across how were they?”

“They are always spoilt and irresponsible” Nma said placing the fried plantains on a filter and began to dish the food.

“Thanks, that’s best compliment I’ve received from you” he said walking past her to the dining table.

Nma joined him carrying the dishes and they sat down to eat. The meal was fun as they talked and argued. Uche complimented her cooking. He didn’t expect her to be such a good cook.

“Where did you learn to cook this well?” he asked

“My mother left when I was still a baby so I became the mother of the house at a very early age”

When they were done eating, Nma cleared the table while Uche went to examine the sound system. He wanted something soft and slow to set the mood. It was time he ended this craze for her. And there was only way he knew he could do that. He found one of his favorite; he put the song on and relaxed on the couch waiting for her to come out.

Nma finished from the kitchen and wiped her hands. With a smile she went to meet Uche in the living room. When she came out of the kitchen, a cool love song wafted around the air. Her heart skipped a bit and the room suddenly became smaller and it dawned on her that Uche was not Ken, Ken who was too afraid to offend her by touching her. Gush! Ken was the exact type of relationship she needed. Ken was safe for a girl with her kind of principles. What was she really doing with Uche? What in the world got her to believe that a man as virile as Uche would be over the moon with her innocence and decide to wait till their wedding night? Well the truth was glaring at her now. The way he was lounging on that couch could only mean one thing, he expected her to join him in it. She shuddered and wondered again what she had gotten herself into. How was she going to get out of this one without totally making a fool of herself more than she had already done? There was no way out of it, one mind taunted her. The potent male on her couch has a healthy male appetite. She couldn’t believe how much she wanted same too. Oh! It was everything she wanted, everything she has dreamed about. To have him touch her in places no other man ever had and places no other man would ever touch. Wasn’t that what she had longed for right from the first day she saw him from Felix’s office. He looked even more appetizing than he did that first day she saw him and couldn’t stop peeping at him from Felix’s office. She wanted him even from that very moment. How was she ever going to say no now and deny herself the utter pleasure of touching him, of feeling those wonderful rippling muscles beneath her fingers but Felix advice came to her mind. “Say no to him, we men dream about untouched brides” could Felix be right, deep inside his mind, could Uche be dreaming of an untouched bride. Could it be possible that beneath all these potent and heady desire he felt for her that he could be overjoyed to find her a virgin and marry her? She thought not, there was nothing about the man on the couch that said that. From where she was standing at the door, she could feel the sexual tension on the air. And suddenly she couldn’t take the assault on her senses any longer and she wanted to bolt from the house. She could use the back door and grab her car keys and before he would realize it she would be far gone, safe from breaking her vow. But that would amount to cowardice. Cowardice was a small thing when compared to God’s disappointment in her. The choice was taken from her anyway as Uche spoke to her.

“You’re not planning on standing there all night,” Uche said jerking her back into reality.

WHAT DO YOU THINK PEOPLE?

 SHOULD NMA GIVE IN? 

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CHIOMA ONUOHA

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