WHEN THE HEART KNOWS (BILLIONAIRE BAD BOYS BOOK 1 BY Chioma Onuoha

CHAPTER ONE

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 cottons 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. She never knew her mother; the woman left when she was still 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 kid. 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 rose back into 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.