CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 6: FALLING

The next morning, Amara woke up to a voice note.

Daniel's voice, low and sleepy: "Good morning, beautiful trouble. I kept thinking about last night. I think I should tell you... I'm not good at casual. If we do this, I want it to be real."

Amara smiled into her pillow. She played it three times. Their relationship became official without any big announcement. It just... happened. He was there. She was there. They were together.

Every morning brought a "Have you eaten?" text. Every evening brought a long call.

One night, Amara fell asleep while they were on the phone. She was exhausted from a pitch presentation. When she woke up at 2am, the call was still connected. She could hear him breathing softly.

"Daniel?"

A sleepy mumble. "Hmm?"

"You didn't hang up?"l

"I wanted to make sure you slept well," he said, half-asleep. "Go back to sleep, love."

Love. He had called her love.

Her heart melted. She didn't say anything. She just smiled and closed her eyes again, phone still pressed to her ear. For the first time, Amara understood. She wasn't just enjoying Daniel's company.

She was in love. She wanted to tell him. She was going to tell him that weekend when he invited her to meet his family.

She didn't know that Vanessa had already invited someone else to that same family dinner - a beautiful client named Clara who had been asking Daniel for more than business advice. And Clara had no intention of playing fair.

DANIEL'S FAMILY

Sunday lunch at the Okoro residence was an event.

Amara had spent two hours getting ready. She wore a modest Ankara gown her mother had sewn, her hair neatly packed. She carried a small bag of fruit, as her mother taught her.

Daniel held her hand tightly as they entered. "You look beautiful. Relax."

His mother, Mrs. Evelyn Okoro, opened the door. She was a warm, round woman with Daniel's smile.

"So you are Amara!" she said, pulling her into a hug. "Daniel talks about you every day. Come in, come in!"

The living room was big and cool. Pictures of the family everywhere. And sitting on the large couch, legs crossed, was Vanessa.

Vanessa Okoro was everything Amara was not - tall, sharply dressed in a designer jumpsuit, hair bone-straight, nails long and red. She looked at Amara from head to toe and smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"So you're the marketing girl," Vanessa said.

"Amara," Daniel corrected quickly.

"Amara," Vanessa repeated. "Nice dress. Did you make it yourself?"

Amara felt her cheeks burn. "My mother did."

"How sweet. Family business."

Dinner was tense. Evelyn asked Amara about her work and her mother, genuinely interested. Vanessa asked different questions

"So your father... is he late?" Vanessa asked while serving rice.

The table went quiet.

Amara swallowed. "No. He... left when I was twelve.

"Ah. Left. So your mother raised you alone?" Vanessa said, as if taking notes.

"Vanessa," Daniel warned.

"What? I'm just getting to know her," Vanessa said innocently.

Amara forced a smile. "Yes. She did. And she did an amazing job."

After lunch, Vanessa pulled Daniel into the kitchen.

"Are you serious about her?" she whispered, but loud enough for Amara to hear from the corridor.

"Yes."

"You barely know her family. You know what people will say? That girl from Rumuola whose father ran away? What if she's just after your money? You're about to become Senior Project Manager, Daniel. Women can smell promotion."

"Don't ever speak about her like that again," Daniel said, his voice hard. "Amara is not like that."

Vanessa stared at him. "You'll regret choosing her over your own family."

Daniel walked out. On the drive home, Amara was quiet. "Does your sister dislike me?" she asked finally.

"She doesn't know you yet," Daniel said. "She looked at me like she did. Like I was a gold-digger."

Daniel reached for her hand and squeezed it hard. "I choose you, Amara. Not her. You."

She smiled, but in the side mirror, she could have sworn she saw Vanessa standing at the gate, watching them leave, phone to her ear. She was already making a call.

A WARNING

"Who is Vanessa calling?" Amara's mother, Mama Nkechi, asked over the phone that evening. "That woman called me this afternoon asking if your father sends money. I told her it's none of her business."

Amara sat up in bed. "Mama, she called you? When?"

"Today. She said she is Daniel's sister doing family background check. Background check for what? Are you marrying?"

Amara's stomach turned. "Mama, I'm sorry. I will talk to Daniel."

She called Daniel immediately, crying.

Daniel was furious. He drove straight to Vanessa's apartment in Eliozu that night. "You called her mother?" he shouted when she opened the door.

Vanessa didn't flinch. "I am protecting you. You think love is enough? This girl has baggage. Her father abandoned them. Her mother struggled. Do you think she won't look at your salary and see a rescue plan?"

"You don't know anything about struggle!" Daniel yelled. "You married a rich man!"

"Exactly! So I know how women think!"

Daniel stared at his sister like he had never seen her before. "If you ever contact Amara or her family again without my permission, I will cut you off. I mean it, Vanessa."

Vanessa's eyes filled with tears, but her mouth stayed hard.

"You'll come crawling back when she shows you who she really is."

Daniel walked out and slammed the door.vThat night, he held Amara for a long time.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "My sister is... she thinks she's protecting me."

"I don't want to come between you and your family," Amara whispered.

"You won't," he said. "I love you."

It was the first time he said it directly. Amara froze, then started crying. "I love you too," she said

They held each other, believing love was enough to silence any sister.

They were wrong. Because Vanessa was not the only woman interested in Daniel. And the other woman was far more dangerous.