CHAPTER SIX.

The door pushed open and Audrey entered with a cup of black coffee sitting beautifully on a tray while the forced smile on her lips continued to linger.

Nathan who was standing by his window as usual turned his attention to the Sound of the door opening.

“Vanessa?” He called while his lips curled into a bright smile.

Audrey gulped as she set the tray on the table, the name Vanessa made her to cringe in a guilty way.

“Did you bring coffee for me?” He asked again and she nodded, forgetting for a moment that he couldn’t see her gestures then it immediately dawned on her,

“Yes, I brought your favorite coffee”

“Hmmm” he nodded but didn’t move from the window, he seem to be enjoying the cool breeze of the vast green thst surrounded him.

“Here” Audrey handed him a cup which he collected with ease and the lady was mesmerized. Being able to cordinate himself even when he was blind shows how desperate and willing he was to be able to see again.

“Why did you change your cologne though?” The man asked after a while and she froze for a split moment. He noticed the cologne which she didn’t bother to take into consideration. from the very start, Audrey has been different from her twin sister and that includes everything they shared and liked. While Vanessa was more of a bubbly type, Audrey was an introvert and loved her color purple around her. Their colognes were also of different brand, Vanessa loved the expensive brands while she settled for soft and tender fragrance.

“Babe?” His voice resonated in her ears again.

“Oh sorry” a fake smile came through her lips, “I must have zoned out again” even if Nathan could not see her, he knew she had a sly smile on her face.

“You came here just yesterday and I have caught you zoning out more than seven times, what do you think about so badly?”

This was it, she could tell him the truth now and get everything done and over with. She could get her life back to normal and forget about what has happened like it never did.

“How did you know I changed my cologne?” She asked again, “you keep tabs on that?”

A cackle echoed through his lips, “have you forgotten so soon Van? I thought you loved my collections but I guess taste do change”

She felt like slapping her head, he had a perfume brand and he was one of the major of many that Vanessa patronized. This was not mentioned to her and she just ended up making a fool out of herself in front of him.

“It was just for a few weeks, I guess I wanted to forget everything about you and I changed my collections”

“Hmmmm” he slurped on his coffee, “but you are back now right? You shouldn’t use that cologne again, I want to be able to recognize you everywhere and anywhere”

Audrey went mute, evrysday she was discovering new things about this man. If he was able to love her sister so endlessly like this, then he was a hopeless romantic.

After he was done with his tea, Nathan walked away from the window and stood directly in front of her. His blind eyes were trying to search her face and his lips curled into a firm smile when he was able to trace the outline of her face with his finger.

“What are you doing?” Audrey asked, she wanted to move away but he yanked her closer with his hand snaked around her waist.

“Where do you think you are doing?” She managed to ask while gulping again. The way his face was close to hers made a lot of things to run through her mind, he didn’t even belong to her in the first place so she was not supposed to have any kind of thoughts about him.

“You seem tensed” Nathan said after a while, “I can feel the rise and fall of your chest”

“I….I….” The words hung in her throat, he was too close for comfort which surprisingly she was liking.

Audrey suddenly hit herself in the head, he was her sister’s man and she was already looking at him in a different light.

“Nessa?”

“Huh?”

“You are scared”

“Why would you say that?” She inquired, funny enough she didn’t know if the both of them has taken their relationship to the next level. She didn’t want to give him the slightest inkling that she was an imposter and he was being tricked.

Nathan moved away from her a little and settled on the window frame while she was trapped between his legs.

“The Vanessa I fell in love with would have hastily kissed me by now and would not let me go but it seems you are distant and don’t want me around”

He sounded so sad and full of sorrow, Audrey couldn’t help but feel bad. Here he was thinking she was Vanessa, she was tempted to tell him the truth.

“Your eyes are beautiful” Audrey immediately diverted the topic, “I fell in love with them the moment I saw it”

Nathan was once again taken aback, she was the same person who called him a monster when she saw his eyes but right now she was complimenting him. Did she perhaps hit her head?

He leaned forward a little and grabbed a hold on her hand,

“You called me a monster, remember?”

Once again, Audrey bit her lips. she was making more mistakes than necessary and any more would spill doom.

“I was just being foolish then”

Nathan laughed heartily, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

“Foolish, huh?” He loved the fact that she was more accessible than before, the fact that she was more around than before.

“Can we not talk about this again?” She whined, “I misbehaved and came back to my senses. Will you keep reminding me that I left you?”

Nathan couldn’t see her but he knew she had a pout on her lips, it was typical of Vanessa to always act like a spoiled child and he loved it.

He wanted to say something else when his phone buzzed and Audrey handed it to him from the table.

“Bruno,” she said.

“Okay, it is a business call. You can listen or…” his voice trailed off and she used that opportunity to study him again, he was one to take business seriously.

“I will listen”

“Very well then”

Nathan pressed the receive button and put the phone on loudspeaker before the voice from the other end muttered a “hello”

“Tell me Bruno” he was no longer the lovey dovey guy that Audrey came across, he looked more professional and serious.

Despite being blind, Nathan Hernandez knew how to handle his business and he didn’t just become a brand on a platter of gold. He had his ups and downs before becoming the number one name in America, Asia and even Africa at large. The Avanti line was one of a kind and ruling an empire like that required an intelligent man in which Nathan was best for the position.

“The investors from Spain have refused to sign the contract without seeing you” Bruno’s apprehensive voice filtered through his ears again, “they keep saying they have to meet you before they can sign, even Mrs Hernandez have tried talking to them but they have blatantly refused to listen to her”

Nathan was quiet for a while, the investors from Spain were a big conglomerate and losing the deal with them was not going to be good but in a situation where they wanted to meet Nathan, it was more like a dead end.

“What is the time duration they gave?” He asked after a while, his Adams rising and falling. He hated to be reminded of his situation and how it was affecting his work and personal life.

“They gave only a week sir and we risk losing a lot of money if we don’t meet their expectations. They already delivered on their side and we are the only one lacking”

Nathan was quiet for a while, this was a little bit of an issue which was going to cost him if he failed to act fast.

“Email me the details, I will make a call to the MD”

“Yes boss”

After he was done talking, Nathan pressed the end button and closed his eyes, this was getting more frustrating by the day.

Audrey who was seated on the bed opposite him could understand how he felt from the call and the way he sounded so frustrated. Not being able to do anything when you have everything could literally kill a person.

“Nathan” sha called after a while and he opened his eyes before turning his head to her direction,

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah” he said with a forced smile on his lips. One thing he didn’t want to do was stress her out about his situation,

“You don’t have to worry about me. I am perfectly fine”

Audrey could feel he was lying and she totally understood why he was doing that. Vanessa made him feel like that, he didn’t want her to get irritated or upset about anything. In other words, she has him wrapped around his fingers.

“And the investors?”

“I will handle it”

She sighed and stood up before walking towards him, “don't tell me you are fine when I can clearly see how upset you are” she gently took a hold on his hand, “you are about to lose a major deal and it’s frustrating”

“Look babe” he placed the other hand over hers, “you have worked with me before and you know how I manage to take care of everything right? I will take care of it as usual and you don’t have to worry about it, okay?”

“Nathan….”

“Shhh” he placed his index finger on her lips, “let me worry about work”

Working on his locomotive skills after Vanessa left was one thing that helped him a lot. He was able to move and do things on his own without anyone’s help. He was a blind man who could do things that people who were not blind could do.

“Come, take some rest okay?” Her voice was filled with so much emotion and meekness, this was her second day in the house but for some reason she didn’t feel like she was lying to be here. It felt right and she felt safe but was she supposed to feel like this? This man belongs to her sister and it was wrong in all ramifications for her to feel comfortable in a house that is not hers.

“What time is it?”

“After four” she was not certain on why he was asking but it was sure to be important, “you should have some rest and I will make dinner for you”

A twinkle in his eyes attracted her and she could see his lips stretch into a smile before he began to laugh. What the hell was funny? Did she say anything funny for him to laugh? Why was he suddenly laughing in a midst of trouble which was looming.

“Why are you laughing Nathan?”

“Since when did you start cooking?” He asked again and she froze, Vanessa didn’t fucking know how to cook?