Novels by Daniella Nduka

ANDRE watched as Tobias walked into the dining hall and headed for where Colleen sat with her friends, Liz and Jessalyn, chatting and laughing so happily. His eyes followed every move of Tobias, from when he walked into the hall, scanned the place for a certain redhead, and when he spotted her, strutted in her direction. He watched him speak to her in what he was sure was whispers, and after barely any convincing—because why would he need to convince somebody he had locked lips with yesterday—, she stood up and followed him to wherever the hell they had talked about.Yup! Andre was definitely paranoid. He tightened his grip on the tableware in his hand, so hard it began to hurt. But he didn’t feel any pain down there. The affliction he was feeling right now wasn’t from the knife in his hand, it was from watching Colleen follow Tobias out of the dining hall. “Easy there,” Valentina all but purred from behind him, in that velvet-textured voice of hers that made even the ladies ballyh

“Andre! Andre! Please wait!” A demented-looking Colleen called after him in a shrill she was certain could wake a dead man from the grave, but it all fell on deaf ears. Andre was past hearing. Andre was past listening. Andre well was beyond seeing, even. Not flinching for even a second, he hollered towards the elevator, his breathing rapid, his chest bouncing heavily, and jaws flexing. He couldn’t even bring himself to see anything other than what he had seen five minutes ago: the image of Colleen and Tobias kissing. Angry was an understatement to describe how he was feeling. Pushing down the button for the twenty-fourth floor, the elevator doors closed swiftly right in the face of Colleen who was ready to jump in there with him and explain how this was all just a huge misunderstanding.Determined to set things straight, she hurried to the next elevator and pushed down the button for the twenty-fourth floor. Guess granting her access to the floor came in handy way too soon, in th

It was going to be a long day.As part of learning marketing, Darren James, the biggest marketing professional in Michigan, thought to test their skills on the subject by making them sell tee shirts and props for the forthcoming Last Day of the Summer fest being held in the resort. “And that is the last batch of our props." A weary looking Tobias said, dropping the bag filled with shirts, hoodies, face caps, summer hats, and what-not, on the floor beside a freaked out Colleen. “Whoa! That’s a lot. And we’re supposed to sell everything before. . .”“8 pm today.” “Now that is next to impossible in the Oxford dictionary.” .“Tell that to sweet sensation, Darren James,” Jessalyn Russo said from behind them. “He thinks that because he can sell things with a snap of his fingers, everybody should, too.”“When really, all that is going for him is his good looks,” Liz added, her face contorted in a frown as she looked over the bags next to Colleen. “Our bag is just as big as this. And it’

As fast as her legs could carry her, without giving away the impression that she so desperately wanted to get out of here so that she can finally breathe something other than Valentina’s choking perfume, she hurried out of the court. Bae-cation, she said. My daddy pulled some strings, she bragged. Colleen felt infuriated! At Valentina for being so beautiful, with an opposite attitude. And at Andre for not telling her that his ex-girlfriend was going to be at the tennis game she got them tickets to. Okay, now she was sounding like they were in a relationship. When really, all that was there between her and Andre was something even she couldn’t quite put to words yet. Was it love? Hell no. How could she fall in love with the man she met twelve days ago? Maybe it was just a little bit of likeness and attraction. He was gorgeous after all. “Just a little bit of likeness,” she muttered to herself as she stomped into the lobby. When she was on the floor leading to her room, she heard

By 4 pm, Colleen was waiting for Andre just outside the courthouse, dressed in a white chiffon top, a pair of tightly fit slacks, and a summer hat to shield the sun which was at its peak. As she watched the players practice before the game actually began, a favorite unintentionally registered in her brain. The man in the pink polo shirt with a visor over his head seemed to strike the ball remarkably well. Or so she thought. He played with so much vigor, enthusiasm, and professionalism, that Colleen thought his opponent stood no chance. Well, that remained to be seen. Glancing at her wristwatch, the time was almost 4:10 and there was still no sign of Andre. She sighed. Just because he made a booking—coerced a booking—at VIP doesn’t give him any excuse to be late. If the whistle sounds for the first set, Colleen swore under her breath that she would go inside without him. Even if it meant settling for the bad seat because the court was packed. Just then, she felt a hand snake around

COLLEEN rode the elevator to the 24th floor and appeared in front of the large wooden double door. With the tickets in her hand, her heart in her mouth, and her legs in the air. Okay, not literally in the air. That was just her daily mental and reality check that she wasn’t falling and falling and falling. . . The door flung open. Lo and behold, a divinely gorgeous being materialized, dressed in white and blue summer shorts. Only. That is to say, the rest of Andre Lourdes’ body was left exposed and oh dear, Colleen almost gorged out the heart in her mouth. I told you this was a bad idea, her subconscious hammered. Firstly, Andre cocked his head backward, and when he confirmed it was truly Collen at his doorstep, after a mental slap, a slow devious grin tugged at the corner of his lips fully aware of what her very eyes were beholding. An out of breath Colleen shook her head, shaking away the unholy thoughts that were beginning to dance around in her head. Feigning ignorance at hi

Lara twisted the car keys for the umpteenth time still nothing happened. The car didn’t start, or even attempt to start. It just kept raising her hopes every time it made that kick-starting sound, and shattering that hope when it eventually didn’t budge. In undiluted frustration, anger included, she pounded at the innocent steering wheel till she felt some sort of satisfaction seep in. Yes, you may have guessed right.Two days later she was still fuming. Especially as this so-called ‘Tristan Aguilar’ had returned the bouquet of flowers with yet another note saying: SO . . . WHAT TIME SHOULD I PICK YOU UP FOR DINNER?She hadn’t met him but she already hated him. Not only did he have zero respect for the laws of courtship and marriage, she perceived him to be hubristic.Who the hell did he think he was?Was she supposed to fall on her feet and rain appreciations all over him because he had agreed to marry her? Someone had to let him know that the world does not revolve around his spoile

Tristan Aguilar twirled in the leather boss chair at the head of the table in the conference. With his hand struck beneath his jawline, he watched the PowerPoint presentation ahead of him with the barest attention. He had come in here thinking this proposal was going to wow him as they had said. Only to get him bored barely five minutes into it.“And that is how we intend to capture the attention of the public.”Thank goodness the woman finally stopped talking.All done, and waiting for his comment and approval, the head of Marketing turned to look at Tristan with a smug smile on her face.He scoffed. What was that he saw? Satisfaction? He tilted his head to look at the people sitting around him. They actually looked impressed. Five seconds later, they were on their feet with a standing ovation for the woman whose face had turned pink from blushing. Surely, she must have paid them for that.After the room had quieted, and after a solid five minutes of silence, Tristan slowly stood up,

“What did you say?”Were her ears deceiving her? Oh, her ears were definitely deceiving her. Fiancé?No way. She wasn’t thinking about marriage. Even if she was, she assumed it would be with somebody she knows and loves. And she hasn’t been lucky in the love department so any romantic entanglements were off the charts. That said, how could she possibly have a fiancé when she wasn’t ready to get married? Who the hell was Tristan Aguilar? So many questions were spamming through her head. She even had Alma read out the content of the card three more times to be certain it was what she heard that was indeed written.Cool as a cucumber, Veronica waved off Alma who hurried out of the room, not before laying the flowers in the arms of Lara who wanted nothing more than to toss them in the trash can. It seemed like her mother had finally found her words as she spoke in that annoyingly commanding and condescending tone that made Lara want to disown her.“Larissa,” she started. “You’re twenty-se

7 pm came in a blink of an eye. Lara had barely settled down as she had to take that goddamn tour around the house. Each passing minute, as they moved from one room to another, she realized how pointless the tour was. Except for a few redesigns and re-painting here and there, everything was the same. Needless to say, the tour was completely useless. But to fulfill all righteousness, and not get on the bad side of her mother early on, even if she had reserved anger for Veronica somewhere in her, she decided to be mature and follow the schedule.So, by now, she was sitting behind the large mahogany table that had all sorts of dishes laid out on it.The dining hall was awfully silent. The only sounds that emanated were from mouths munching on either the salad, pork, rice, or one of the many other delicacies. And it remained like this for the next fifteen minutes. No one spoke. Not even a hello.How can a family be this awkward?Lara didn’t mind. If she could live down eating this dinner

You’re coming back?” Lara Martinez let out a long heartfelt sigh, dividing looks between the boarding pass in her hand and the large digital clock in front of her. Of course, she was coming back. Her mother gave her no choice but to pack her things into a box and get on the next flight back to San Luis. Hell, the woman even sent a plane ticket. How could she refuse it? Deciding to not let the thought of Veronica Flores Martinez bother her, she squared her shoulders and smiled. It was just San Luis. The City she had grown up in. The City she, once upon a time, loved. How bad could it be?Enthusiastically this time, she answered, “Yes, Rosa. I am coming back. As a matter of fact, I am at the airport. And. . .”“AMERICAN AIRLINE 324 TO SAN LUIS, MEXICO. ALL PASSENGERS PROCEED TO THE BOARDING STATION NOW. I REPEAT, AMERICA AIRLINE 324 TO SAN LUIS, MEXICO. ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE PROCEED TO THE BOARDING STATION NOW.”“And that, Rosa, is my cue to exit,” Lara continued, lifting herself from

Nicolás pushed his was through the large number of people dancing in the niterie whilst using his eyes to scan the entire place for his friends.The cabaret club; Inferno Roxo, held the status of the biggest night club in the city at the moment. A good number of men and women of high class in the society occasionally came by the club to hold certain events or host their equally rich friends. It was a perfect setting. And on Fridays and Saturdays, it was always packed. So it was necessary to always book a ticket a day or couple of days before.He finally spotted them, Jonathan and the thirty six year old multi millionaire who owned the super amazing club, Amancio da Cruz. Amancio had been friends with Nicolás for quite a while now. They attended the same college where they took about three semesters together, and have — in a couple of times — done business together. Amancio ran a stock exchange company. He was just as tall as Jonathan —

SHE stared blankly at Jonathan. The whole point of pretending she does not remember him was so he could stay away. Which should make it easier to forget everything they had. Did she think it could go as planned? No way. Adelina knew it was almost an impossible mission, getting Jonathan McCurby to stay away from her. But it was even more impossible to get herself to forget about him. What could make it even harder was his ever glorious presence. Every now and then. And the fact that he was always acted like the sweetest, calmest and nicest person when he was around her.Jonathan's smile waned when his gaze travelled from his beautiful Adelina in front of him to Easton Blaine. He should not be a bother to him. It should not also come as a surprise to him that they spend time together. But anytime he saw her with him, laughing or even smiling, his jealous persona takes over. Whenever she stares at him the way she was doing now; clueless, he felt a sting at his chest. And the thoug

"It’s pretty basic stuff. I’m sure you must have heard it over and again. But differently,” she started. "For sometime, everything was blank. Just blank. Literally felt life less. It was like this for a while. This was until I began to see myself in a dark room. It was terrible at first, as I kept having nightmares about the accident. And some other stuffs I barely recall. God, it felt like hell. Reliving that terrible event every minute of the day. I wanted to run mad. Just went I thought I was at the verge of losing it, it suddenly just. . . stopped. I stopped having those nightmares and started hearing voices. I am pretty sure that deep husky voice was Nicolás'."He chortled."I did not feel lonely anymore. You know, it felt like they were with me. My family. It was not dark anymore. Just plain white nothing. Though it was peaceful," she continued longingly.Blaine shook his head in understanding as she continued."And one day, I

BLAINE sat in the sofa with his legs crossed as he scrutinized the folder in his hand. It was when he heard the voice of the house keeper at the door that he finally looked up after what might have seemed like hours.Quite the surprise. Or no surprise actually. After all, Jonathan McCurby was Adelina's fiancée.Jonathan hung his coat on the hat stand before making his way into the living room in those hoity-toity steps that especially irate Blaine. He watched him distinctively as he came closer to him before he — happily— broke the news."Adelina is asleep," he revealed to a Jonathan who was rather uninterested with that fact."Okay. But it is you I came to see."He closed the folder in his hands, resting into the sofa. "What about?""Adelina."Blaine gave him blank look.What else could they ever have to talk about if not Adelina? He did not say anything and waited patiently for what was to follow wh

Manuel and Lupe were settled on the sofa in the living room, listening keenly to Easton Blaine as he spoke about the situation with Adelina. Jonathan on the other hand, had his palms to his cheek the entire time, paying an equal amount of attention to Blaine spill his prognosis on his fiancée."I think it is only temporal," he was saying. "I have a prognosis but in light of the scan conducted, Adelina does not have amnesia."Jonathan huffed sitting back in the sofa as he crossed his legs. If this was the case: she is without amnesia, how does she not recall a single thing about him? To him, it would be almost impossible to forget what they had. It was special. Never had he felt that way towards any other woman. Just a few months to a couple of years together, he had not, even for one second thought about a life without her. Which led him to propose.When he thought back to a few minutes ago, his heart churned. That look of cluelessness and emptiness

IN some way, Adelina felt out of sorts as all the while, Jonathan McCurby hadn't sent a message across to her or even visited. She had bargained for an extravaganza— huge bouquet of flowers, a live band probably and whatever Jonathan deems fitting of the moment as it was typical of him to lavish her with exorbitant gubbins all the time. Although, she was aware that he was out of the state and had only just returned to Chicago yesterday. So, she comforted herself in this as the last reason she could think of was the thought screaming in her head — Jonathan had moved on.Even if she would never admit it to herself, she longed to see him. Yearned to be in his warm embrace again, burned to feel his caress on her skin. This made her want to delve her hands into her chest and pull out that heart of hers which has always felt so emotionally attached to him.Despite the hundred times she reprimanded herself, her thoughts always wandered to Jonathan one way or the other