Woo True Love: Design your love life. Elevate your existence.

By Alma Tocante

Wisdom to create a dream love life out of thin air, full of passion and harmony.

These inspiring tales provide an approach to living a whirlwind romance with great courage, abundance and joy. A wonderfully crafted fable tells the extraordinary story of Maya, a white-collar lawyer who falls in love with a shady married busi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alma Tocante
• Release date: Aug 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781913704520

Book preview

Chapter 1.

A Passage from Alma Tocante’s Diary: Meet Maya

Love is the flower; you’ve got to let it grow.

— John Lennon

Date: March, 2012

Dear diary,

It has been a few days since I last journaled. I have been swamped preparing my fashion show for the Youth Festival Dubai 2012 at the Mall of Emirates. I am writing today because God answered my prayers and came to my rescue when I needed it the most.

Amidst a turbulent time of my life with deadlines mounting pressure on my shoulders, I sat at the university entrance in tears. This model, who was supposed to wear the showstopper garment made of recycled materials, bailed. A miracle was for the rehearsal to go ahead.

My collaborator in the collection is a Romanian gypsy with many talents. Apart from being a brilliant designer, she can predict the future. She sensed that we would be spotting the perfect model for the showstopper garment just in time, and the show would be a success.

The models were being lined up in the university corridor. The finishing touches were being done on the garments as Vadoma, my collaborator, glanced over the entrance and saw a young sultry brunette with fierce green eyes walk in.

She felt her presence would be impactful on the catwalk with a dreamy confident posture creating the allusion of a mirage in the mind of the spectators.

Vadoma followed the young lady, who was on her way to attend a class. Vadoma grabbed Maya by the arm and whispered in her ear to come out. Maya felt intrigued by Vadoma's proposal to model in the fashion show, which she was delighted to accept. It meant that the University would account for her absences from classes.

As soon as I laid eyes on Maya, I knew she would fit perfectly into the showstopper garment. She was the perfect model for the theme of the fashion show of East meets West in the recycling world. I placed my faith in Vadoma, Maya, and everyone involved in the fashion show to succeed.

Maya was a blessing sent to me by God. She wasn't just a random young lady Vadoma had picked up; as I got to know her during the rehearsal, I felt a special connection with Maya. I knew that friendship was blossoming between us.

During one of the most stressful and yet best times in my journey as an aspiring fashion designer, Maya came to me.

She inspired me as a designer to give a voice to women who like to maintain tradition with a modern twist that comes from western society freedom with futuristic innovative fabrics and ideas in fashion.

I am grateful for meeting Maya. My conversations and interactions with her allowed me to find my passion and path in the crowded world of fashion. With my creativity, craft techniques, and a supportive team, I will be able to forge ahead and start a brand in the Middle East. I hope to give young ladies a way to express themselves through what appears to be a little black robe and veil steeped in tradition.

Love,

Alma Tocante

M

aya and I have been friends for many years. As you can probably tell by the passage from my diary, we met when we were studying in Dubai. Maya had taken a course during a gap year to prepare her for university, and I was in the final year of my degree in Fashion. Our paths crossed by chance, and we are both grateful for the friendship we have.

As I got to be part of Maya’s journey to date, her life has fascinated me. Especially in the area of love. She has always been a free-spirited person, full of life and unconventional. She lives life to its fullest and is the life and soul of the party wherever she goes. Positivity and a good sense of humour got her going during the toughest times.

It will come as no surprise that she started as a virgin player. However, what amazed me the most was that to every man who wanted a relationship with her, she was upfront about dating several men at the same time. More shockingly, they laughed and embraced the competition.

So, if anyone can speak about the subject of love and relationships, it is Maya. She has had many marriage proposals fall on her finger, whirlwind romances, short-term and long-term romantic relationships, and everything in between from 2012 to the present date.

My husband and I are eternally grateful to Maya because she made our marriage ceremony possible (see chapter 12), and we are very happily married.

The purpose behind writing this book is to pass on Maya’s wisdom in love to benefit you in your love journey to finding the person that will make you happy, loved and fulfilled.

Moral of the story:

Great love will blossom freely. For love to grow, you need to plant the seeds in the right season, add the nutrients, quench its thirst and nurture it like a delicate flower.

Chapter 2.

The Fable: Whirlwind Romance Out of Thin Air!

Love in this world doesn't come out of thin air. It is not something thought up. Like ourselves, it grows out of the ground. It has a body and a place.

— Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter

O

n the morning of 9th November 2018, Maya woke up in her Victoria’s Secret pyjamas, lifted the sleeping eye mask revealing her mesmerising and, indeed, rare green eyes to see through the brutal truth for justice to prevail. Maya felt content when putting on her Dolce & Gabbana black suit. It made her feel confident when faced with unpredictable adversity as a white-collar criminal lawyer.

Fridays are the best day of the week for most, and although Maya was content, a day in the British legal world awaited her. As she checked her personal email inbox, one stood out because the title read, ticket to Miami from an acquaintance. Maya was ecstatic about the email content; tickets and a luxury holiday to Miami, the United States of America, from a private healthcare clinic owner she had met at the National Art Gallery in the summer. The booked vacation days were confirmed and added into her busy schedule; luggage was packed lightly for warm weather.

The Sunshine State proved to be a real break with warm weather, beautiful scenery, and a paradise for all party animals. Maya enjoyed her holiday to the fullest, so much that she was feeling somewhat nostalgic on her last day.

Nonetheless, she headed to the airport and checked in.

However, the flight appeared to be delayed on the screen, and two hours later, it was cancelled with a return flight rescheduled in two days. Maya was provided with high-end toiletries and a hotel stay, but she had nothing but her hand luggage.

Unfortunately, the Doctor was on his way to California on the same day that Maya was supposed to return to London. It didn't affect her travel plans. The same couldn't be said for her professional life. Maya simply wrote an email to explain the extenuating circumstances for her absence to her employer. On a positive note, the flight postponement presented an opportunity to explore the city on her own. After freshening up, she headed out to have dinner and bumped into a tall, dark, and charming man.

The pair fell in love at first sight, and the evening unfolded blissfully. They had oysters and champagne for dinner, followed by a bath shower with exotic, customised bath salts, fruity cocktails, and honey spoons in a private garden with relaxing water fountains. As the sunset turned into night, Alessandro, an Italian, of Persian & Cuban descendant, continued dancing with Maya, a Lebanese/Spanish young lady, in their robes.

Coincidentally, both Londoners were going to be on the same return flight to London. To Alessandro and Maya, their meeting in Miami seemed to have been pre-destined. Both were captivated, and their whirlwind romance carried on in London.

Alessandro was from a wealthy background, and he grew accustomed to the most beautiful things in life. He was also known to be a player. His circle of friends from the high society would describe him as a hungry artist searching for his muse to light up and feed his ego. He was a theatre light designer by profession and a shady entrepreneur. He was also in an open marriage relationship with his American, of Turkish origin, business partner. They shared a few homes around the world, acquired through previous divorces with previous wealthy partners, children outside of wedlock, and addictions for bisexual partners, cocaine, and gambling.

The first thing Alessandro did when he got home from Miami was to tell his wife Sevil about the woman he had met.

Since there were no photographs of Maya, he could see Sevil's curiosity, which led to the suggestion of setting a meeting in a public place to lay eyes on the woman who ignited a je ne sais quoi in her husband she had never seen before.

Alessandro picked up Maya on Saturday for dinner at one of London's most exclusive venues. His wife, Sevil, arrived from a business trip that evening from Istanbul. Still, she came with her hand luggage just after the starters arrived and sat at the table opposite Alessandro and Maya. She was blown away by Maya's youthful beauty, charismatic presence, and, more importantly, the chemistry with Alessandro.

Maya noticed a woman staring from across the room, and as she leaned over to dip a piece of bread in hummus, she paused and stared right back at her until she looked away. Alessandro gave a disapproving look at Sevil, but he turned away. Maya smiled at him and added tabasco sauce to the hummus. At that moment, it became clear to Alessandro his relationship with Sevil was not open.

Although Alessandro was adventurous, he also liked routine, and it was no surprise where he would go for drinks with Maya after dinner. Sevil skipped dessert and headed to the venue first, expecting to be introduced to Maya or given a room number. Instead, their familiar friends, acquaintances, and herself watched the pair laugh all night over some cocktails before heading out to his apartment in Chelsea, London.

Following a conversation about death and the afterlife, Alessandro asked for advice about wills. Maya had mentioned the advantages of setting up a trust instead of a will because she did not see the relevance of the latter to Alessandro. After some research, he followed her advice about the creation of a trust. Included in the Trust instrument was the new property he purchased in which to meet Maya.

Only two people knew about the apartment other than Alessandro and Maya; the cocaine supplier, one of Alessandro's most trusted friends, and a trusted, fearful and efficient employee. All involved the assembly of the bachelor pad to create the illusion of living