About The Author

Imani Maaba is a 16 years old ( born 04 June, 2004 )

multitalented young lady who is mostly known as
Madamé_BlueMelanin SA. She is a rising artist
( poet, author and singer ) who was tamed by the
world of art at a tender age of 6 years old. She
started writing her own poetry at age 8 being
inspired by the legendary Maya Angelou. Her
passion for writing manifested into something
greater during the years as she is also an author,
signed under the publishing company called
Palace of Knowledge. Imani started writing stories
on Facebook as a way of detoxing and having fun
but the love grew leading to her finally making
the decision to pursue writing as a full time career.
She is the author of " Diary ka Harmony Anderson
" and "His Beanie Girl :The Renée Williams Story "
which are the first two stories she started working
on, respectively. Her purpose in life is to " inspire
teenagers to follow their dreams and to be
themselves. No matter their age nor
circumstances in life ". Follow her on her social
media networks :

Facebook : Madamé_BlueMelanin SA / Imani Rubu

-Maaba

Instagram : Madamé_BlueMelanin SA
(@lanintheblazingprodigy)

Twitter : Madamé_BlueMelanin SA
(@themelanindrips)

Subscribe to her YouTube channel :

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCX7Wd1vpwyQ
HC8O4lWNKkSg
 Book One Of The Sanctuary Series
╔──────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────╗
welcome to...
❝ I love you ❞

From The Depth Of My Heart

╚────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.──────╝
ABOUT THE BOOK. Tshegofatso Nkosi is a 17 years old teenage
mother to a 3 months old baby girl named Nosibusiso. She is
domestically victimized by her boyfriend and father of her
daughter, Lunathi, but she won't report him to the authorities
or even tell someone she trusts because she fears to lose her
daughter or even worse, die.
But...
Her life takes a drastic 180° turn when she crosses paths with
25 years old award winning businessman Vuyolwethu Ndhlovu
who helps her out of her toxic and life - threatening
relationship. After spending a lot of time together and
warming up to each other, mutual feelings are caught. Snap,
wait... What happens when it is revealed that Vuyolwethu is
not who he says he is?
 Will Tshegofatso accept him for who he is and love him
unconditionally?
OR.
Will she fear for her life, and run for the hills?

DISCLAIMER. All the rights to this book rightfully belong to the

author. The plot, character names were not plagiarized,
therefore any resemblances from any book by another author
is purely a coincidence.
melaninwrites © 2020
WARNING. This book contains scenarios that are not suitable
for people under the age of 16. It contains vulgar, explicit and
abusive writings and a lot more, therefore people underage
and overly sensitive audience are not advised to read.
 Character Faceclaims
╔──────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────╗
Tshegofatso Nkosi - 17
❝ I love you ❞

teen - mom
╚────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.──────╝
portrayed by Thuso Mbedu.
╔──────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────╗
Vuyolwethu Ndhlovu - 25
❝ -because I love you, damnit! ❞

award-winning businessman
╚────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.──────╝
 portrayed by Pallance Dladla.

More characters will be introduced as the story

continues...
 Prologue.

She took a glance at her own reflection on

the bathroom mirror and she felt shame,
weakness and vulnerability shower over her.
Her face was sore and full of bruises, her
braids scattered all over the floor in results of
being pulled by her hair. She turned away
from the mirror and sat on the edge of the
bathtub, filling it up with warm water and
started pulling the rest of her braids off
because half of them were already on the
floor, she saw no use to keep them on. As
slowly as she could, she undressed and got
inside the tub, she flinched in pain as the
warm water worsened the pain she was
already experiencing - she felt like salt was
being poured over her wounds. Her tears
involuntarily departed her beautiful black
eyes that were dimmed and lost their spark
from losing the faith and hope that she would
be saved from this abusive natured
relationship she was in, and they gushed
down her cheeks leaving wet trails under her
eyes - on her skin. God knows she has prayed,
she has attempted to leave, but he always
knew where to find her and what to say to her
to make her feel like an object he would
forever be in ownership of. She wanted to
leave her boyfriend, Lunathi, but she feared
losing her daughter or having to die in the
hands of the man that once professed the
love he had for her. Her baby girl was the only
good thing that was reaped from the
relationship. How she sometimes wished she
could have her own money and just get away
from all of this with her daughter, protect and
give her daughter a much better life than the
life they are stuck to live, a forced life. She
was only three months old, she didn't
deserve nor was supposed to be exposed to
such a toxicated environment but - what
could he do? Report him? Impossible -
Lunathi was friends with these police officer,
the first and last time she reported him - she
landed her self in hospital and gave birth to a
premature baby and if she were to do it again,
she would be killed or be separated from her
daughter, forever.

She quickly got out of the tub as the water

was starting to get cold.She drained the
water off the bathtub, cleaned it and then
made her way to the bedroom, tiptoeing her
way inside in attempt to avoid awakening her
daughter because as much as she was an
adorable little girl, she could get cranky when
awaken. It was 9 A.M and Lunathi was at work.
He worked as a security guard and didn't
earn much, but enough to provide for
Nosibusiso's needs and a few things around
the house. Her parents? Sadly, her mother
died when she was only 9, and her father
remarried six years later but he chose her
stepmother over his own flesh and blood, his
own daughter, two years ago and that is how
she encountered Lunathi and he took her in.

She settled into a simple summer dress and

flip flops, and then headed to her wardrobe -
reached out to the last drawer and pulled out
a tin of polish. She took a piece of cotton
wool and a mirror, walked over to the bed
and took a sit on it. She applied the brown
polish on her bruises and black eye as a way
to camouflage them and she combed her afro,
before heading downstairs to prepare
breakfast for herself and porridge for
Nosibusiso. All along she was listening to
music from the radio as she was tuned into
Metro FM but, she heard her baby crying from
the bedroom and rushed there. " Morning
baby girl ", she greeted her daughter who
quietened down when she heard her
mother's voice. With a smile plastered on her
face, she looked down on her daughter who
was now in her hands and she kissed her
adorable, chubby cheeks following with a
soft peck on her little pouted lips, and
Nosibusiso smiled happily, giggling softly in
the process. She ran her a bath, bathed her
and settled her into a pink romper suit and
headed to the kitchen, carrying her. She
dished up the now warm porridge and fed her
daughter, helped her drink water and burped
her. Shortly after that, she changed the TV
channel to e-toons and then placed her
daughter on the couch - balancing her with
pillows and a blanket, into a sitting position.
She ate her own food, cleaned and tidied up
around the house and still managed to cook
lunch and dinner, before her daughter
demanded all the attention and for the
moment she was glad Nosibusiso wasn't a
demanding crybaby. Just feed her, bathe her,
change her nappy when necessarily and get
her to bed, and done. She found her precious
bundle of joy sleeping and she had her
tucked in, then headed out to find something
interesting to do.

Hours later, Lunathi returned from ' work '

with a nauseating smell of alcohol that filled
the room just by him walking past, worsening
when talking. Just by the sight Tshegofatso
saw, she knew that she should dread talking
or arguing with him for her own sake, safety
and sanity. She had just tucked Nosibusiso in,
when Lunathi went to the bedroom and came
back a while later with a change of clothes
and, " Ngilambile "( I am hungry ), he said to
Tshegofatso who just simply stood up and
walked to the kitchen to warm up the food
she had prepared earlier and she dished up
for him and herself. She handed over the
plate of food to him and they had their meals
with no words muttered, she washed the
dishes after eating and then headed to the
bedroom. She was getting ready for bed,
settling into her pyjamas when Lunathi
walked in and walked straight to her, and
started kissing her neck. " Lunathi stop ", she
attempted to push him away but he didn't
even move, he didn't budge. He just
continued undressing the girl and pushed her
onto the bed and got on top of her. As much
as she felt violated and dirty, she didn't want
to be beaten into a pulp so she just let the
man do whatever he wanted with her. Feeling
her breathing down her neck, feeling him
enter her dry coochie and him humping on
top of her, going in and out with his hard cock
that felt like a piece of wood entering her,
hearing him moan and groan in enjoyment
while all she felt was excruciating pain - it
made her feel cheap. This happened almost
every night but she wasn't getting used to it.
It wasn't the kind of pain you wouldn't just
familiarize yourself with, it was the kind that
lingered on you for the whole day and
traumatized you. Feeling powerless, she just
laid there and let him do what he wanted to
do with her and when she was done, she
turned over and grabbed the sheets, covered
herself and held onto them for dear life as she
felt her tears grace the pillow. She cried
silently not wanting to anger Lunathi, and
she only fell asleep at 12 AM, due to the pain
she was in.
 Chapter One

According to her plans, this was supposed to

be a normal day to Tshegofatso. Clean
around, take care of her daughter and lounge
around... Until, her only real friend she has
ever had, Kefentse, came to visit her. She
found her cleaning around and offered to
help her take care of Nosibusiso so that she
could finish early. After cleaning, she joined
her friend and daughter in the lounge and, "
Fatso, go and take a bath. We are going out ",
Kefentse, said to the young lady who just
turned to look at her and, " Ay Fentse, I don't
really feel like going out ", she responded but
that didn't help her in anyway, instead
Kefentse was just eager to get her out of the
house. She tried with coming up with excuses
like not having money but her best friend
being the persistent person she is, she didn't
even want to hear those excuses - kept
shooting back the solutions to her excuses.
After sometime of the two ladies arguing with
each other, Tshegofatso finally gave in and
headed to the bathroom and took a bath.
After bathing, she settled herself into a purple
tank top, a plain denim jeans with black all-
star shoes. Forgetting about the bruises she
had, she didn't disguise them with the brown
polish and she headed to the lounge to fetch
Nosibusiso from Kefentse, wanting to give
her daughter a bath but as she reached for
her daughter Kefentse stepped back and
looked at Tshegofatso for a long minute
before, " Fatso. Why do you have bruises on
your face? ", she asked and the other girl
swallowed hard and, " Oh, I fell and hit the
corner of the headboard, you know how
clumsy I can be ", she lied as she let out a soft,
nervous chuckle but Kefentse just simply
kept a straight face. " A headboard? Really? ",
she said raising her left eyebrow, "
Uyakushaya uLunathi, Fatso? "( Does Lunathi
hit you, Fatso ), the afro haired girl just kept
quiet, and didn't respond to the last question
her friend asked. Lord knows how
desperately she wished to tell her friend but
she couldn't do it, it risked a lot of things.
What if she didn't believe her? What if she
told her to just suck it up and take it as it
came? What if she judged her for staying?
What if sh-
" Tshegofatso Nkosi, I asked you a question.
Is Lunathi abusive towards you? ", Kefentse
half yelled at her friend, waiting for a
response and, " No, no. Don't be silly, you
know he loves me ", the lie just flew out of
Tshegofatso's mouth, sounding a lot more
hesitant than it was meant to and for a
second she wondered who was she trying to
convince or lie to. Herself or her friend? Did
she really believe that Lunathi would change
and be the man she wanted him to be, the
man he first was before she was impregnated?
She didn't really know whether her friend
had believed her or what but she still didn't
want to linger on the conversation so, " Can
you bathe her for me? ", she pleaded with her
friend who just agreed to it without any
hesitation, " Yeah, just hide those bruises you
can't be seen like that ", with that said they
both walked to the bedroom and Kefentse
bathed the little angel while Tshegofatso
fixed herself up, disguising the bruises.
Kefentse settled Nosibusiso into a purple
warm romper and packed a few nappies, a
warmer change of clothes and a few toys
along with her feeding bottles both with milk
and water, and nestum. The minute
Tshegofatso was ready to leave they all
headed out, she locked the door and walked
over the car and they all hopped inside - with
Kefentse driving them to Eastrand Mall.

While on the other side of town, Vuyolwethu

was wrapping up the conference call he was
having with two of his business associates
regarding a new deal they would signing, a
multi-billionrand deal. " I will sort out the
paperwork and have them sent to you, have a
nice day ahead ", one of the business
associates said and he flashed a smile her
way and, " Thank you Ms Jones, enjoy your
weekend ", nods followed his statement and
with a smile he hung up the conference and
immediately, that smile was dissolved as he
turned to his personal assistant, Monique and,
" Contact the attorney's and tell them I would
like to schedule a meeting for Monday
morning, postpone all the rest of my
meetings for today and fit them in for
Monday and have the rest of the day off ", he
ordered as he got up from his chair, grabbing
his briefcase and blazer from her coathanger
and, " Consider it done, sir ", Monique said to
him and he nodded, " I'll see you Monday,
enjoy your weekend ", she smiled as the man
walked out of the office and took an elevator
to the ground floor, with people greeting him
as he left the building. He arrived at the
parking lot and threw everything he was
carrying at the backseat before actually
hopping inside his car and driving out of the
company - to his house that was an hour
away from his workplace.
Arriving at his mansion he didn't waste
anytime, he headed inside and his workers
greeted him as he headed straight to his
bedroom, polite enough to greet them back.
He freshened up with a quick shower and
then settled into a pair of Hemisphere denim
jeans, white polo shirt with a black denim
jacket paired up with a pair of Louis Vuitton
sneakers. He puffed on his cologne and put
on an elegant timepiece before grabbing his
luggage and heading downstairs with them
and one of his guards took the bags and
loaded them in the boot of the car while he
remained behind with the rest of the workers
to address them. " I will be away for the
weekend and Mnqobiwesizwe will be here
while I am away. I trust that I will return with
everything still in order, with not even a dent
on any of my belongings or there will be hell
to pay. All your salaries will be paid by
tomorrow evening, and I expect everyone to
be safe and sound when I return. That is all,
goodbye ", he announced to his workers and
the minute he finished addressing them, they
wished him a safe trip ahead and he just
simply nodded with a faint smile sent to them,
before turning to leave. He wasn't driving
with any guards this time around so before
he drove out of the yard he checked for his
gun, checked if the clips were fully loaded
with bullets - in case something happened
that threatened his life. Fulfilled with what he
saw, he drove out of the mansion and headed
straight to Eastrand Mall to grab something
to eat at Roman's Pizza.

°°°
Tshegofatso and Kefentse arrived at the mall
and started going in and out, shopping
around. Kefentse bought Nosibusiso a few
winter clothes and Tshegofatso two jeans, t-
shirts and a pair of shoes at Sportscenes and
a few clothes for herself. Kefentse was
privileged, and she always tried to help her
friend with stuff even though Tshegofatso
was never one to ask for help even if she
needed it. She didn't like bothering people
with her personal problems so to her, it was
better suffering from the inside. Tshegofatso
had thought that she and Kefentse were
finished shopping when she was dragged to
Game and Kefentse bought a new phone, a
Mobicel R1 plus claiming that she needed a
new phone and after all that, they went to
Roman's Pizza to grab a bite before leaving.

They arrived at Roman's Pizza and settled

down. The waiter approached and they
placed their orders and Tshegofatso ended
up asking for a glass of water water to mix
Nosibusiso's nestum so she could feed her.
While waiting for their order, the two best
friends engaged on a little conversation as
Tshegofatso fed her daughter, and burped
her after helping her drink water. Kefentse
received a call from her boyfriend, reminding
her of the plans they had arranged that the
girl had completely forgotten about and, "
Sthandwa, kumele ngihambe "( Love, I must
go ), she said after hanging up her phone.

" What about the food? ", Tshegofatso asked

and, " Just ask for takeaways, here's the
money ", she counted two hundred rands
notes and handed them over to her friend, "
You'll catch a cab right? ", the other girl
nodded and Kefentse took all her things,
shared a brief hug with her friend and headed
out after giving Nosibusiso a little peck on the
lips.

Tshegofatso asked for the takeaways and

when they came, she settled the bill and then
grabbed her belongings and walked towards
the exit but, she bumped into someone on
her way out and, " Oh my God, I am so sorry. I
wasn't l- ", she was starting to rant while she
picked up the plastic bag that fell when, " It's
not a big deal, stop apologizing ", she heard
someone say, interrupting her from finishing
what she wanted to say. She lifted her head
up to look at the person who was standing in
front of her and she immediately tensed up,
seeing the handsome looking guy trying to
help her, and he handed over one of the bags
back to her, " Hey ", he greeted her.

" Hey ".

" Are you okay? ", the guy asked with concern
and the girl just nodded his way and, " Yes, I
need to get going ", she said already walking
out of the shop. " Wait I- ", the guy shouted
back but the girl didn't bother looking back
at him. She was just focused on getting home.
She got outside of the mall and catched a cab
home, having her delivered at the gate. On
the drive home, she couldn't help but feel like
she was being followed home but she quickly
shook the feeling off. I mean, who would
follow her home?

She paid the cab driver and then hopped out

of the car, heading inside the house - making
her way straight to the bedroom after
opening the door, to tuck the sleeping beauty
in before checking the things Kefentse had
bought for them. She headed back to the
kitchen where she had left the bags and
started browsing through them, and she
found the phone that Kefentse had bought
earlier saying she needed a new phone. With
the last of the R5 airtime she had on her
phone she called her friend and immediately
when the call got answered, she heard moans
and groans in her background before she
talked leaving her feeling embarassed. Talk
about wrong timing...

" You left your phone ", Tshegofatso

muttered to the phone, talking to her friend
and, " It's yours Fatso. Uhm.. I am busy
chommie,can I call you later? ", Kefentse said
from the other side of the line and the other
girl simply agreed before hanging up in a
hurry. She couldn't believe she literally called
her friend while she was getting fucked. She
unpacked the bags and after that she
counted the money that Kefentse had gave
her and it was R800, so she just decided she
would keep 300 rands to herself while she
bought groceries with the rest of it. She went
to the bathroom, washed her face and then
headed back to the sitting room to lounge
around only to be disturbed by a knock on
the door and she half ran to get the door as it
was loud enough to wake up her child.
Immediately after opening the door, her eyes
widened when she saw who was at the door
and the shock was enough to last her a
lifetime. " You followed me !? ", she half
yelled in a questioning manner and, " I am
sorry, but you left in quite a hurry ", the man
she had bumped into at the mall responded
to the question and she just looked at him
confused. " So you decided to follow me
home? Why? ", she questioned as she peeked
her head out to see who was around to see
the man standing on her front door and and,
" You looked troubled, I just wanted to make
sure you are okay ", the guy replied.

" Please leave, my boyfriend can't find you

here. He will lose it ! ", she said in a begging
voice but the man just looked her straight in
the eye and, " Can I come in? ", he asked.
" No ! "

" It's either you let me in now or I come back

later, when your boyfriend is home ", the
man threatened and she just involuntarily
gave in and made way from him to enter the
house. She led him to the lounge and took a
seat as he also made himself comfortable on
the couch. " Sacela ungiphe amanzi
wokuphuza? "( Can I have a glass of water ),
she nodded and walked to the kitchen to get
him the glass of water he had asked for,
leaving him browsing around the lounge. She
walked back to the lounge and handed over
the glass water over to the man and then
took a seat opposite him, once again. In just
five seconds, he gulped down the glass of
water and, " Who are you? ", Tshegofatso
asked in a very demanding voice and, "
Vuyolwethu Ndhlovu ", the man responded.

" Tshegofatso Nkosi "

" Why are you so scared of your boyfriend? ",
Vuyolwethu just blurted out with even a
second thought, and he didn't even regret it.
" I am not scared of him ", she saw an
eyebrow from his left eye rising and she knew
he didn't believe her. " You are- ", he said.

" If you weren't, you wouldn't be scared

about me being here. ", he continued his last
statement and saw Tshegofatso drop her face
and start to fiddle with her hands. " Does he
hit you? ", again he blurted out and noticed
that the girl got a little uneasy after he asked
her, and to him that was proof enough. The
woman that was seating on the couch
opposite him was being domestically
victimized no doubt but, why didn't she want
to talk?

" How could you come here and start

accusing him of such? He does not hit me! ",
the girl's voice rose in a very defensive
manner and he just chuckled softly, not
believing his ears.
" Then why are you bruised? ", Tshegofatso
looked at him confused and then it clicked to
her that she had washed the polish off her
face just a few minutes ago, and she
immediately regretted the decision but, " I
was attacked by a group of pharas, not that it
matters ", he looked at the woman sitting
opposite her and for a moment he laughed,
shaking his head unbelievably. " A group of
pharas ne? "( Junkies ), he repeated the
sentence and found himself letting out a
chuckle and, " I really hope you are telling the
truth MaNkosi, for your own sake. Usalekahle
"( Goodbye ), he got up and made his way to
the door with Tshegofatso following behind
him to close the door behind him. Shortly
after Vuyolwethu had left her house, she
heard a wail coming from the bedroom and
she rushed there, to get her daughter. She
changed Nosibusiso's nappy and fed her the
bottle she had prepared while she was asleep
and while feeding her daughter, she kept
contemplating on whether she was supposed
to tell Vuyolwethu the truth or not. Was he
going to help her? Was he just going to leave
her there to get killed? She was brought back
to her senses when she heard Nosibusiso
cough, and she quickly brushed her babies
back until she was okay. As she was burping
her daughter, Lunathi barged in the lounge
looking livid. " Out my child down ! ", he
screamed at her.

" Nathi was is wrong? ", she laid Nosibusiso

on the couch and, " So you are exposing my
daughter to your boyfriend now? Uletha
amadoda lapha kwami ?! "( You inviting men
over to my house ), he screamed again and
just when Tshegofatso questioned what the
livid man in front of her was talking about,
she felt a sting just across her face and she
was pushed to the wall - involuntarily hitting
her head on it. She fell down and before she
could even stand up and regain her posture,
she was kicked on the stomach repeatedly
and she felt like someone was cutting her
open. She begged and begged for the man to
stop hitting her but the more she pleaded
with him and cried, the more he became
angry. He pulled her into a standing position
by the hair and unexpectedly, she felt a
punch in contact with her guts and she
winced as she felt the most excruciating pain.
She pushed her to the wall and she hit the
back on it, hard. She fell unconscious with
the last slap the man laid on her.

While on the other hand when Vuyolwethu

left Tshegofatso's house, he continued with
journey to KwaZulu Natal but he still couldn't
get Tshegofatso out of his mind. No matter
how hard he tried to just forget about her, his
mind just juggled up and sent him back to her.
He couldn't understand why Tshegofatso had
to lie to him, he was willing to help her. He
could even see from her eyes that she had
lost all hope, all faith that she could actually
live a better life - she had already succumbed
herself to the abuse. But, he knew he had to
help someway - he had to save her, if she
wasn't willing to save herself and he knew
where to start. He stopped by the filling
station to fuel up his car and buy a few drinks
to keep himself awake for the ten hour
journey that he was about to undergo and
whilst on that, he decided to call one of his
friends and co-worker and get him to
investigate the Tshegofatso saga. " Jaguar ",
his friend greeted from the other side of the
line and, " Sure, I need a favour ", he said
getting straight to the point.

" Ringa "( Talk ).

" I need you to investigate someone,

Tshegofatso Nkosi to be exact ", he said
putting his friend on loudspeaker and driving
out of the fuel station, after paying for the
service. " What am I investigating on? ",
Mnqobiwesizwe asked.
" I don't know for sure but, domestic violence
", he said unhesitatingly and he heard his
friend chuckle from the other side and, " I'm
figuring we are talking about a girl ", he said.
" Fire, you were supposed to catch that on
immediately after I told you her name ",
Vuyolwethu said with his attention focused
on the road.

" You tamed? ", Mnqobiwesizwe asked

jokingly but, " Just get the job done Fire, a
woman's life is in danger - not to mention her
child ", he shot a come back at his friend and
Mnqobiwesizwe laughed not from being
insensitive but knowing his friend, he got
tamed without even realising it. " I'll send the
file to you ", with that said he hung up on his
friend and then continued with his journey.
He planned on dealing with the issue when
he returned from KZN, to visit his family
because he had last saw them almost a year
ago. He work kept him busy, and as much as
he would have liked to visit them every
month - he had a lot of people depending on
him, not just his company.

Nine hours later, Vuyolwethu arrived home

and he parked his car just infront of the gate.
Without taking his luggage, he headed inside
the yard and found his mother and aunt
sitting on the lawn and when they saw him
they were overjoyed. " I am so happy to see
you ", his mother said as he gave her a hug
then his aunt, " Sanibonani ", he greeted
them with a smile plastered on his face, and
his squated opposite them - facing them both.
" Selakugwinya igoli, awusashayi nocingo
Vuyo "( Johannesburg has swallowed you up,
you don't even call anymore Vuyo ), his
mother said jokingly and he laughed for a
moment, " ihaba kodwa ma "( so much
exaggeration ma ).

" Hay suka wena ", his mother playfully hit

him and he just laughed, standing up to head
inside and see his siblings. He walked inside
and immediately when his baby sister laid
her eyes on him, she jumped off the highchair
and ran into his open arms, " Vuyo !
Awushongo ukuthi uyeza "( You didn't tell us
you are coming ), she squealed at him as she
let him go. " It's called a surprise Amahle ", he
shot back but his sister just simply rolled her
eyes, making him chuckle.

" Baphi oLusapho noLungile? "( Where is

Lusapho and Lungile ), immediately after he
asked that Lusapho made his downstairs and
he was surprised to even see his brother. "
Prodigal son ", he said making Vuyolwethu
laugh at him, " Park my car in bro ", he threw
the keys over to his brother and Lusapho
headed out. " So, is Lungi still asleep or what?
", Vuyolwethu asked and Amahle just looked
away avoiding to answer the question but her
brother could be really intimidating so, "
Akalelanga lapha endlini "( She didn't sleep
here ), Vuyolwethu glanced at his sister
waiting for her to say that she was just joking
but, she wasn't. She was dead serious and
that was proven when Lungile entered the
house with an outfit that made it obvious
that she didn't sleep in and, she wasn't even
ashamed. " Mornin- oh hey Vuyo ", she said
excitedly as she walked past but Vuyolwethu
grabbed her by the hand pulled her closer to
him, " Hhayi man Vuyo, I want to go and take
a bath ", she said jokingly but her brother
didn't take it as a joke.

" Kufanele ufun' ukuyogeza Lungile, unuka

umlalo "( You are right wanting to go and
bath, you smell like sex ), he said sternly and
just then she knew that he was angry. "
Uvelaphi? "( Where are you from ), he asked.

" I- I- "
" Okay, I'll ask again. Uvelaphi Lungile? ",
Vuyolwethu asked trying his utmost to stay
calm but he was failing. " I was with a f- ",
Vuyo raised his hand at her stopping her from
saying anything further.

" Don't even think of giving me the friend

card, I know you were with a guy - having sex
", she looked away and Vuyolwethu let go of
her hand and stood infront of her. " Lungile
do you know how much work I put in for you
to actually go, to school. You know I saw your
results for the past two term and I have never
been so disappointed in my whole life. You
are actually the reason why I came here only
to find out ukuthi uhamba ulala emzini wena,
undihlisa isdima nesdima sabazali "( you are
tarnishing my reputation, our parents'
reputation ).

" Stop acting like you are better than all of us

because you are actually the worst in this
house. The same you standing in front of me
is the same you that used to sneak girls in
when mom and dad were at wo- ", before she
could even complete her sentence
Vuyolwethu slapped her across the face and
she looked away for a moment. She regained
her composure and she looked at
Vuyolwethu, who was still looking back at her.
" Never, compare yourself to me ", with that
said he left everyone downstairs and he
heard to his bedroom. He knew that one
more moment spent there, he would have
probably roughed his little sister up so he just
decided to just walk away.

Chapter Two
Back in Johannesburg, Tshegofatso regained
her consciousness and heard the sound of
beeping machines, and to say the annoyed
her would be an absolute understatement.
After a lot of struggle, she managed to flutter
her eyes open to see where she was, and by
her surroundings merged with the smell of
pills she figured she was in hospital. Not a
nanosecond after she woke up the doctor
graced the ward with his presence followed
by Lunathi and she immediately tensed up at
the sight of her boyfriend. The doctor started
with a minor check up on her and, " So, how
are you feeling Ms Nkosi? ", he asked.

" My body is a bit sore, but I'll survive ", she

responded and the doctor just simply sent a
faint smile her way and, " I would advise you
to lay a charge on the burglars that did this to
you ", he suggested and Tshegofatso just
looked at him, with confusion written all over
her face.

" Burglars? ", she questioned.

" Yes ", the doctor turned to look at Lunathi
with a look of suspecting something, " You,
were attacked and your boyfriend found you
unconscious, right? ", Tshegofatso looked
over Lunathi briefly and he had a small smirk
plastered on his face showing that she was
enjoying seeing Tshegofatso vulnerable and,
" Oh yes ", she said letting out a nervous
chuckle. The doctor slowly nodded whilst
looking at Lunathi as if he suspected that
there was actually more to the story than
what Fatso was letting on. " Anyway, besides
the fact that you have a broken rib,
everything seems to be functioning well. We
will give you medication and discharge you,
your rib will heal naturally since there wasn't
much damage ", he said as he scribbled
something on the paperwork he was carrying
and handed over the clipboard to Lunathi, "
Can you please sign that discharge form? ",
Lunathi simply nodded at him taking the
board and unexpectedly they heard, " Can't
you expand my stay here? ".

" Unfortunately I can't Miss, but I will give you

another date for another check up ".

" Thank you ".

" Have a good day ahead ", with that said the
doctor left the Tshegofatso's ward and
headed straight to his office. " So? ", his
friend asked immediately after he opened the
office door and let himself in.

" He was right, she is being domestically

abused. And from her hospital record, it's
been going on for sometime now. ", he said
taking off his coat and stethoscope and
taking his seat. " Whoah, Jaguar is not going
to like this ", Mnqobiwesizwe said as he
concluded the email he was writing to
Vuyolwethu sent alongside a document
attached that had every single piece of
information about Tshegofatso. Every single
detail !

°°°
" Don't ever do what you just did ", Lunathi
said to Tshegofatso and she decided to act
like she didn't know what he was referring to,
" What did I do? ", she asked.

" Asking the doctor to ' extend ' your stay. It

will make them suspicious and we don't want
that - do we? ", he smirked while caressing
her cheek and pecked her lips as she tensed
up from his touch, " Now get ready, we have
to leave ", he continued.

°°°
Vuyolwethu was still cooped up in his
bedroom and he was busy on his laptop
going through some important paperwork
when he received an email from
Mnqobiwesizwe. He read through the email
before opening the attachment that it was
sent along with but with only that, he already
knew too much. He grabbed his phone and
dialed one of his pilots. " Boss ", Jayme
answered his phone.
" Please get the helicopter ready, I'll be in the
airport in an hour ", Vuyolwethu said already
packing his laptop and grabbing his car keys.
" Okay boss, I will be waiting ", with that said
he hung up and then headed downstairs -
only to find his mother in the kitchen and he
dreaded the talk they were about to have. "
Ma ", he said and she turned to look at him,
and after noticing the car keys and the
briefcase he was carrying, " Uyaphi? "( Where
are you going ), she asked.

" Johannesburg ", his mother looked at him

confused, " I thought you were staying for the
weekend ", she said with disappointment
lacing over her voice.

" I know ma, but I need to sort out some work

issues. ", he could see that his mother was
not taking that well so he walked over to her
and, " Ma, I'll come back to visit but I really
have a lot of things to take care of now ", he
explained.

" Okay ", his mother sighed, " Just visit

sometime Vuyolwethu ", she said and
Vuyolwethu just simply gave her a brief hug
and, " I promise ", with that said he headed
out. He didn't even have the time to say
goodbye to his siblings or wait for his father
to return from the meeting he was attending -
he just jumped straight into the car and drove
out, heading straight to the airport. It took
him only an hour to arrive and when he did,
he found Jayme already waiting for him with
two other guys that worked for him and, "
Boss ", they all said in greeting and he simply
nodded at them before turning his full
attention to Jayme and, " Is everything ready?
", he asked.

" Certain. "

" Okay ", he turned to the other two guys and

handed over his car keys to them, " I trust you
with that, just get into one of our warehouses
and make sure it is good shape ", they both
nodded at him and then walked over to the
cars while he headed straight into the
helicopter and buckled himself up for safety
reasons and, " Get me to the headquarters ! ",
he shouted into the radio as the helicopter
wing was making a lot of noise. Jayme didn't
even need to reply to that, he just simply
followed orders and flew to Johannesburg.

Tshegofatso on the other hand, she was

already at home with her daughter while
Lunathi went to work. She was trying to
tidied around like she usually does but due to
her injuries and broken rib, she was slowed
down and couldn't even stand for long
periods of time. Whilst trying to clean around,
Kefentse arrived to check on her and she was
a lot relieved to see that she was safe, even
though she had endured injuries and was
bruised. " I am so glad you are okay ",
Kefentse said as she pulled the girl into a hug
but pulled away when she heard her flinch, " I
am just glad Lunathi found you on time,
those burglars could have killed you ", she
added as they took a seat and Tshegofatso
slightly raised her eyebrow at her friend from
her last statement and, " Burglars right? ",
she whispered that part so that her friend
couldn't hear her and, " I'm just glad I am still
alive, I can't imagine leaving my daughter
Fentse ", she said and sighed heavily after
that. Kefentse offered to help her with
cleaning around and taking care of
Nosibusiso so that could rest of a little bit and
after that, they just chilled in and watch a
classic movie but, Kefentse left an hour
before Lunathi returned from work.

He arrived and just passed straight to the

bedroom, not even bothering to greet
Tshegofatso and he returned settled into just
a simple vest, trackpants and happy socks.
He started in the kitchen and checked the
pots only to find them empty, he checked the
microwave and fridge and there was still no
home cooked meal so he headed to the
dining room and, " Kuphi ukudla? "( Where's
food ), he questioned and Tshegofatso simply
looked at him before, " I couldn't cook,
Lunathi ", she responded.

" Manje uthi mina ngizodlani? "( So what am I

supposed to eat ), he asked and, " Angazi,
there is bread an- ", she didn't even get to
finish that and he slapped her. " What?! Awazi?
"( You don't know ), he slapped her across the
face once more and not a second later, he
was on top of her and throwing punches as
though he was in some street fight but
difference is he was hitting an innocent,
defenceless young lady who had done
nothing wrong. Nothing. Tshegofatso tried
screaming, shouting, crying but it was all in
vain so she just gave in - let him throw the
punches, she didn't care anymore at that
particular moment. Just when she was
convinced that she was actually going to die
in the hands of that man, someone pulled
Lunathi back and punched him making him
bump into the wall with his head.
Tshegofatso managed to catch her breath,
regain her composure and she noticed that
she knew the man that stopped Lunathi.
Vuyolwethu Ndhlovu. He had returned, to
save her even after she had lied to him. Why?
How? But she didn't ask any questions, she
just sat there on the floor - overwhelmed with
shock of what had just happened.

" Sukuma uzilwele ndoda, ushaya abafazi

angisho wena? "( Stand up and fight for
yourself man, you are a woman beater right?
), hearing that Lunathi attempted to stand
up and when he was on his feet Vuyolwethu
just punched him in the stomach and he
growled in pain, " Yes, yes this is what I want
", he threw in another punch, " I want you to
feel the pain you have put her through, every
single day. For you to feel the vulnerability
and weakness she felt when you hit her.
Stand up, and fight me ! ", he screamed at the
man that laid on the floor and cried out in
pain, " Hit me you moron ! Unlike her, I can
take it - like a man ! ", he said and from
behind him he could here Tshegofatso
begging him to stop hitting Lunathi but he
just couldn't, every punch he laid on him,
every kick, every slap was meant to teach him
a lesson. " Go and pack your bags, I will deal
with this scumbag ", Vuyolwethu seethed and
without any further ado Tshegofatso walked
to the bedroom, balancing herself with the
wall in attempt to keep her body in balance,
to avoid falling. The minute she reached the
bedroom first thing she did was walk over to
the cot and caress her daughter's face and,
pecked her beautiful pouted lips before she
started packing. She didn't pack everything,
she only packed the necessities and a few
clothing for her daughter and herself. She
changed her daughter's nappy and then
settled her into something warmer since it
was starting to get cold outside. She carried
her daughter and just when she was about to
pick up the bag she had packed on, a buff guy
wearing black clothes with a bulletproof vest
over the t-shirt entered her room and
involuntarily she backed away from the guy. "
Can I help you with the baby, and the bags? ",
they guy asked but, " Who are you? ", the
woman questioned with a little bit of
hesitating in her voice.

" Fire ", he said but, " Mnqobiwesizwe to be

exact, I was sent here by Vuyolwethu ", he
corrected his self introduction and confirmed
that Vuyolwethu was the one who had sent
him to fetch Tshegofatso. " Where is he? ",
she asked.

" He left about five minutes ago, he received

a call from work ", Mnqobiwesizwe
responded to her question but lying about his
last statement, he knew Vuyolwethu wasn't
called in but Tshegofatso didn't have to know
what Vuyolwethu was actually doing. She
handed over the bags to him and they
headed out with Mnqobiwesizwe following
behind Tshegofatso to make sure she doesn't
hurt herself while walking or even fall. They
got inside the matte black G-wagon that was
parked infront of her gate and she was
immediately blown off the roof by the interior
design until she actually acknowledged that
she was in the presence of three guys, with
her daughter and she started to tense up.
Mnqobiwesizwe noticed this and, " Relax we
won't hurt you, Vuyolwethu would kill us ",
he said the last statement in a joking manner
but she didn't exactly find it amusing but it
still managed to calm down her nerves a little
bit.

The drive to Vuyolwethu's house took about

an hour and half and it made Tshegofatso a
little uneasy when they left town but made
her feel even more tense when the driver
drove into some kind of driveway in a middle
of a veld. What if she was unsafe? What if this
was some kind of human trafficking and
prostitution ring that she had gotten herself
into? Physical abuse was something else but
being sold to the highest bidder would be her
worst nightmare, not to imagine how her
daughter would feel. She was freaking out
from the inside until she actually saw that
they were approaching a mansion that
looked extremely elegant, and stylish from
the outside. What more from the inside? They
parked in and they stepped out of the car
with Mnqobiwesizwe carrying Nosibusiso and
her bag and, " Are you coming inside? ", he
asked when he saw Tshegofatso still
browsing the house from the outside and she
shyly nodded feeling a bit embarrassed as
they headed inside. The moment she stepped
inside the man she was mesmerized fully !
Seeing how beautiful that house actually was,
from the fountain that was in the middle of
the hallway that graced the guests when they
walked in and out, to the kitchen that was
decorated in black and white with only the
lighting and a few ornaments and decoration
providing the colour, she was blown away.
Whoever the woman of the house was, she
was surely lucky to have such heaven on
earth. " Let me show you to your room ",
Mnqobiwesizwe said and he led the way and
Tshegofatso followed behind him, to the
room she would be occupying. He opened
the door and led her inside, and the moment
she stepped inside she gasped in awe -
mesmerized by the sight she was seeing. "
Wow ", Tshegofatso murmured softly and she
heard Mnqobiwesizwe chuckle softly, and she
remembered he was also in the room. " I'll
just leave you to freshen up and I'll take
uBaby to the nursery ", he said putting down
the bag next to the bed and, " Okay, she is
Nosibusiso by the way ", he nodded with a
smile.

" Nice name, it suits her. I'll call uMam'

Nomadlozi to come check on you for those
bruises ", Tshegofatso nodded at him and he
left the room with Nosibusiso. She toured
around the room for a minute and it was so
beautiful and spacious, and it even had a
walk-in closet but then it wasn't like she was
planning on staying here for a long time. She
planned on getting back on her feet and to
find a job to take care of herself along with
her daughter. She didn't want to
inconvenience anyone, anymore.

Tshegofatso headed to the bathroom and ran

a bath for herself. Whilst the water was still
filling up the bath, she stripped off her
clothes and got inside after that. Her body
was in excruciating pain at first but after she
adjusted to the water, she tensed down. After
bathing, she settled into her pyjamas and not
a second later, a knock surfaced on the
bedroom door and she opened for whoever it
was, and it was Mam'Nomadlozi. " Sawubona
ma ", she greeted the lady as she moved out
of the way letting her in and, " Ukahle? "( Are
you okay ), the woman asked with a little
concern present in her voice but she still
managed to flash a smile at the young lady
before her. " Ngizobakahle ma "( I'll be okay
ma ), she responded. Mam'Nomadlozi helped
her with her bruises, and gave her some
painkillers to numb down the pains. After
that, they both headed downstairs and
Tshegofatso joined Mnqobiwesizwe who was
binge watching an action movie as they
waited for Vuyolwethu to return from ' work '.
When he returned, dinner was served.
°°°
After dinner, Tshegofatso helped
Mam'Nomadlozi clear the dining table
despite Vuyolwethu forbidding her from it.
She didn't want to sit around and mope, she
wanted to keep herself busy and that way she
wouldn't be a burden to anyone.
Mam'Nomadlozi told her she would carry on
with doing the dishes and tidy up the kitchen
but she offered to sit in the kitchen with her
and obviously the old lady agreed to it. She
made Tshegofatso chamomile tea saying it
would help her relax, as she had already had
a long day. While Mam'Nomadlozi was
washing the dishes with Tshegofatso keeping
her company, she stopped and looked at her
for a moment with a smile plastered on her
face. " Kunenkinga ma? "( Is there a problem
ma ), Tshegofatso questioned when she
noticed this.

" He hasn't brought a woman here in years,

except Lerato ", hearing this confused
Tshegofatso as she didn't understand what
Mam'Nomadlozi was implying. " Ma? "

" Ngikhuluma ngoVuyolwethu "( I am talking

about Vuyolwethu ), it finally clicked in
Tshegofatso's mind of what the lady actually
meant and she chuckled nervously, biting her
inner cheek with hesitations and, " He is just
helping me, ma ", the older woman raised her
eyebrow with a faint smirk of amusement
and just simply nodded brushing the
conversation away, carried on washing the
dishes. Tshegofatso might not have
acknowledged it yet but, she saw how
Vuyolwethu looks at this young lady, how he
stole glances at her throughout dinner and
tried by all means to make her feel
comfortable - she knew she wasn't imagining
things. Vuyolwethu felt something for her, he
was just in denial. She finished tidying up the
kitchen and she retired to her bedroom while
Tshegofatso decided to go and check on her
daughter in the nursery before she went to
bed and arriving in the nursery - she found a
young woman who looked to be in her early
twenties, probably twenty one or twenty two,
watching over her daughter.

" Hi ", she greeted and the lady gracefully

smiled at her and, " Hey, you must be
Tshegofatso? ", she nodded and, " I am
Noluthando, ngiyajabula ukukwazi "( I am
happy to meet you ), she introduced herself
and Tshegofatso just simply smiled back at
her and nodded in response and then walked
over to Nosibusiso who was sleeping
peacefully, in the cot bed. Noluthando left
the nursery to give Tshegofatso some space.
Tshegofatso kissed Nosibusiso's left cheek
 then her pouted, slightly parted lips and then
looked down her with a smile on her face.
She might have regretted being involved with
Lunathi but if there was one thing she would
forever be grateful of would be her daughter.
Not once would she wake up regretting her
daughter. Just like her name Nosibusiso
implied, her daughter was indeed a blessing
to her.

' It's nice to see you smile for a change '

She turned to see who was in the nursery and
she saw Vuyolwethu leaning on the door and
she acknowledged him with a smile. After a
short while, he walked in and stood next to
Tshegofatso also looking down at the
adorable angel that was sleeping peacefully
with no worry in the world and a smile
creeped out his face. " She is really beautiful.
Just like you ", he complimented the sleeping
beauty but the last part he muttered looking
into Tshegofatso's eyes who just faintly
smiled and, " Thank you. For everything ".
" It was nothing ", he said looking at the little
girl in the room then back at the young lady
that stood next to him, " But if you don't
mind me asking, why did you stay with him? ",
he asked with concern lacing over his voice
and curiosity written all over his hazel eyes. "
It's a long story, really ", she responded.

" I have time ", he shot back and, " Can we

head downstairs? I'll tell you everything ", he
nodded and after Tshegofatso kissing her
little angel goodnight they headed
downstairs and Tshegofatso went straight to
the lounge while Vuyolwethu headed to the
kitchen first, and returned with an ice cream
tub and took a seat right next to the young
lady. He handed over a spoon to her and
creeked the tub open and when she
acknowledged the flavour it was, " Vanilla,
my favourite ", she muttered and Vuyolwethu
briefly looked at her before, " I prefer
chocolate really, this is daughter's favourite ",
he said in amatter of fact kind of tone and
Tshegofatso looked at him, surprised. " You
have a daughter? ", she asked and, " Yes,
Olonathando Ndhlovu. But let's talk about
you now, why? "

" My mother died when I was nine years old,

and when my father remarried his wife made
him choose between me and her - and he
chose her. He kicked me out and sent me to
the streets without even caring what would
happen to me. And when I met Lunathi, he
actually found me wandering around that
night and he took me in. He was a really good
boyfriend at first, took care of me and always
made sure that I was okay and he was just so
sweet and caring and loving. But that slowly
came to an end when I fell pregnant. He
started controlling me, got angry for the
smallest things until it escalated to the point
where he started hitting me. The first time he
did it, I land in hospital and almost lost my
baby. He promised he wouldn't do it again,
and I believed him. Everytime he hit me he
would apologize after and promise that he
would get help, that he change become a
better man, that he wouldn't lay a hand on
me ever again and everytime I fell for it until
the day where I finally realised that he wasn't
going to change and I pressed charges
against him. Long story short, he found out
and threatened me, it was either I drop the
charges against him or he would take away
my daughter and I couldn't handle that so I
stayed, for her. Endure every beating I got,
him raping me almost every night, and in my
head I was doing it all for my baby. But today,
if you hadn't come I would have died, he
would have beaten me to death and, and,
and... ", Vuyolwethu pulled her into his arms
as she broke down into tears, and she wailed
in the most painful way. It was finally sinking
in that she would have died and left her
daughter in this cruel world, with the most
cruel man. It was finally sinking in that she
had escaped death, and that if it wasn't for
Vuyolwethu she would have been dead. She
grabbed onto his t-shirt for dear life and he
just kept trying to comfort her, trying to
assure her that she was safe but she just kept
crying, and crying. He kept rubbing her back
to calm her down and for the first time, she
felt safe with being in the arms of a male
species. She felt protected, guarded and like
nothing was going to harm her at that
moment. She felt like she was in her own,
haven.

After a while when she was calm, she pulled

out of the embrace and she wiped off her
tears. " Didn't you have other relatives, to
stay with after you father kicked you out or
someone you could have ran to instead
enduring all that abuse? ", Vuyolwethu asked
trying his best not to sound insensitive.

" My aunt was there, but she lives in East

London. I didn't have money to go to her ",
she explained and he simply nodded and, " I
understand. Ungaya komvakashela umufuna
"( you could visit her if you want to ), he
offered and she shook her head no, " I don't
want to burden you, I just need to focus on
getting a job to look after my daughter and I ",
she said but Vuyolwethu wasn't having any of
that, he insisted until she actually agreed to
visit her aunt. After that talk they had
Tshegofatso retired to sleep while
Vuyolwethu didn't even consider the option
to sleep. He tried his utmost best to hide his
anger from Tshegofatso but she was actually
boiling up with every single thing
Tshegofatso told him. He couldn't believe
someone could actually treat a woman like
that, and it made him angry just by thinking
of it.

Chapter Three
Next morning, Tshegofatso woke up and
headed straight to the bathroom to freshen
herself up before she could go and check up
on her daughter. After showering, she settled
into a floral summer dress paired with black
flip flops and went downstairs. She found
Vuyolwethu sitting on the kitchen counter
drinking a glass of milk and busy on his
phone and involuntarily she found herself
drooling over the man. He hadn't
acknowledged her presence so she took her
time and studied the shirtless and
handsomely fine male species sitting in front
of her. His hazel eyes, his knee - weakening
smile, those perfectly toned abs and biceps
that she so wished she could run her finger
on and-

She was brought back to her full senses when

she heard someone clear their throat and she
noticed that it was Vuyolwethu. He just sat
that with his eyebrow raised accompanied by
a little smirk plastered on his face and he
chuckled for a moment before, " I could be all
yours, you know? ", he said looking straight
into her eyes, unknowingly awakening her
butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

" Huh? ", she hummed confusingly and he

just laughed from amusement and, " Stop
drooling, MaNkosi ", he said, " Ngisayogeza,
and relax I'll make sure to throw a t-shirt this
time "( I'm going to bath ), he said getting off
the counter and walked over to the sink to
rinse the glass he was using and then headed
to his bedroom, leaving Tshegofatso in the
kitchen dumbstruck and a little embarrassed
that he had caught her drooling over him.
She walked over to the fridge and took out all
the ingredients she would need to prepare
breakfast - English breakfast. She started off
with heating up the oil to fry the eggs and
bacon, and just when she was chopping the
tomatoes Mam'Nomadlozi headed
downstairs and found her preparing. "
Sawubona ngan' yami "( Good morning my
child ), Tshegofatso turned to look at her with
a smile and, " Sawubona ma, ulale kahle?
"( Greetings, did you sleep well ), she asked
and the older lady nodded at her in response
then offered to help her prepare breakfast for
everyone since she was already awake. They
finished preparing breakfast and then told
everyone that food was ready before
Tshegofatso headed to the nursery to check
on her little princess. She found the door half
opened and when she headed inside and
found Nosibusiso in the ballpit with
Noluthando, and surprisingly she was already
bathed. " Morning ", she greeted Noluthando
and then walked over to the ballpit and gave
her daughter a kiss, " Aren't you having
breakfast? ", she asked.

" I've already had something to eat,

Nosibusiso too. Don't worry, I'll take care of
her ", Noluthando responded to her question
and then assured her that Nosibusiso and her
would be okay so she just thanked her and
then headed downstairs to join
Mnqobiwesizwe and Vuyolwethu for
breakfast. They all indulged themselves on
the food with no words exchanged until
Tshegofatso decided to break the silence and,
" Mnqobi, why did you introduce yourself as
Fire yesterday? ", not expecting the question
nor for Tshegofatso to have remembered that
Mnqobiwesizwe chocked on his drink and he
was finally okay, he looked at Vuyolwethu
who just plainly shrugged and resumed
eating his food. " You need to go back to your
house man, ungiqedela iGrocery ndoda
"( You are finishing my grocery man ),
Vuyolwethu changed the subject and
Tshegofatso laughed at that statement. "
That if you want Tshegofatso, or should I say
MaNkosi to yourself? ", Vuyolwethu quickly
turned to look at Mnqobiwesizwe who just
shrugged while smirking and, " Hhayi I am
just stating it but relax I am almost done with
the mission so I'll be out of your hair next
week ", he continued and, " Good ",
Vuyolwethu muttered. Tshegofatso just
laughed at the two man and started clearing
the table as they had all finished eating, they
thanked and she just acknowledged them
with a smile and then went to the kitchen to
put the dishes away - and with plan to wash
them. She filled the sink with hot water and
started sorting out the dishes so she could
wash them properly and just when she was
about to wash the cutlery Vuyolwethu stood
behind her and pulled her hands out of the
water and took her dishcloth and wiped them.
All this time Tshegofatso was just standing
there admiring him, just staring at him trying
to make sense to why he was just so perfect,
inside and out, in her head. " Hhayi MaNkosi,
ngithe I can be all yours, your stares are
creepy "( No MaNkosi, I said - ), he said as he
let out a softly chuckle while looking down
the beautiful lady standing infront of him and
Tshegofatso just slightly rolled his eyes at
him and sucked her teeth before, " Let me
just go and check on my daughter, and leave
you in your kitchen ", she said as he took a
seat on the kitchen counter as the young lady
headed out of the kitchen, to the nursery.
Tshegofatso could hear him laughing at her
as she left the kitchen and, " Run away all you
want ! ", he shouted behind her, making her
involuntarily blush without even taking
notice of it. She chuckled to herself as she
went up the staircase making her way to the
nursery and found Noluthando still watching
over her daughter and, " Hey, I'll take over
from here. Thank you ", she said as she
walked over to the pair and took her
daughter, " My pleasure, sthandwa "( Love ),
Noluthando said with a smile written all over
her face, " She is adorable, I couldn't resist ",
she said making Tshegofatso smile as she
looked over her daughter and started talking
to her while she grabbed everything she
would need before heading to her bedroom.
She played with her daughter, sang to her,
fed her and just enjoyed spending time with
something she could hardly do back at
Lunathi's house. She could hardly bond with
her daughter because she always had to
clean around a grown man who still had the
nerve to beat her into a pulp, even after the
things she had done to help her. It took only a
few hours until Nosibusiso was sleeping
again, you would swear this child liked sleep
over her mother. She let her daughter sleep
in her room and then left the monitor just
incase she woke up crying and then headed
out, making sure to tiptoe and just outside
the room she bumped into Noluthando who
was heading to her bedroom but, " Oh hey, is
my baby asleep? ", Noluthando asked
referring to Nosibusiso and Tshegofatso
giggled before, " Out like a light ", she replied.

" Well... ", Noluthando started slightly

dragging out the phrase and, " I can give you
a house tour if you like? ", she said but it
sounded more like a question and, "
Ngingakujabulela lokho "( I would really love
that ), Tshegofatso replied and they headed
back downstairs as Noluthando started
giving the young lady a tour around the
mansion that was definitely as huge as a mall.
If Mnqobiwesizwe hadn't shown her to her
bedroom, she would have gotten lost - that is
how big the house was like. After touring the
inside of the house, they moved on to tour
the outdoors. Vuyolwethu's mansion was
secluded, in the middle of a veld or a forest
you couldn't really tell, so it had the biggest
yard that was so calming and welcoming.
Tshegofatso had always been a person of the
outdoors and nature, she always loved how
being outdoors surrounded by green grass
made her feel, it just had its own way to uplift
her spirit and she felt different everytime, and
this just reawakened the feeling. The garden
was just amazing, the grass was perfectly
green and trimmed and there was a pond,
that had a bridge to move on to the other
side of the garden and a sitting area with a
firepit in the middle of it, the swimming pool
was just a heavenly sight, it's blue water
helped brighten the green lawn with help
from the flowers around of course. Whilst on
that, Noluthando and Tshegofatso heard
Nosibusiso crying through the baby monitor
and Noluthando offered to check on her,
saying that Tshegofatso needed as much rest
she could possibly get in order for her
wounds to heal properly and her bruises to
fade away. Tshegofatso just remained behind
and just sat on the lawn by the pool. She
closed her eyes for a moment and just
inhaled in a breath of fresh air making sure to
exhale all the bad memories, worries and
stress but she was distracted when someone
cleared their throat from behind her and, "
Are you okay? ", they asked. It was
Vuyolwethu. She turned to face him and, "
Never been better ", she said in response.

" I'm glad to hear that ", he said and she just
smiled. He joined her and sat down next to
her, and they just looked around in silence.
Not awkward silence but the peaceful kind of
silence.
" So, secluded house? In the middle of a
forest? ", Tshegofatso asked playfully and
Vuyolwethu laughed for a moment before, "
You probably thought I was having you
kidnapped ", he said and, " That, I did ",
Tshegofatso confirmed and the man turned
to look at her with his hand on the left side of
his chest and, " Wow, thank you for trusting
me ", he said.

" No, I didn't mean it l- "

" Don't worry about it ", Vuyolwethu cut the
lady short when he noticed that she was
freaking out, " You have been through a
whole lot of shit so I don't really blame you ",
he said this look at the young lady sitting
besides him and she exhaled softly and they
smiled at each other for a moment until, "
Have you packed? ", Vuyolwethu asked. " No,
it slipped my mind - sorry ", the girl
apologized and he just brushed it off by
saying, " It's okay just grab the important
stuff and I'll take you shopping in Cape Town
", with that said he stood up to head inside
and she followed behind shortly, heading
straight to the bedroom to pack a few clothes
and toiletries along with Nosibusiso's stuff
and ten minutes later Vuyolwethu graced the
bedroom with his presence and, " Let's get
going ", he said taking the bags from the girl
and walked out carrying Nosibusiso along
with them. They both headed out and found
Mnqobiwesizwe along with two guards
waiting for them and they climbed in the
matte black Mercedes Benz AMG G63 and
drove away, to OR Tambo International
Airport.
°°°
Their drive to the airport took about an hour
and thirty minutes and when they arrived
they found Jayme ready with the private jet.
They exchanged greetings, introduced the
other to the other, and then they boarded the
jet - with Tshegofatso mesmerized by the
interior design of the jet. It was just elegantly
furnished and beautiful. " Wow ", was the first
word she muttered when she walked in, "
Like it? ", Vuyolwethu asked her and she just
simply nodded before, " It's really beautiful ",
she complimented.

" Let's get you buckled up ", Vuyolwethu said

leading her to the seats and helped her
buckle the straps on before buckling himself
and after everyone else was buckled up and
ready to depart, Jayme started their journey.
When they were safely off land, they
unbuckled and headed to the lounge. " Will
you need anything? ", Vuyolwethu asked the
young lady and, " Cha "( No ), she simply
responded and they just continued the flight
with Tshegofatso getting some rest and
Mnqobiwesizwe and Vuyolwethu discussing
some important business of how they were
going to deal with Lunathi, that little scum.

CAPE TOWN

It took only an hour and a few minutes before

they arrived at Cape Town, leaving straight to
the shopping mall just minutes upon their
arrival. At the mall, Vuyolwethu bought
Nosibusiso and Tshegofatso clothes and a
few baby items like prams, car seats, etc. -
even after Tshegofatso turned many of them
due to the numbers on the price tags, she still
miraculously found them on the shopping
cart. It took them only an hour to shop
around and then they headed to the south
beach, to Vuyolwethu's secluded beach
house. They left everything there and only
took ' some ' of the newly bought clothes and
they headed out again - this time flying to
Eastern Cape. On the way, Tshegofatso
decided to take a little nap since her little ray
of sunshine was still asleep - something she
did all the time, anyway.
°°°
" Tshegofatso ", she felt someone shake her
awake and she tiredly fluttered her eyes open
and rubbed them as she sat up to look at the
African god standing in front of her, “ We are
here ”, Vuyolwethu said to the young lady
and, “ Okay ”, was all she could say in
response. They headed out of the jet and two
man wearing all black clothing approached
them to help with the luggage as Vuyolwethu
was carrying the sleeping Nosibusiso, with
Mnqobiwesizwe leading Tshegofatso to the
matte black Mercedes Benz AMG GT R Coupe
parked just in front the Mercedes-Benz AMG
G63 of the colour coat. As much as
Tshegofatso always questioned herself about
why Vuyolwethu was so secretive and
guarded - I mean, the man's house was
surrounded by a security detail twenty
four/seven and even when he was leaving, he
never left them behind - she didn't want to
come off as noisy, it wasn't her duty to
question people she hardly even knew so she
kept her thoughts to herself. After getting the
door for Tshegofatso, Mnqobiwesizwe
headed to one of the G wagons and
Vuyolwethu climbed in the Coupe, handing
over Nosibusiso to her mother and, “ So,
where are we headed? ”, he asked starting
the car's ignition and driving out of the
airport with the two cars following behind
them. “ I'll direct you ”, he simply nodded not
shifting his attention from the road.

“ So, what's your plan when you get back to

Johannesburg? ”, the man asked.

“ Find a job to take care of my daughter ”, the

minute Tshegofatso mentioned finding a job
Vuyolwethu turned to look at her and, “ A job?
How old are you again? ”, he questioned his
facial expression making it crystal clear that
he was against the idea.

“ Seventeen, ngobani? ”( Why ), she

questioned.

“ Awufun' ukuphindela eskolweni, mhlampe?

”( Don't you wish to resume your studies,
maybe ), she slightly squinted her eyes at the
man driving besides her before, “ I would, if I
had the money ”, she responded. Vuyolwethu
turned to the young lady opening his mouth
to say something but he refrained himself
and, “ We'll talk about this when you come
back ”, the girl simply nodded and looked
down at her daughter.
°°°
Standing in front of her aunt's door,
Tshegofatso nervously knocked after taking a
deep breath trying to calm herself down. "
Uzokwamukela, yeka ukukhathazeka "( She'll
accept you, stop worrying yourself ),
Vuyolwethu tried to reassure Tshegofatso but
it didn't help much. She just kept thinking
about all the worst scenarios as they kept
flooding her mind. What if she doesn't accept
her? What if she rejects her and her daughter?
What if she doesn't want to se- The door flew
open and a surprised woman stood there in
amazement, eyes already gathering up tears
and, " Tshegofatso? ", she murmured in a low
and questioning voice.

" Aunty, ng- ", before she could finish her

statement the woman who seemed to be in
her forties just pulled the seventeen years old
into an embrace. A tight, loving and warm
embrace that made Tshegofatso feel at home,
leading her to shedding a few tears.

" Fatso ! ", the old woman exclaimed as she

pulled out of the hug and stepped back, to
examine her niece, " Ubukuphi sonke
les'khathi? Kwenzekani? Kungani ungab-
"( Where have you been all this time? What
happened? Why didn't you co- ), she didn't
even get to finish the last question she so
desperately wanted answered because, " Can
I atleast come in? ", Tshegofatso interrupted
her.

" Of course ", he moved from the making a

way for her niece and the two man with her
inside, closing the door behind her before
leading them to the lounge where everyone
took a sit and, " Ukahle? "( Are you okay ), the
young-looking old lady questioned her niece
who just simply nodded in response. Still
paying attention to her niece and not
acknowledging the presence of
Mnqobiwesizwe and Vuyolwethu in the
lounge, " Why are you bruised? ", she asked
again, in worry and confusion.

" It's a really long story ", Tshegofatso

responded before turning to Vuyolwethu and
his friend, " Aunt nguVuyo noMnqobi laba,
guys this is my aunt MaShandu ", he
introduced everyone to each other and in
acknowledgement that they had returned her
niece back home she stood to give them
handshakes which quickly turned into hugs,
and just when they brought up that they were
leaving she forced them to have something to
drink first. While MaShandu headed to the
kitchen Nosibusiso woke up and Tshegofatso
took her from Vuyolwethu, heading to the
bedroom with her to change her nappy. Just
seconds after Tshegofatso left the lounge, her
aunt returned with a tray of juice and cookies,
placing them on the coffee table infront of
the two man.

Clearing his throat slightly Vuyolwethu

thanked the old lady for her efforts and then
reached inside his Jean pockets and took out
a roll of hundred rand notes, placing them on
the coffee table infront of MaShandu. " Eyani?
"( What is it for ), she asked not knowing
whether to accept the money or what. "
Nosibusiso's necessities and a few household
items ma, ngiyacabanga izokwanela "( I think
it will be enough ), Vuyolwethu responded to
the question and the hesitant lady took the
roll of money and thanked Vuyolwethu. She
desperately wanted to ask where these two
man came from or how they even knew her
niece but she would rather ask Tshegofatso
than interrogate the young men, she didn't
want to be rude.
Tshegofatso came back down with an
energetic little baby girl and she handed her
over to her aunt as she walked Vuyolwethu
and Mnqobiwesizwe out. " Uzoba kahle?
"( Will you be okay ), Vuyolwethu asked
Tshegofatso as they stood outside the car
and she nodded, " Yebo, kusekhaya lapha
"( Yes, this is my home ), the handsome male
nodded in return and opened his arms for a
hug in which Tshegofatso gladly accepted,
and she wrapped her arms on his shoulders
inhaling his inviting cologne with his arms
around her waist. " Call if you need anything,
and I mean it ", with a smile on her face the
young lady nodded and promised she would
do so. “ Nice to see your smile ”, he said as he
opened his car door, climbing inside.
Tshegofatso walked back inside the yard,
then house with Vuyolwethu starting the car
ignition but only driving away when she was
safely inside the house.

Tshegofatso headed straight to the lounge

and found her aunt and daughter having
loads of fun as her daughter was giggling
nonstop while her aunt kept talking in that
gibberish baby language. It made her so
happy to witness that, for a moment she had
been worried MaShandu would reject her
daughter, but after seeing this her heart
became much at ease. " She's really beautiful
", her aunt said and she simply smiled before
muttering a thank you.

" Why didn't you come back home Fatso? Do

you know how worried sick I have been about
you? I thought you had died, for crying out
loud ", the old woman murmured as she
gently laid Nosibusiso on the couch and then
shifting her attention to her niece but
occasionally stealing glances at the little
baby girl. " I tried aunt, I tried but things just
couldn't line up. Ubaba umengixosha ekhaya
wathatha yonkinto ayengithengele yona,
making me losing contact with you "( When
dad kicked me out he took everything that he
had once bought for me ), the young girl
explained. " But what happened to you? Why
are you so bruised and- ", she didn't finish
her sentence. She didn't have the courage to
but Tshegofatso still gathered the courage to
tell her aunt what really happened.

“ Ngosuku ubaba wangixosha ngalo,

ngahlangana nomuntu wesilisa... ”, she
started narrating the whole story to her aunt.
°°°
“ Niyishiyephi lenja? ”( Where did you leave
that son of a bitch ), Vuyolwethu questioned
her friend and from what Mnqobiwesizwe
was seeing - he knew that the person he was
talking to right now was Jaguar. He was
seething with anger, he was out for blood and
there was no stopping him. Mnqobiwesizwe
himself didn't like what Tshegofatso had to
endure, he knew no women is supposed to go
through so much pain but he wasn't going to
deny the fact that his friend was acting,
differently. The last time he saw him like this,
someone dear to his heart was endangered
so he already knew what was going on, but
he still questioned. “ Jaguar, don't tell me
you are falling in love with her ”, he said but
Vuyolwethu just side eyed him before, “ I
asked you a question ”, he dodged the
question, unknowingly giving
Mnqobiwesizwe the answer he needed.

“ He is in the cold room ”, Mnqobiwesizwe

stated and Vuyolwethu just ignored that
response. He walked over to the bar area and
poured himself a glass of scotch whisky,
gulping it down in one go. “ He messed her
up man, he ruined her life ”, the territorial
species said in the mostly calm nature that
left Fire wondering what Vuyolwethu would
do to Lunathi, if he laid his eyes on him. “ But,
you saved her. So I think you should just let
this go ”, Vuyolwethu took the quickest turn
 to face his friend, wanting to thoroughly
digest what his friend just said and, “ Are you
dumb? ”, he asked.

“ Are you FUCKING dumb, Sizwe? Hadn't I

arrived there or arrived a minute later, he
would have killed her. She kept begging and
begging for him to let her go, but he just kept
hitting her. Now you are telling me to let it go,
khohlwa ”( forget it ), he shot back and with
that said he walked over to a couch in the jet
still carrying a bottle of scotch, this time with
no glass accompanying it.
°°°
They landed in Johannesburg and found two
of their security detail already waiting for
them. By that time, Vuyolwethu wasn't
talking to anyone, he just wanted to get
whatever he wanted to do over and done
with. Him and Mnqobiwesizwe headed to the
car and climbed inside the backseat with
Mnqobiwesizwe ordering the chauffeur to
drive straight to the headquarters.

It only took them an hour to drive from the

airport to the headquarters and when they
arrived, the tension was even thicker than
when they drove there. It was thicker than
fermented milk. “ Bring all my surgical
instruments ”, Jaguar murmured as he
climbed off the car and headed straight
inside the building with the detail following
behind him and his friend. “ Vuyo, why do you
even need surgical instruments? ”, Fire asked
and Vuyolwethu not even looking back at his
friend mumbled, “ What happens when a
person has prostate cancer, and they find it
before it even spreads to other places? ”,
questioning him.

“ They cut off their tes- ”, he stopped mid

sentence realising what his friend actually
meant, “ No, no, no ! Vuyo, you can't do that.
You can't just cut someone's b- ”

“ VOETSEK ! ” the livid male species yelled

grasping the attention of the rest of the
employees at the headquarters, “ Awuz'
ukungitshela ukuthi ngenzen, Mnqobi. You
might be my friend but here, I call the shots
 ”( You won't tell me what to do ), he said
stepping closer to his friend who just stood
there, not even a little intimidated by the
person standing in front of him. They had a
little stare moment until Vuyolwethu decided
to turn to the employees and, “ Aren't you
supposed to be working? ”, he asked and
everyone started working before he could
even say anything more. He briefly looked at
his friend and then turned towards his office,
taking the stairs there.

A minute after he arrived in his office, a knock

came through and he yelled for the person to
let themselves in. “ Jaguar, here are your
instruments ”, Suffocate said putting them on
top of the table. “ Get him ready, I'll be there
in an hour ”, with only a nod Suffocate
headed out, shutting the door behind him.
With only a glass of scotch on the rocks,
Vuyolwethu opened his laptop and scrolled
through it until he reached the folder he was
looking for - Tshegofatso Zamangwane Nkosi,
and when the file opened he scrolled to the
picture attachments attached to the file, and
picked the first one. He took a sip on his
 scotch and put it aside, then ruffled his hair
for a moment before leaning over the desk
and locking his fingers. From the picture, he
admired the young lady. Unlike what she
looked like when they met, she looked so
happy in that picture, ready to tackle any
problems thrown her way, ready to brighten
up someone's world with her million dollar,
toothy smile.Why did he make her so
insecure?Why did he mess her up like that?
He questioned himself but he knew he
wouldn't get any answers so, he left it at that.
Leaving his phone plugged in the charger and
on silent, he headed out of his office. Only
wearing a black sleeveless vest with black
jogger jeans, Jaguar made his way to the cold
room and found Mnqobiwesizwe and a few of
the employees in the room with Lunathi tied
to bed. “ Are you seriously doing this man? ”,
Fire questioned as he followed his friend who
was walking to where Lunathi laid. Not
wanting to talk much, “ Please excuse us -
everyone ”, Vuyolwethu ordered everyone in
the room to leave him and Lunathi alone and
everyone immediately obeyed except of
course, Mnqobiwesizwe. He just stood there
for a moment looking closely at his friend
who was going through all the surgical
instruments and before leaving the room,
“ I'm leaving, I have work to do ”, he said.

Chapter Four
Waking up the next morning by the intense
urge to pee, Tshegofatso headed to the
bathroom to relieve her bladder. Whilst on
that, she decided to just take a shower at
once and after showering, she settled into a
pair of denim jeans with a black vest and
flops and then checked up on her daughter.
Seeing that Nosibusiso was still asleep, she
headed downstairs and on her way down she
was attracted by the smell of freshly made
pancakes and brewed coffee, slowly
reminding her of how much she had missed
her aunt's culinary skills. She has always
been a good cook. " Morning angel ",
MaShandu said when she turned and saw her
niece making her way downstairs, " How did
you sleep? ", she asked walking over to the
counter where Tshegofatso was taking a seat
at.

" Ngilale kahle, wena? "( I slept well, you ),

Tshegofatso responded making herself
comfortable on the highchair she was
occupying. " Ngilale kahle nami "( I also slept
great ), MaShandu replied holding
Tshegofatso's face to see how he bruises
were fading and, " Doesn't it hurt? ", she
questioned out of concern and Tshegofatso
shook her head no.

" Here's your breakfast ", she gave her niece a

plate full of pancakes topped with
blueberries and cinnamon sauce, exactly how
used to like them - how she still likes them.
She poured her a glass of apple juice and
then joined her on the highchairs. “ So,
kwenzakalani phakathi kwakho noVuyo?
”( What's happening between you and Vuyo ),
MaShandu asked unexpectedly causing
Tshegofatso to choke on her food and she
quickly gulped down half her juice.
MaShandu looked at her niece with a smirk, a
little amused by her reaction. For a moment,
Tshegofatso couldn't look her aunt in her eye
so she just looked at her plate and, “ Uchaza
ukuthini? ”( What do you mean ), the young
lady questioned and, “ Cha, ngiyabuza nje. I
just saw the way he looks at you and I just
thought... ”, MaShandu shrugged at the end
of her sentence and Tshegofatso bit her inner
cheek to prevent the blush she felt sneak in
on her, “ He is just helping ”.
“ Yeah, just helping ”, the old lady chuckled
slightly and Tshegofatso took that as cue to
clear the plates and wash them, but before
she could even act on her thoughts she heard
Nosibusiso crying from upstairs. “ I'll wash
those, check on her ”, Fatso smiled at her
aunt and wiped her hands before rushing
upstairs, stopping to let out a breath when
she was out of her aunt's sight and then
carried on walking to check on her ray of
sunshine.
“ Hey baby, hey sunshine ”, Tshegofatso said
kissing her daughter's cheeks and then her
cute, pouted lips. Immediately when
Nosibusiso heard her mother's voice she
stopped crying and started giggling instead.
Naughty. The young mother took her
daughter and headed to the bathroom, and
gave her a bath. After bathing her, she settled
her into a pink romper, pink hat and she
headed downstairs with her. “ I was just
about to send a search party for you ”,
MaShandu joked and the young girl laughed
at her aunt and, “ Sacela ungibambela yena,
ngizomenzela umdoko ”( Please hold her for
me, so I can make porridge for her ), she gave
her daughter to her aunt and prepared
something to eat. After that, she fed her
daughter - burped her and helped her drink
water.

“ What do want to do? ”, her aunt asked and

having no idea what they could do, she just
suggested they binge watched some classic
movies. She headed to the bedroom to
change her daughter's nappy while
MaShandu remained in the kitchen, already
preparing popcorn and a few other snacks.
She received a phone call from an unknown
number and she figured it was probably
something important since she wasn't
someone who received any phonecalls, so
she answers and puts it on speaker - placing
on the bedside table, “ Hello ”, she greeted.

“ MaNkosi ”, just by how the caller addressed

to her, she already knew who it was. Mr
Ndhlovu. Weirdly, the minute she heard his
voice she felt a weird feeling creep in the pit
of her stomach. A swooning sensation that
made her feel like her stomach was tying in
knots. “ Hello ”, she greeted back.

“ Kuhamba kanjani lapho? ”( How are things

going there ), he asked.

“ Everything is going well, lapho? ”( that side ),

Tshegofatso asked and, “ It's boring, come
back please ”, the man on the other side of
the line sulked making the girl laugh briefly
before, “ But you are used being alone
though ”, she said.
“ Not anymore, I'm even thinking of fetching
you right now ”.

“ Hhayi Vuyo, I'm still enjoying my aunt's

company - thank you very much ”.

“ You mean you don't even miss drooling

over me? ”, Tshegofatso chuckled at what
Vuyolwethu just mentioned. She was
embarassed enough when she found out that
Vuyolwethu noticed her drooling over him,
but he didn't have to mention it - not again.
“ Not at all ”, she replied and Vuyolwethu
faked a gasp.

“ Nakancane nje? ”( Not even a little bit )

“ No ”, she said in between laughs, “ I am so

hurt right now ”, she rolled her eyes at
Vuyolwethu's response. “ You are such an old
baby Vuyo, I'm coming back next week
anyway ”, she replied and from the other side
of the line, Vuyolwethu laughed.
“ I think I have a better solution, I'll fly there
tomorrow afternoon - I miss uNosibusiso ”.

“ Nosibusiso, or me? ”, Tshegofatso

questioned and out of amusement, he burst
out of laughter and, “ You should hear the
jealousy in your voice right now. Yes,
uNosibusiso - not you ”, he responded still
very much buried in laughter.

“ Hhayi-ke, bye ”( Bye then ).

“ Hhaibo MaNkosi, siyakhuluma nje? ”( Wow
Tshegofatso, we still talking though ), the
man on the other end said but Tshegofatso
wasn't having it, “ Call Nosibusiso ”, she
responded.

“ Are you jealous of your own child? ”

“ Ngiyadrop'a ”( I'm hanging up ), she said

and, “ I'll check on you later ”, Vuyolwethu
notified before hanging up and Tshegofatso
carried on changing her daughter - and
disposed of the used nappy. She picked her
giggly and happy daughter and they both
headed downstairs. If there was something
she noticed, Nosibusiso was a lot more
energetic than when they still lived with
Lunathi. Back then she used to sleep a lot but
now, she is all bouncy and happy.

“ Nishintshana inap'ken ihora lonke pho?

”( You change nappies for the whole hour ),
Tshegofatso laughed at her aunt's comment,
“ I was on a phone call ”, she replied and
without even revealing any names -
MaShandu already knew who she was talking
to, she just grinned from ear to ear and,
“ That's nice. Come join me ”, she patted the
couch and Tshegofatso joined her - watching
classics.
°°°
It was the following afternoon and
Tshegofatso was with her daughter in her
bedroom. Well, Nosibusiso was asleep and
Tshegofatso was reading mobile novel when
she heard a car pull up outside but paying no
attention to it. It was just a few minutes later
when she heard voices coming all the way
from downstairs, and she got curious to know
who it is. She got off her and slipped in her
moccasins, and headed out and found her
aunt in the kitchen. “ MaShandu ”, she said
hugging her aunt from behind and, “ Fatso ”,
she greeted and proceeded to tell her niece
about umkhwenyana being there, confusing
Tshegofatso out of her mind. For a moment,
the girl thought her aunt had an arranged
marriage arranged for her, but that was until
she laid her eyes on the handsome idiot
sitting comfortably in the couch opposite the
 TV. “ You are so comfortable, mkhwenyana ”,
she teased him and he looked up from his
phone chuckling, “ MaNkosi ”, he greeted.

“ Sovele you told my aunt that you are the

umkhwenyana ”( you really- ; groom ), the girl
asked taking a seat next to Vuyolwethu,
facing each other. “ She was asking a lot of
questions, I had to think on the spot ”, he
replied in defence and Tshegofatso just
shook her head at him, rolling her eyes
slightly. “ Mhm ”, she hummed in response,
“ Well, ulele uNosibusiso kodwa ungabuya
umesevukile ”( Nosibusiso is still asleep but
you can come back when she's awake ),
Vuyolwethu looked at the girl sitting besides
him and laughed at her, “ Haibo MaNkosi,
bengidlala bengikukhumbulile ”( Wow
Tshegofatso, I was joking I missed you ), even
after she tried biting her cheeks, she still
blushed at what Vuyolwethu said to her,
while he just shook his head smirking.

MaShandu came back from the kitchen

carrying a tray of cookies and a glass of juice
and, “ Ngiyabonga ma ”, Vuyolwethu thanked
her as she placed them on the coffee table.
Tshegofatso noticed that the cookies were
actually Choice Assorted biscuits and
MaShandu hit her hands after trying to take
one, “ Mara- ”( But- ), she attempted to
complain but MaShandu just stopped her
before she could even say anything further,
saying the food wasonly for Vuyo - only -
much to his amusement. She didn't really
understand the fuss over Vuyolwethu.

“ Let's go to the beach ”, he suggested and

Tshegofatso looked at him like he was being
crazy, “ I can't leave uNosibusiso and she's
still young to be outside ”, she replied but,
“ You can leave, I'll look after her ”,
MaShandu intervened.

“ But- ”, before she could even say anything

else Vuyolwethu was already on his feet and
pulling the girl up, “ Asambe engakashintshi
umqondo ”( Let's go before she changes her
mind ), he said pulling her towards the door
shouting, “ Ngizombuyisa ngo6 MaShandu
”( I'll bring her back at 6pm ), he said already
getting the door. They walked to the car and
he got the door for her before jogging to his
side, getting in and driving to the mall first, to
buy some takeaways and a swimsuit for
Tshegofatso. After buying everything,
Tshegofatso went and wore the swimsuit and
shorts in the fitting room and then they
walked to the parking lot, driving to the south
beach.

Arriving there, it was nearly empty exactly

how Vuyolwethu preferred it to be, and
bonus being that it was almost sunset so the
sun was looking soever beautiful, giving off
its orangish-pinkish vibes. Able to find a
parking space, Vuyolwethu parks the car and
before going out, he took off his t-shirt with
Tshegofatso taking of the tank top she was
wearing over the swimsuit. They walked
towards the shore, hand in hand, having a
short conversation.

“ Are we going to swim? ”, she asked but,

“ I think we are better off like this ”, he replied

wrapping his arms around him. He bent down
as though he was trying to pick up something
but instead, he splashed the girl standing in
front of him with water startling her in the
process, making her jump. “ Vuyo... ”, she
gasped, turning to face him while he just kept
taking steps backwards in between laughs.
She squinted her eyes at him before running
behind him and splashing water at him, too.
Their little stunt turned into a full blown
water fight and caused all the attention of the
people around them to watch them, and they
really didn't have a single care in the world.
Tshegofatso kicked the water towards
Vuyolwethu making him run after her, her
giggles and laughter being the only audible
sound around them, but him being a fast
runner and resulting to training daily he
caught up way too fast. He grabbed her hand
and pulled her towards him making her
stumble briefly before looking up to the man
infront of her still laughing. Vuyolwethu
caressed her cheeks and they looked straight
into each other's eyes and their smiles toned
down as they both leaned in closer, locking
lips. They lips moved slowly in sync, with
them sharing the most passionate kiss, ever.
With Tshegofatso's hands hanging over
Vuyolwethu's shoulders, his hand moved
from her tiny waist to her butt, squeezing her
left butt cheek - making the girl moan
involuntarily.

Realising what was actually occuring

between her and Vuyolwethu, Tshegofatso
pulled out of the kiss. “ Take me home ”, the
girl said making Vuyolwethu confused out of
his mind, “ What? ”, he questioned.
“ Take me back home ! ”, she snapped.

“ Okay geez, don't bite my head off ”, he

responded and they walked to the beach
restrooms to change into dry clothes. They
walked to the car and drove to Tshegofatso's
house, with him briefly stealing glances at the
young lady. Even though she could feeling
Vuyolwethu's glares on her, she ignored it
and just looked out the window.

Noticing that Vuyolwethu took a turn he

wouldn't take when driving to Tshegofatso's
aunt's house, she turned to look at him and,
“ Vuyo, where are you going? ”, she
questioned.
“ To my penthouse ”, he replied without even
turning to look at her, “ I thought I told I
wanted to go home ”, she said still not
looking away from the man driving besides
her and, “ I heard you ”, he said not even
removing his eyes from the road. “ So? ”, he
ignored that and angrily she folded her arms
and looked out the window. She was too
angry to entertain Vuyolwethu then, fuming
actually. I mean, why did he kiss her out of
nowhere? She knows she also kissed him
back but-
He drove inside the hotel and parked in the
secluded parking space and then got out of
the car, walking over to the passenger side
and opening the door for Tshegofatso.
“ Phuma ”, he said and Tshegofatso just sat in
the car, “ MaNkosi, don't make me force you
out of this car ”, he said.
“ Just drive me home Vuyo ”, she said but he
didn't budge he opened the door widely and
attempted to take her out but, “ Okay ! I'll
come out ”, she gave in and Vuyolwethu
moved to make space for her. He shut the
door closed and locked the car after she got
off the car and led the way inside the hotel,
taking the elevator to the last floor - the
penthouse floor.

The elevator opened letting both of them

inside the penthouse, Vuyolwethu walked in
first and Tshegofatso followed. She was
angry to the point that she didn't even care
about her surroundings at that particular
timeframe. She just wanted to know why
Vuyolwethu had brought her here, she just
wanted to be driven home. Vuyolwethu
headed upstairs and came back a while later
and poured himself a glass of white wine and
gulped half of the glasses contents down.
“ Don't tell me you brought me here to watch
TV ”, Tshegofatso scoffed walking over to
where Vuyolwethu was standing. “ No ”.

“ Then what am I doing here? In fact, why are

you helping me Vuyo? Is this your way if
getting into my sheets? ”, just by the mention
of that Vuyolwethu's face turned sour, “ No
Tshegofatso ! ”, he snapped.

“ Talk ! ”, the young lady half yelled at the

man and, “ It doesn't matter why I helped you
Tshegofatso ”.

“ No, no, indulge me. I want to know ”, that

sent Vuyolwethu off urge, “ BECAUSE I THINK
I LOVE YOU, DAMNIT ! ”, he yelled at the girl
making her jump slightly, “ I helped you
because I like you MaNkosi. No, it wasn't my
way off getting into your sheets, I wouldn't do
that to you. I know the pain you've been
through and I wouldn't put you through that
again, it pains me to know that you think that
about me ”, he said standing right infront of
the young girl, looking into her eyes. “ Vu- ”,
he just stopped her before she could even say
a single thing.

“ Let's go ”, he said grabbing his car keys on

the kitchen counter and walking towards the
elevator, “ Vuy- ”

“ I'm not drunk Tshegofatso, I won't crash if

that's what you thinking about ”, he said and
then walked in the elevator and a second
later Tshegofatso followed behind him. They
reached the parking lot and got inside the car,
driving to Tshegofatso's house. Arriving
there, they both headed inside and, “ Can I
see Nosibusiso? ”, the man asked.

“ Fourth door on your right, upstairs ”, he

nodded and headed upstairs while
Tshegofatso walked to the lounge with
MaShandu following behind her. “ Kutheni
equmbile? ”( Why is he angry ), she
questioned taking a sit next to her niece. “ We
had a lash out ”.

“ Ngantoni? ”( about )

“ Something happened and I accused him of

wanting to use me for sex only to find out he
has feelings for me ”, she replied and
MaShandu just looked at her. Vuyolwethu
walked in the lounge before she could even
ask any further. “ I'm leaving, I have business
awaiting in Johannesburg ”, he said.

“ I thought you were staying for the weekend

”.

“ Yeah, I thought so too ”, he briefly glanced

at Tshegofatso before, “ MaShandu, thank
you for your hospitality ”, he turned to the old
woman who just simply smiled at him before
bidding him goodbye. “ Bongani will fetch
you Monday, I won't be there ”, he said and
then shook hands with MaShandu before
heading out. Immediately when the door
closed MaShandu turned to Tshegofatso and,
“ Ndikuncamile Zamangwane ”( I give up on
you, Zamangwane ), she said clapping her
hands once.

“ I messed up didn't I ? ”

“ I'm glad you see it on your own ”, and with

defeat Tshegofatso headed upstairs to take a
shower and settled into a pair of her pyjamas
after that. Not feeling sleepy, she just sat on
the hanging egg chair and read her mobile
novel.

Chapter Five
Tshegofatso had just landed in Johannesburg,
from East London. It was a Monday afternoon,
and Bongani had fetched her since
Vuyolwethu couldn't. She found
Mnqobiwesizwe waiting for her at the airport,
and he dropped her off at Vuyolwethu's
house. Heading inside she only found the
chefs, Mam'Nomadlozi and Noluthando -
Vuyolwethu wasn't there so she assumed he
was still at work. After exchanging greetings
with everyone she headed to the nursery to
tuck Nosibusiso in since she was still asleep,
and then headed downstairs to help
Mam'Nomadlozi with preparing dinner. “ I
thought you are coming back with Vuyo ”,
Mam'Nomadlozi started and Tshegofatso
turned to the woman with confusion written
all over her face, “ Didn't he come back on
Tuesday? ”, the older woman shook her head
no stating that she last saw Vuyolwethu on
Monday morning. Not wanting to ask too
many questions, Tshegofatso just let the
conversation come to an end but she was
worried, to say the least. The last time she
saw him he was coming here, but she also
knew that Vuyolwethu was old enough to
take care of himself. Wherever he was, he was
safe.

After preparing dinner, Tshegofatso headed

upstairs to the nursery to check on her
daughter. She had her fed, helped her drink
water and then bathed her, settling her into a
warm pink romper. She stayed with her
daughter, rocking her to sleep until she
finally fell asleep an hour and thirty minutes
later - then she headed to the bedroom she
was using and took a long, hot shower. She
remained in the tub until the water got a little
cold, and then got out of the tub drying
herself off before rinsing the tub and drying it
up. For a moment, she stopped by the mirror
and looked at herself for the first time in a
long time. She looked- Different, beautiful.
The bruises she had had already faded and
she was glowing, differently. She smiled at
herself and she was actually thankful to
Vuyolwethu for what he did for her. If it
wasn't for him-

She headed back to the bedroom and settled

into her summer pyjamas - a simple top and
short - and then headed downstairs in plans
to watch and catch up on Star, a musical
series by Lee Daniels. It might have been 5pm
but she didn't think she would go anywhere
so- Not a second later after she settled down
Vuyolwethu walked in looking like a snack.
Scratch that, looking like a full course meal.
He was wearing a pair of denims, a white shirt
with the first two buttons unbuttoned with a
royal blue blazer on top. He was carrying a
briefcase on one hand, carrying his car keys
and typing away on his phone with the other
hand. “ Oh hey Tshegofatso ”, he greeted
when she finally acknowledged her and
Tshegofatso raised her eyebrow for a
moment, surprised of the name Vuyolwethu
had called her by. Wow- from MaNkosi to
Tshegofatso in just a minute... “ Hi ”, she
greeted back and he headed upstairs, to his
bedroom.

He came back downstairs a while later and

this time he wasn't wearing any top,
deliberately. He took a seat opposite
Tshegofatso but instead of watching tv along
with her, he was on his phone. Tshegofatso
tried paying attention to what she was
watching but he mind was just no longer
there. It took so much in her not to just run
her fingers on those toned abs.
“ Mam'Nomadlozi said you didn't come back
on Tuesday, ubukuphi? ”( Where were you ),
she bursted out unexpectedly surprising
herself too, in the process.

Vuyolwethu raised his eyes from his phone

and, “ So, are you my girlfriend now? Am I
required to tell you all about my
whereabouts? ”, he asked sounding a little bit
annoyed to say the least. “ I was just asking ”,
she tried defending herself.

“ Well, I was with Lerato and Olonathando ”,

he answered Tshegofatso's first question,
“ Lerato? ”

“ Olonathando's mother. Tshegofatso, can

you just stop with the questions? ”, he
snapped at her and to avoid fighting she
apologized. She didn't understand why she
felt so jealous when Vuyolwethu mentioned
his baby mama. She felt like she was getting
too attached to him, falling for him hard, but
after her experience with Lunathi just made
her doubt people's intentions regarding her.
Vuyolwethu seemed to be genuine when he
told her he liked her but she didn't want to
end up with a broken heart, once again. She
stood up in attempts to leave the lounge but
Vuyolwethu grabbed her hand and pulled her
down to the couch he was sitting on. “ I
missed you ”, he said switching off his phone
and placing it on the coffee table before
focusing his attention to the woman sitting
besides him. “ It doesn't seem like it ”, she
responded.

“ I'm sorry, for being rude ”.

“ It's cool ”, she attempted to get up from the

couch but he held her even closer, wrapping
his toned arms around her. She inhaled his
cologne in and found herself melting into the
man's touch. He smelt so good like he was
demanding affirmation and he smelt
appetizing at the same time. Sighing heavily
Vuyolwethu shifted trying to make himself
comfortable and, “ I really meant what I said
”, he confessed.

“ I know ”.

“ But- ”, he asked as he sensed a but coming

from what Tshegofatso wanted to say. “ I
don't think I can put myself in a position to
trust a guy again ”, she said in response and,
“ So, you don't trust me or Mnqobiwesizwe? ”,
Vuyolwethu questioned.
“ You know what I mean ”.

“ Tshegofatso, I really don't know how to tell

you this- how to make you believe me but I
really do like you. I don't know how to
explain this, because it's such a foreign
feeling to me, I have never felt like this. About
anyone. You know I have never opened up to
anyone about how I feel, I just remained
Jaguar for a long time that I don't even know
how to deal with it. I want you Tshegofatso,
only you. ”, he literally opened up about his
feelings for the very first time in forever. “ Vuy
-”

“ Mamela, ongikudinga kuwena ithuba

elilodwa vo. Ngidinga ithuba ukuk'khombisa
indlela engizizwa ngayo ngawe. I have never
been a person of words so let me prove it to
you, ngivumele ngikuthobe lenhliziyo
emanxeba ”( Listen, all I need from is just one
chance. I need a chance to show you how I
feel about you ; allow me to take care of that
scarred heart ), he wiped a tear that was
falling from Tshegofatso's eyes, she hadn't
even acknowledged it yet. “ Let me in ”, he
begged. Tshegofatso opened her mouth to
say something but it just instantly dried up
and the words just seemed to be glued on her
mouth. How much she wanted to tell
Vuyolwethu how she felt about it but- He
leaned forward and planted a kiss on her
forehead for what felt like eternity. “ I won't
force you into anything ”, with that said he
stood up and walked towards the hallway,
and all this time Tshegofatso had her eyes
glued on him. The minute he was just about
to completely walk out of the lounge, “ I want
to be with you ”, she shouted behind him.
Slowly, he turned and walked towards the
woman sitting on the couch with tears sliding
down her cheeks, “ Huh? ”, he hummed in a
question manner and, “ I said I want to be
with you ”, the water gates flooded even
worse and he just squatted in front of her and
pulled her into any embrace. “ I am scared
Vuyo ”, she confessed and, “ I know MaNkosi,
I know. ”

“ Fuck, the first three words I said earlier ”, he

says looking straight into her glistening eyes
and with confusion, she just glance into his
hazel eyes already feeling like her tears are
about to fail her, and burst open. What does
him mean by that? Does he not like me
anymore? What could have changed his mi-
Her train of thoughts was stopped when she
heard Vuyolwethu mutter, “ I love you ”, to
her. Hearing that just made her happy and
just like that, she felt tears sliding down her
cheeks leaving a wet trail behind and, “ I love
you, too ”, she murmured softly, in response.
---(๑♡⌓♡๑)---
 The next morning, Tshegofatso woke up only
to find Vuyolwethu laying next to her with his
arms wrapped round her waist holding her so
tight, you would swear on a grave that she
was planning to get away from him. She
attempted to wiggle herself from his grip but
instead he just tightened it and, “ Vuyo, I
need to pee ”, the girl whined but Vuyolwethu
just didn't budge. She kicked his feet and,
“ Hold it in ”, he murmured in a raspy voice
after letting out a soft groan.God, his
morning voice sounds so sexy , Tshegofatso
thought to herself. “ Vuyo, let go ”, she
whined once more and with a groan
Vuyolwethu wrapped his hands around her
and she quickly got out of bed and rushed to
the bathroom. After doing her business
Tshegofatso decided to just freshen up at
once so, she walked over to the bathroom
cabinet and grabbed her toothbrush and
paste to brush her teeth. After that she
walked over to the bathtub and ran herself a
warm bath.

After taking a bath, she settled for a pair of

denim shorts and a tank top with flops and
then headed out of the bedroom, to the
kitchen only to find Noluthando and two
chefs preparing breakfast for everyone,
“ Good morning ”, she greeted as she walked
over to where Noluthando was standing and,
“ Hey, unjani? ”( How are you ), Noluthando
greeted back while the chefs just simply
nodded in response.

“Ngiyaphila love, you want some coffee? ”( I

am okay ), she asked and, “ Please ”. She
made coffee for herself and Noluthando and
then took a seat on one of the highchairs as
they carried out their small talk. Tshegofatso
tried helping around but the chefs claimed to
have had everything under control so she just
let them be. Sneaking up to her, Vuyolwethu
hugged Tshegofatso from behind making her
jump a little bit but she relaxed just by
smelling his cologne. He slightly bit her ear
and, “ You okay? ”, he asked earning a nod
from his lover. He took a sip on her cup of
coffee and his facial expression changed
when he realised what he just sipped on.
“ You- drink coffee? ”, he asked handing over
the cup back to her.

“ Yes, ubuzelani? ”( why are you asking ), the

seventeen year old questioned and, “ I don't
like caffeine ”, Vuyolwethu responded to her
questioning and she raised an eyebrow at
him, taken aback. “ Just when I thought I've
heard it all ”, she clapped once making the
man chuckle at her and he kissed her cheek
before heading to the gym room. Shortly
after he left, Tshegofatso followed him but
she headed to the nursery instead - to check
on her daughter. She found her already
awake but she wasn't crying, she was just
laying on her cot playing with her hands and
feet. She looked so adorable her mother
couldn't help but smile to herself as she
picked her up and started kissing her all over
her face, making her giggle.

Late afternoon Tshegofatso and Nosibusiso

were in the lounge watching cartoons, Mr.
Bean to be exact, when Vuyolwethu returned
home earlier than expected. “ Hey ”, he
greeted the two girls as he walked inside the
lounge placing his case on the couch and
taking off his electric blue blazer jacket and
unbuttoning the first two buttons on his shirt.
“ Hey ”, Tshegofatso greeted back and he
walked over to her and pecked her lips, then
Nosibusiso's. He took Nosibusiso from her
mother and started playing with her, with
both of themcommunicating in that
gibberish baby language and you would
swear the man understood what the baby girl
was saying to him. “ Cel'ungithelele amanzi?
”( Can I have some water ), Vuyolwethu
asked and Tshegofatso turned to him with
the most dramatic expression plastered on
her face, “ You were in the kitchen not so long
ago, couldn't you? ”, she questioned.

“ I wasn't thirsty then ”, Vuyolwethu

responded and before she got up
Tshegofatso smirked at the man and then
headed to the kitchen. She took out a glass
and then walked over to the fridge but
instead of taking out a bottle of water, she
took out ice cubes. She filled the glass with
the ices and then headed back to the lounge,
placed the glass on the coffee table- infront
of her man and he looked at her with
confusion. “ And then? ”, he questioned and,
“ Snap, ubufuna amanzi? ”( You wanted
water ), she said and Vuyolwethu responded
with a nod. “ Cool, you'll just wait until those
melt ”, that was enough for his eyes to shoot
open and his lips to part widely, in a manner
of amazement. Did she just-

“Khohlakele shame ”( You so cruel ), he said

and Tshegofatso just grinned at him, making
him shake his head at her. “ Let's go out ”, he
suggested and, “ Just the two of us ”, he
continued and without even hesitating
Tshegofatso agreed. He suggested that she
changes into something more comfortable
and she headed to her bedroom while he
took Nosibusiso to the nursery and asked
Noluthando to look after her. Tshegofatso
headed back downstairs already settled into
the most comfortable outfit she could find
and found Vuyolwethu already waiting for
her in the kitchen, busy with something on
his phone and playing with his car keys on his
other hand. He looked so- handsome the
young lady caught herself drooling at the
male species in front of her for a moment. He
 was wearing a pair of jogger jeans, white
turtleneck and a denim jacket paired up with
a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers and all that
could flood the girl's mind was-Is you really
mine? Like, for real for real?
-
Tshegofatso had no idea they were coming
here. Honestly, she thought they were just
going to a restaurant but she thanked God
she had changed her outfit to jeans and
sneakers because her shorts and flops
wouldn't have lasted a trek up the Castle
Gorge. She was mesmerized by the sight, it
was even more beautiful and eye-catching
than what she had seen in photos. As much
as she had a phobia for heights, cliffs and she
kept holding on to Vuyolwethu for dear life,
the view made conquering her fears all worth
it and not forgetting that they had a mini
private photoshoot of their own and they
managed to have sbeautiful, eye-catching
and goalsy pictures taken.

She was even glad when she got back down

while still in one piece, not even a single bone
broken from her body, with her clumsy little
arse. Tired from all the walking and
stumbling, when she got to the car she
grabbed a bottle of water and gulped almost
half of it on one go and then turned to the
man sitting besides her and, " The view is too
die for ", she murmured with a grin plastered
on her face and while chuckling, " I swear,
you've said that for the hundredth time now ",
he replied. " Exaggerating much? ",
Tshegofatso rolled her eyes making her man
laugh at the gesture. She plugged in her
phone to the car charger and reclined her
seat, and leaned back closing her eyes to take
a nap.

" Fatso ", Vuyolwethu slightly shook his

girlfriend awake and, “ tell me what you want
to order and then you can go back to sleep ”,
he said and the girl sat up while rubbing her
eyes. They were at the McDonald's drive
through and there were only two cars infront
of them, before they could order.

“ McChicken Deluxe and a bubblegum

milkshake ”, the girl answered Vuyolwethu.
“ Mild? ”, he asked referring to how spicy she
wanted her order to be and she simply
nodded, leaning back to her seat. She was so
tired, she couldn't even hide it. Their turn
finally came and they just had a quick order &
collect session and within 5 minutes, they
were already driving out of the drive through.
Immediately when the aroma of food hit her
nostrils, Tshegofatso could hear her stomach
sell out as it growled. It was only just then
that she realised how hungry she had been.
“ You can eat ”, Vuyolwethu told her not
turning his gaze away from the road even for
a nanosecond, and she didn't even waste
anytime. She grabbed her meal and just one
bite from her meal was enough to make her
feel like there were little angels twirling
around her tongue resulting to her letting a
soft moan, unexpectedly. “ McDonald's is
amazing ”, she said already exaggerating the
amazing and Vuyolwethu briefly looked at
her with a smile before turning up the radio,
letting Zayn Malik's melodious voice take
over the silence around them. Not the
awkward silence. Vuyolwethu sang along the
lines while Tshegofatso just looked at him
 with a smile across her face. His voice was,
glorious. He kept stealing glances at her and
she would find herself blushing at the gesture.

Tshegofatso tensed up when Vuyolwethu

unexpectedly placed a hand on her thigh but
it didn't even take long for her to calm down
and relax to his warm touch.He is not him, he
is not him , she kept replaying in her mind
until it acknowledged what she was saying. It
didn't take long until she was comfortable
enough to unleash the side of her that even
her herself, isn't familiar with. Or better yet,
Vuyolwethu seemed to unleash the best and
naughty version of her. She was falling, hard.

Chapter Six
Tshegofatso woke up and headed straight to
the bathroom, to freshen up. After showering,
she settled into a black cropped hoodie
sweatshirt, a pair of boyfriend denims with
happy socks and Adidas shoes then headed
downstairs, only to find Vuyolwethu having
breakfast in the kitchen. “ MaNkosi ”, he
smiled at her as he saw her walking down the
staircase and she slightly rolled her eyes and,
“ Hhay'suka awung'vusanga wena ”( You
didn't wake me up ), she said as she walked
over to the kitchen counter.
“ You looked so cute, I couldn't ”,
Tshegofatso smiled at him as she took a seat
besides him, taking a sandwich from his plate
- much to his dismay really. “ Yeah right ”, the
girl replied and, “ Ngiyakutshela nje ”( I'm
telling you ), Vuyolwethu crossed his fingers
and again, Tshegofatso rolled her eyes with a
smile plastered on her face. They had
breakfast and after that, Tshegofatso went to
check up on her daughter as Vuyolwethu left
for work.

“ Baby baby ”, she smiled as she picked her

daughter up and kissed her small pouted lips
making her smile, revealing her perfectly pink
gums. She looked so adorable. She gave her
daughter a bath and settled her into a pink
cute sleeveless dress as it was a hot day, she
then combed her afro and they headed
downstairs, bumping into Noluthando on the
way. “ Here's my baby ”, Noluthando
excitedly took Nosibusiso from her mother
and planted kisses all over her face. “ Unjani
nanasi? ”( How are you baby girl ), she asked
as they all headed downstairs, to the kitchen
and Tshegofatso warmed up the purity for
her daughter, giving it to Noluthando to feed
her.
-
Tshegofatso was in the lounge with
Nosibusiso, watching cartoons when she
received a phone call from her friend,
Kefentse. “ Hey friend ”, she answered within
the first ring and from the other side of the
line she heard her friend cluck and, “ HeY
FrIeNd ”, Kefentse said in a mocking manner
before, “ Where the hell are you?! ”, she
shouted.
 “ Yo, ngikhohlwe ukuk'tshela ukuba
angisahlali noLunathi ”( Snap, I forgot to tell
you that I don't live with Lunathi anymore ),
Tshegofatso responded to her friend's
question, mentally slapping herself in the
head for forgetting about her friend just like
that. Worse thing was, Kefentse was more
than just a friend to her. She was a sister, a
supportive sister for that matter. She's
always been with her through thick and thin
and she just forgot about her. “ Let's meet at
East Rand Mall, in two hours ”, the girl on the
other side of the line suggested and
Tshegofatso just went with it, this was her
way to try and make it up to her. “ Okay, see
you later ”, she hung up and headed upstairs
to find Noluthando, leaving Nosibusiso
downstairs. “ She's watching cartoons ”, the
girl replied and taking a wild guess, “ Mr Bean?
”, Noluthando questioned and Tshegofatso
nodded as she chuckled at how well
Noluthando had grown to know and loved
Nosibusiso.

She knocked on her bedroom door and it

didn't even take long until Noluthando
invited her in. She let herself inside and found
the woman watching comedy movies and she
walked over to the bed, taking a seat besides
her. “ Fatso, where's my baby girl? ”, she
asked pausing the video and shifting her
focus to the girl who had taken a seat next to
her. “ Ngimukhumbulile ”( I miss her ),
Noluthando pouted her lips as she admitted
in a whiney voice.

“ I was just about to ask you to babysit for me

”, Nosibusiso's mother chuckled and, “ Going
somewhere? ”, Thando asked earning a
simple nod from Tshegofatso before,
“ Meeting with a friend ”, she answered. “ In
that case - ”, Noluthando slipped on her
slippers and then they headed downstairs to
get Nosibusiso. Arriving in the lounge, they
found Vuyolwethu watching TV with
Nosibusiso on his lap and, “ Aren't you
supposed to be at work? ”, Tshegofatso
asked grabbing the man's attention as he
acknowledged that there were people in the
room.
“ I hired managers for a reason, why did you
leave Nosibusiso unattended? ”, Vuyolwethu
said and, “ I was going to ask uNoluthando to
babysit for me ”, she said in response to his
question.

“ You recklessly left her in the lounge

Tshegofatso, kungangena noma ngubani
lapha ”( Anyone can get in here ), he tried to
reason with her but Tshegofatso wasn't
getting the whole point. The house was
heavily guarded of heaven's sake, why was he
fussing like this? “ Vuyo, there are guards all
over this place ”, she responded.

“ Still, Tshegofatso. ”

“ Ngiyaxolisa ke, Vuyo ”( I'm sorry then ), she

apologized half-heartedly earning a raised
eyebrow from Vuyo, “ Don't apologize if you
don't mean it ”, he said sternly and
Tshegofatso found herself swallowing down
the lump that was slowly building up on her
throat. Before she could even say something
in her defence he handed over the baby girl
to Noluthando and they left the room while,
“ You said something about babysitting, you
going somewhere? ”, he asked as he walked
over her and gave her a quick peck on the lips
before heading towards the staircase forcing
Tshegofatso to follow behind him, as they
headed to the main bedroom.
“ Ngiyohlangana nomngan'wami uKefentse
”( I'm going to meet my friend, Kefentse ),
she replied.

“ Oh yeah, bengithi ngisazobuza ngaye. When

last did you talk to her? ”( I was just about to
ask you about her ), he said as they walked
inside the bedroom and he closed the door
behind him, “ Two weeks ago ”, she
responded in a doubting manner and
Vuyolwethu just shook his head at her,
chuckling.

“ Isbindi MaNkosi, I'll get Bullet to drive you

”( The nerve ), he said taking off his blazer
and laying it carefully on the edge of the bed,
“ Why do you have weird names around here?
”, Tshegofatso questioned and he turned to
her a little confused of what she was
 addressing to and when she noticed she had
confused him, “ First it was Fire, then Jaguar
now it's Bullet ”, she elaborated and
Vuyolwethu chocked when she mentioned
Jaguar.

“ How do you know I am Jaguar? ”, he

questioned and, “ You mentioned something
about being Jaguar for too long and- ”

“ Was that all I said? ”, he cut her short and

squinting her eyes from confusion, she
nodded and he visibly tensed down before,
“ Bullet is still driving you though ”,he said.

“ But- ”

“ Forget it, come here ”, he cut her off again

and seemed to get to her, why couldn't he
just let her talk for a minute? Nonetheless he
followed him inside the walk-in closet and
walked over to the cabinets. Without saying
anything he pushed back one of the cabinets,
revealing a safe box and he backed away
from it. “ Type in your identity number ”, he
ordered and Tshegofatso looked at him as
though he was crazy, “ What do y- ”

“ Type in your identity number ”, he repeated

and still a bit confused of what was
happening, Tshegofatso walked over to
where the safe was and punched in her
identity number, and the safe box unlocked
revealing that it was full of two hundred
notes inside. She turned to the man standing
besides her, still oblivious of what was
happening. Vuyolwethu reached inside and
took out a few notes and handed them over
to his woman and the first thing she did was
count them, “ Vuyo, I don't need this much
money ”, she said realising how much has
been handed over to her. She had counted
twenty five notes meaning it was an amount
of five thousand rands. A whole freaking five
thousand rands ! “ Just take it, MaNkosi ”.

“ Hhayi Vuyo this is too m- ”, he raised an

eyebrow at her resulting to her just giving in
to him and she closed the safe, pulled the
cabinet back to its original place and they
 both headed out, with Vuyolwethu heading
out of the bedroom leaving Tshegofatso
alone. She took only an amount of two
thousand five hundred rands and the rest,
she shoved under the mattress and she
headed out, found Bullet already waiting for
her. “ Hey ”, she greeted and the man just
simply acknowledged her with a nod and
they headed out, to the garage.
-
She arrived at East Rand Mall and texted her
friend to find out where she was waiting and,
O' utside Debonairs ' Kefentse replied. Bullet
left her at the mall after she asked for him to
fetch her at 16:30, even though he was
hesitant about it at first, she still managed to
convince him. She headed inside and indeed
found Kefentse waiting for her by the store.
The minute Kefentse saw her friend she
squealed with excitement as she rushed to
her, pulling her into a tight embrace and, “ Sis
”, she greeted earning a smile from her friend.
They both pulled out of the hug when they
acknowledged that they were in public and
almost all the attention had fallen on them.
“ Where have you been? I've been worried
about you. ”, Kefentse asked she stepped
back to examine her friend and, “ I'll tell you
everything but we'll need to sit down for this,
where are we going? ”

“ Uhm, McDonald's? ”

“ Cool. How have you been? ”, Tshegofatso

asked her friend as they headed to
McDonald's and, “ I've been okay, where's my
baby? ”, Kefentse asked of Nosibusiso and,
“ Ngimshiye endlini ”( I left her at home ), she
responded and when she noticed that her
friend wanted her to elaborate on that, “ I
said we need to sit down ”, the other girl
simply nodded at her friend.

They arrived at McDonald's and headed

straight to the counter to place their orders
before they found a table for themselves.
Whilst they were waiting, Tshegofatso told
her friend everything that had occurred in the
past few weeks, making sure to tell her
everything.
“ That son of a b- ”, Kefentse stopped herself
before she could complete her sentence,
“ But why couldn't you talk to me Tshego,
uyazi bengizozama ukukusiza ”, she asked
and, “ I know, I just didn't want you to get
into trouble about it ”, Tshegofatso reasoned
with her friend and all she could do was sigh
and faintly smile at her. “ I am just glad that
Vuyolwethu helped you, ngimukweleta
impilo yami yonke, I don't even think I could
have handled losing you T ”( I owe him my life
), she said and Tshegofatso just smiled at her
and, “ Let's leave the past, I'm just happy to
see you ”.

After having their lunch, the two girl decided

to go to the BlueRoses Beauty Parlour to do
their hair. Arriving there, it wasn't full so they
didn't have to wait for long. Tshegofatso
settled for black and midnight blue faux locs
with Kefentse choosing blonde braids. After
doing their hair, they also opted to have their
manicure done with Tshegofatso making sure
hers is short, I mean she did still have a
daughter to take care of. When they had
completed their beauty therapy sessions,
they headed back to the mall and did a little
shopping spree together. Kefentse being the
crazy friend she is, she ended up forcing
Tshegofatso to buy a little sexy black number
for an unknown reason, much to
Tshegofatso's embarassment. Who wouldn't
be? Her friend literally forced to buy alingerie .

Kefentse left quite earlier than anticipated

and Tshegofatso was forced to wait for Bullet
for about thirty minutes so she opted to wait
for him at Spur. She was busy on her phone
when she felt someone tap her shoulder from
behind, instantly turning only to get the
shock of her life. He was there, standing like
there's was absolutely nothing wrong about
it. Lunathi. She didn't think she would ever
bump shoulders with him after what
happened, ever again but the encounter she
was encountering at that particular
timeframe proved her otherwise. “ Hey ”.

“ Hey? Hey? What the hell do you want here

Lunathi? Ungifu- ”( What do you w- ).
“ Relax, I'm just here for peace sake ”, Lunathi
said taking a seat, uninvited and Tshegofatso
just looked at him. “ Peace? You? ”, she
chuckled at her own thoughts.

“ Yes, I want us to be civil for Nosibusiso's

sake. I mean, I also deserve to be in her life
Tshegofatso ”, Tshegofatso just glared at the
man sitting opposite her. As much as she
wouldn't want to admit it, she really thought
he was genuine and found herself believing
him. “ Please ”, he begged and, “ So, what do
you suggest? ”, Tshegofatso gave in.

“ Can we discuss this in private? In my house

”, he suggested and that idea made
Tshegofatso tense up for a moment, a little
hesitant to his idea but she really believed
that Lunathi was trying his best so she ended
up giving in. Tshegofatso's food order arrived
and she gave Lunathi the burger because he
looked super skinny- like he hasn't eaten in a
week or something, then they left to
Lunathi's place taking a cab there.
Being in that house brought back a lot of
memories for her, bad memories to be
honest but, here was she - with the same man
that used to abuse the hell out of her.
Immediately after they walked inside the
house, Tshegofatso felt a cold metal
encountering her skin on the crook of her
neck and she slowly turned to look behind
her, only to find Lunathi holding a gun on her
face. “ Lu- Lunathi ”, she murmured as her
breathing patterns started to intensify as her
scare level escalated high to its peek.
“ Be a obedient little girl and walk over to the
lounge ”, he said smirking at the terrified girl
standing in front of him. “ I- ”, she swallowed
a huge lump before, “ I thought you wanted
to talk ”, she continued making Lunathi laugh
at her.

“ I also thought you were smart but, you will

always be that naive little girl I know of now,
WALK ”, he said sternly and Tshegofatso
quickly obeyed and walked over to the
lounge. He pulled out a chair for the poor girl
and ordered her to sit while he grabbed the
rope on the table, making sure to warn her to
not dare try anything stupid. He tied her arms
and legs to the chair, tightening the rope
making sure it wasn't going to come loose.
He took the girls phone and stripped it off
making sure to chew on the sim card and
headed to the kitchen, putting the phone and
battery in a sink full of water. “ So, you
thought you could run from me Tshegofatso?
You thought I would just let you go, that
easily? I own you Tshegofatso, you are my
bitch, you hear me? MY BITCH ! ”, he
screamed at her making her squeal of fear.

“ No one owns me ”, she tried to shoot back.

“ Oh yes I do baby ”, he smirked as he

forcefully squeezed the young girl's cheeks,
“ And I can't wait until that little loser
boyfriend or yours comes searching for you,
so he can helplessly watch me fucking you
over and over ”.
“ You pathetic son of a bitch ! ”, Tshegofatso
yelled as she kept fighting to loosen the ropes,
“ Let. Me. Go ! ”, she said shortly before
bursting into tears and Lunathi just laughed
loudly and, “ I'm not stupid ”, he whispered
into her ears making her flinch.

Meanwhile back in Vuyolwethu's mansion, he

was in his home office polishing his guns and
bullets when Bullet barged inside the office
unannounced. “ Turn around, walk out of my
office and close the door behind you, knock
and wait for me to let you inside ”,
Vuyolwethu said not even bothering to look
up and check who was inside his office.
“ Tshegofatso is nowhere to be found ”,
Bullet bursted out unexpectedly.

“Ngithe - Wait, what did you say? ”( I said- ),

what Bullet said finally sunk in Vuyolwethu's
mind and he raised his head to look at the
man standing in front of him, asking him to
repeat what he just said to him.
“ Tshegofatso unyamalele ”( Tshegofatso has
disappeared ), he repeated.
“ No man, Bullet I asked you to make sure to
keep her safe, at all times ”, he said as he was
slowly getting pissed at Bullet, “ Get the car
around ! ”, he ordered and without even
asking any questions Bullet rushed out of the
office. Left alone, Vuyolwethu poured himself
a glass of scotch so he could just distract
himself for a moment so he could think
clearly but that plan was doomed. He
roughed his hair up and from the anger that
was brewing inside him, he squeezed the
glass that was in his hand to the point of it
shattering in his hands, with some glasses
cutting him but because of the adrenaline
pumping out of him, he didn't feel nor
acknowledge the fresh wounds in his hand.
He grabbed his phone and attempted to call
Tshegofatso but it just went straight on
voicemail,without ringing.

He headed downstairs, grabbing the first aid

kit on his way and headed straight to the
basement. He got inside the car and Bullet
drove out of the mansion, with two more cars
following behind them. “ Go to the
headquarters ”, he said as he tried to sterilize
the wound on his palm, and he then
bandaged it up. Still on a drive to the
headquarters, he decided to call
Mnqobiwesizwe and tell him to meet him at
the headquarters.

An hour later, they arrived at the

headquarters and Vuyolwethu was the first
one out of the car - rushing inside. He found
all the crew members waiting for him at the
reception area and, “ Jaguar, kuhambani?
”( What's going on ), Mnqobiwesizwe
questioned the man who was visibly seething
with anger.

“ Tshegofatso has been kidnapped ”, he

responded to the question and then turned
to the man standing behind him, “ Was she
wearing her necklace? ”, he asked.

“ No, she wasn't wearing one ”, Bullet

answered and, “ Fuck ”, Vuyolwethu cursed
under his breath, “ I thought I told her not to
fucking take the damn thing off ! ”, he yelled.
“ Yehlisa umoya ndoda. Give me your phone
and I'll try and track her down ”( Calm down
man ), Mnqobiwesizwe suggested and
without even hesitating Vuyolwethu handed
over his phone to his friend and, “ Suffocate,
the I.T room ”, Mnqobiwesizwe ordered and
the whole I.T crew followed him there.
Vuyolwethu turned to Fiona, their
receptionist and, “ Give me the remote to my
office ”, she handed over the remote and the
man took the elevator to his office.
Arriving at his office, he let himself inside and
typed in a certain combination of numbers
on the remote and a secret wall was revealed.
The secret wall was where he kept most of his
weapons - guns, hand grenades, knives and
bulletproof vests - everything ! He grabbed
out an AK-47 and placed it on the desk and
started polishing it on the outside before,
loading the 7.62×39mm ammunitions on the
clip. His territorial, Jaguar side was fully
activated and there was absolutely nothing,
and I mean nothing, that would calm him
down. He was furious, seething with anger,
veins popping as he forcefully clenched his
teeth and the last time he was like this, was
when his daughter got kidnapped.
Vuyolwethu loved Tshegofatso and he was
willing to go an extra mile to protect her, as
cliche as it may sound he couldn't see himself
losing her when they had just crossed paths
and welcomed each other into one another's
lives. He would never let harm befall on her
way and if it meant killing to protect her then,
SO BE IT!
 Chapter Seven

After a full blown four hours of searching for

Tshegofatso with no trace of where she could
be, Vuyolwethu was starting to get agitated.
“ Are you getting anything? ”, Vuyolwethu
asked walking inside the I.T room and
everyone just turned to each other, eye
pointing each other, each not wanting to be
one to break the news of no news to him.
“ Uhm, not yet ”, Mnqobiwesizwe took it to
himself that he tells his friend what's going
on, “ It seems like her phone was destroyed
so we can't track her down on it ”, he
continued and he saw Vuyolwethu's anger
visibly brew, at that very same time. “ Are you
saying there's absolutely nothing you can do?
”, he asked.

“ Absolutely nothing. Unless there's by any

chance that even though ubengawugqokile
lomgexo okhuluma ngawo, uhambe nawo ”( -
she wasn't wearing that necklace you talking
about, she has it with her ), Mnqobiwesizwe
explained and, “ The tracker on the necklace
is connected to my phone, check it ”,
Vuyolwethu ordered taking a seat on the seat
next to Mnqobiwesizwe and buried his face
on his palm, sighing heavily. He felt so
helpless about all this. He promised
Tshegofatso that he would protect her and
now h-

“ I think I found something ”, Suffocate said

taking his laptop and heading to where
Vuyolwethu was seated, “ It's in Soweto,
Orlando West to be exact ”, he explained
showing him the GPS navigations from the
laptop.
“ Orlando West? Who would t- ”, Vuyolwethu
started to question himself but in realisation
of who had taken Tshegofatso he stopped
mid-sentence and banged the table before,
“ That stupid motherf- ”, he breathed out
angrily before barging out of the I.T room,
heading straight to his office with
Mnqobiwesizwe following behind him. “ So,
what's your plan? ”, Mnqobiwesizwe asked
closing the door behind him.
“ To get Tshegofatso back home, unharmed ”,
Vuyolwethu responded as he grabbed a
change of clothes in the cabinet and, “ Vuyo, I
can't allow you to leave here without a plan.
Last time I did, you killed a person ”,
Mnqobiwesizwe said and Vuyolwethu turned
to face the man behind him. “ Fire, ungahlala
wena uqhamuke namaqhinga kodwa mina,
ngiyahamba ngiyolanda uMaNkosi futhi
ngizombuyisa khona namhlanje ! She is
probably being slaughtered where she is so
forgive me, ngoba ngizowubulala vele
loyamgodoyi ”( you can stay behind and
 come with plan butI am going to fetch
Tshegofatso and I am bringing her back home,
today ; because I will kill that dog ),
Vuyolwethu said and Mnqobiwesizwe just
raised his hand in surrender before leaving
the office. Vuyolwethu changed into a black t-
shirt, black denim jeans with his Louis
Vuitton sneakers. He threw on a bullet proof
vest, grabbed his gun and headed out.
“ Asambeni ”( Let's go ), the territorial species
ordered as he got out of the elevator.

“ Jaguar I thin- ”, he immediately turned to

face Bullet and, “ Sikulenyakanyaka ngoba
uhlulekile ukumvikela, uhlulekile ukwenza
umsebenzi olula ngakho ngiwuwe
ngengithula, ungekahlanganiswa nalodonga
”( We are in this mess because you failed to
protect her, you failed to do a simple task so
if I were you I'd be keeping my mouth shut,
before you are merged with that wall ), he
said sternly looking straight into her man's
eyes and he clucked. He headed to the
basement with the crew following behind
him and he grabbed his matte black McLaren
765 LT keys on the keyholding box, being the
first one to drive out of the headquarters
being followed by two Audi RS6 of the same
colour.The drive from Johannesburg to the
South Western Townships in Orlando West
took a minimum of 20 minutes as Vuyolwethu
was driving like a maniac on his way there, all
he could think about was his woman -
nothing else.

For the past time interval of five hours,

Lunathi has been torturing Tshegofatso. He
really enjoyed seeing the dark chocolate
skinned teenager in pain and all this time, he
had this dirty smirk plastered on his face. He
was going through the shopping bags that
Tshegofatso had came with when he found
the lingerie that Kefentse had forced the girl
to buy. “ I'm so going to enjoy ripping this off
you ”, Lunathi said as he licked his lower lip
with his eyes filled with lust.

‘ And I believe it wasn't meant for you ’, a

voice came from the door and they both
turned to see who it was. Immediately when
Tshegofatso heard Vuyolwethu's voice, her
tear glands burst open and with just one
blink, tears slid down her glowing face
leaving a trail of wetness underneath her
eyes. The same man that saved her from a
toxic and abusive natured relationship in this
very house, was here again to save her. She
raised her head to look at her man but what
met her eyes was not what she had expected.
The man in front of her, was not the man she
had fallen in love with even looking at him
sent freezing cold chills down her spine. His
face was filled with anger and hatred, it was
intimidating just by catching a glance of it.
“ Just the man I have been waiting for. The
knight in shining armour is here to save the
damsel in distress once again ”, Lunathi said
mockingly and he pointed a gun on her head,
“ If you dare come any closer, I'll blow her
brains out ”, he threatened and Fire and
Bullet chuckled at what Lunathi had said and,
“ Yeah, man I wouldn't do that if I were you ”,
Mnqobiwesizwe warned as he handed over
the AK-47 to Jaguar and, “ He wouldn't
hesitate to use it on you ”, he continued.

“ If I can't have her, then nobody can ”,

Lunathi said bravely.
“ Are you sure about that? ”, Vuyolwethu
asked as he walked over to Lunathi making
him stumble back and drop his gun, “ You are
a sissy boy, and you still have the nerve to
take me on? Don't you learn? ”, Vuyolwethu
questioned the boy who just kept quiet like
he hadn't grown a pair just a second before,
“ In fact, did you tell her that you would only
be seeing her in that lingerie? Because if I
recall things clear you are only left with no
balls down there ”, Mnqobiwesizwe,
Suffocate and Fire bursts out of laughter after
what Vuyolwethu had just mentioned and it
only took a glare from him for them to stop
laughing and become serious again. “ Vuyo ”,
Tshegofatso murmured with a hoarse voice
and without even turning to look at her,
“ Suffocate, please get Tshegofatso out of
here and call the guys, I want my tools ready
”, he ordered and without any further ado
Suffocate walked to where Tshegofatso was
tied up and untied her from the chair. “ Will
you be able to walk? ”, he asked the girl and,
“ I think so ”, she mumbled a response.
Tshegofatso stood up and with the second
step she took, she felt her body heating up
and felt faint, the voices around her faded out
and her vision blurred up. She lost her
balance and fell into Suffocate's hands and
lost consciousness.

“ Take this trash to the warehouse, I'll deal

with him later ”, as Bullet and Fire dragged
the foolish man out, Vuyolwethu kneeled
infront of his woman and turned over to
Suffocate, “ Call Tools and tell him to meet
me at my house ”, and with a nod Suffocate
walked out as he dialled Tools number, their
highly qualified special operations medical
doctor.

“ Ngixolele MaNkosi, I'm sorry I failed you ”,

the man said as he pecked the girl's forehead
and wrapped his arms around the
unconscious Tshegofatso. He carefully
scooped her up and walked out of the house,
heading to the car. He adjusted the carseat
and carefully placed her inside, jogged to the
driver's side of the car, started the car
ignition and drove to his house as fast as he
could. He was literally flying on the road, all
he wanted was for Tshegofatso to be okay to
the point that he didn't even care about
himself exceeding the speed limit. It took
forty minutes for him to get to his mansion
and when he arrived, he found Tools already
waiting for him. “ Sure, ungangilandela ”( you
can follow me ), Vuyolwethu greeted the
doctor and they headed to the guest
bedroom. “ I'm counting on you, please don't
fail me ”, Tools just simply nodded in
response. Vuyolwethu briefly looked at
Tshegofatso who was motionlessly laying on
the bed and sighed heavily. He patted Tools
shoulder in acknowledgement and then
headed out of the bedroom - heading outside
to the car, driving to the warehouse.
-
He got to the underground basement and
found Lunathi tied up in a chair, in the middle
of the room, with his face covered with a
black bag. He took one of the five buckets of
ice water by the door and walked over to the
man, pouring the water over his head,
drowning him. He could hear him struggling
to breathe from underneath the bag. He
forcefully pulled it out and when he noticed
that Lunathi was only half awake, he slapped
him across the face making him regain full
consciousness. “ Jaguar, I'm sorry ”, the man
mumbled out of breath and, “ Too late, you
have messed with the wrong woman ”,
Vuyolwethu responded. He grabbed a chair
and his tool box, took out three sharpest
knives and started circulating the boy. “ Why
were you so abusive to her? ”, Vuyolwethu
asked looking interested in whatever the man
had to say but, he wasn't. He just wanted to
torture the blazing hell fire out of him.
“ I don't kn- ”, before he could even complete
what he wanted to say, Vuyolwethu stabbed
him on his left thigh making him scream out
of the pain he was in. What made things
worse is that the knife was soaked in
methylated spirit so it gave a burning
sensation to the wound.

“ I said why did you abuse her? ”, Vuyolwethu

snapped feeling his anger build up again.
“ I'm really sorry, I didn't mea- ”, Vuyolwethu
pulled out the knife from his left thigh and
stabbed the right one. “ Don't fucking tell me
you didn't mean to ! Do you know how you
broke her? Do you know how she reacts when
someone touches her, even if it just to
comfort her? How she always misreads
people's emotions and apologizes for things
he didn't even do wrong? Do you know? ”, the
tied up guy just shook his head no avoiding to
make any eye contact with the man infront of
him.

“ You know, you could have just left her. If

you didn't want her anymore, you could have
just told her and she would have left. But
instead, you took advantage of her and you
made her feel small and she doesn't even
know what she is worthy of anymore. You
ruined her, and I will make sure you pay for
that ”, with that said Jaguar took out an axe
from his tool box and pulled the table next to
Lunathi. “ Since you used these for foolish
reasons, we'll just cut them off ”, he said
placing Lunathi's hand on the table, and the
minute he raised the axe Lunathi closed his
eyes tightly, screamed before the axe even
touched him. Yes, he chopped his fingers off,
one by one, with each finger having a reason.
The reasons were 1) treating his woman like a
piece of trash, 2) for forcefully having sex with
her everyday, in the presence of Nosibusiso, 3)
for not respecting the woman and children's
rights, 4) for taking advantage of someone
who just simply needed help and lastly 5) for
kidnapping her.

All this time, Vuyolwethu was enjoying every

single moment of making this abuser suffer.
It made him happy. Vuyolwethu's phone just
as he was about to say something and when
he checked his caller ID, it was Tools. “ Tools
I'm busy ”, he said immediately after
answering the phone call but, “ Ndhlovu ”, he
had the soft feminine voice that had always
been music to his ears but, today it was
different. It was broken, sad and hurt.
“ MaNkosi ”, he said from his side of the line
and, “ Buya ekhaya ”( Come back home ), she
begged him and before he could say anything
he just sighed heavily, slightly closing his
eyes and fluttering them open a second later.

“ I'm still finishing up something, I'll be there

in an hour ”, he responded in a low voice and,
“ Ngiyakuthanda yezwa? ”, he continued and
Tshegofatso paused for a moment before, “ I
love you too ”, she responded and hung up
shortly after that. Vuyolwethu grabbed his
sword and at first, he traced it on Lunathi's
face with it leaving a scar since it was too
sharp. “ Goodnight ”, with that said he
stabbed Lunathi in the stomach and when he
pulled out the sword, blood oozed out. He
pointed a gun straight aiming for his face and
when he pulled the trigger, the bullet landed
straight in his right eye and small pieces of
flesh and blood splattered all over the wall
behind him and he headed out, leaving him
like that.

He took the elevator upstairs and found the

whole crew waiting at the reception area but
this time, without Fiona. She had knocked off
about an hour ago and she went home.
“ Someone should clean up the underground
basement ”, he said walking towards the
staircase and, “ You let him go? ”,
Mnqobiwesizwe questioned his friend and,
“ To meet his ancestors? Yes ”, he responded.
He headed to the gym room to take a quick
shower and then settled into a white vest,
denim jeans and jacket with black Airforce
Jordans matched up with an elegant black
Jaeger-LeCoultre timepiece. He took the keys
to the Audi RS6 and then headed downstairs,
going home.
-
“ Hey ”, he greeted the girl immediately when
he walked inside the guest bedroom.
Tshegofatso faintly smiled when she laid her
eyes on him, he looked a lot better than when
she last saw him. All that anger and hatred on
his eyes had completely vanished, now
replaced with worry and care. “ How are you
feeling? ”, he asked as he walked over to the
bed Tshegofatso was seated on, sat besides
her and pulled her into an embrace. “ I'll live ”,
she responded in a low voice and Vuyolwethu
turned to Tools who simply just signalled him
to follow him. Vuyolwethu kissed
Tshegofatso on the forehead and followed
Tools out of the bedroom after covering her
with a throw.

“ Will she be okay? ”, Vuyolwethu asked the

man out of concern and, “ She will be, she's
still traumatized now but she'll be okay ”, the
qualified doctor responded to Vuyolwethu's
question who just sighed heavily, relieved to
hear that Tshegofatso would be okay. He
wouldn't be able to leave with himself if she
was to always fear for her life, that was not
the kind of life he would want for her and-
This made him rethink his future with her.
Was he really willing to endanger her life, just
by being with her? Or- Was he willing to let
her go, just to protect her?

Distracting himself from the train of his own

thoughts, Vuyolwethu headed to his office
being followed by Tools and when they got
there, he paid him thirty thousand rands in
cash and, “ That will be enough ”, he said.

“ Ngifa lapho ufela khona mfethu ”( I die

where you die, brother ), they fistbumped
and the other guy saw himself out while
Vuyolwethu headed back to the guest
bedroom. He walked in and found
Tshegofatso out of bed, undressing as she
approached him. “ Tshegofatso, wenzani?
”( What are you doing ), he asked with a look
of confusion written all over his face and,
“ It's the least I can do ”, the young girl
muttered and for a moment Vuyolwethu
squinted his eyes at her until it finally clicked
to him what she was trying to do.

“ Tshegofatso n- ”

“ Let me do it Vuyo, I have to d- ”

“ Tshegofatso I'm not letting you do this to

yourself, okay? You are not doing that to
yourself ”, he helped her get dressed again
and she just stood there, facing down feeling
ashamed of herself, “ Look, I didn't save you
because I wanted something in return, I did it
because I love you ”.

“ But- ”

“ MaNkosi no ”, he pulled the girl into an

embrace and she started sobbing, “ I meant
every single word I said to you. I love you for
you, not what you can offer me. I promised to
protect you at all odds and I plan to keep that
promise. I could save you over and over again
if needed, as long as you will always be safe-
with me. Ngiyakuthanda MaNkosi, ungaze
ukukhohlwe lokho ”( I love you MaNkosi,
don't you ever forget that ), he whispered the
last part and from a glimpse of an eye, he saw
a smile creep out of Tshegofatso's face
making his heart leap with joy. This is what
he wanted, to see her smile. “ I love you too ”,
the girl said with tears sliding down her face
and with a faint smile plastered on his face,
Vuyolwethu wiped off her tears and pecked
her pouted pinkish lips making her giggle.
She snuggled up next to her man and he just
held her in his arms and let her drift off to
sleep, while playing with her braids. He was
so happy she was there with him, he didn't
know what he could have do if something
had happened to her. He would never be able
to live with himself and, what was he going to
tell MaShandu? She trusted him with her
niece and he didn't want to mess things up.
 Chapter Eight

Tshegofatso woke up at one o'clock in the

early hours of the morning only to find out
that Vuyolwethu was not with her. “ Vuyo ”,
she called for him thinking he was probably
in the bathroom but when she got no
response she got up, slipped on her
moccasins and walked to the bathroom and,
he was not there. She slipped on her robe
and then headed out of the bedroom, to look
for him. She looked all over the house and,
she didn't find him so she just retired to the
kitchen to warm up a glass of milk for herself
to drink, maybe then she could go back to
sleep without worrying about having any
nightmares. When she got to the kitchen, she
found Noluthando there having a cup of tea,
browsing through a magazine. “ Hey ”, she
greeted her as she made her way over to the
fridge.

“ Baby, I'm so happy to see you ”,

Noluthando jumped off the highchair she was
occupying and rushed over to the girl,
attacking her with a hug that caused her to
flinch, “ I thought something bad had
happened to you ”, she continued while
stepping back to check the young girl out and,
“ I'm okay Lu, I'll survive ”, the girl responded
in the most polite way possible.

“ Uhm, have you see uVuyo? ”, Tshegofatso

asked and, “ Ngimgcine ese-ofisini lakhe,
umbhekile khona? ”( I last saw him in his
office, did you check him there ), Noluthando
asked and Tshegofatso shook her head no,
truthfully. She might have checked the whole
house for him but she didn't think about
going to his office, she just didn't think she
could have been working so early in the
morning. It was literally in the wee hours,
who works until that time? Definitely,
Vuyolwethu Ndhlovu.

Tshegofatso walked down the passage until

she reached the closed door. She knocked
two times and received no answer so she
turned the door handle, letting herself inside.
She found Vuyolwethu indeed in the office
but he was lost in his own thoughts. He had a
glass of whiskey in his hand and there was a
gun on his desk. “ Vuyo ”, she called out softly
and he didn't reply nor react to her calling
her so, “ Vuyo ”, she tried again and this time,
half yelling.

“ Huh? ”, the man responded as he was

swiftly returned to his senses and he turned
to look at the girl standing by the door with a
worried expression. “ Are you okay? ” she
asked and he simply nodded, avoiding to lock
eyes with her for a reason only known to him.
“ Vuyo, I can see that something is bothering
you. Please talk to m- ”, before she could
even complete the sentence, “ I SAID I'M
OKAY ! ”, Vuyolwethu snapped making
Tshegofatso involuntarily jump at his voice
and when he noticed this, he instantly
regretted his actions. She opened her mouth
to say something but she quickly held it back
and briefly looked at the man sitting in front
of her before leaving the office.

Noticing that he had hurt her, Vuyolwethu

got up from his chair and followed the
seventeen year old. Walking in the bedroom,
he found her sitting on the bed, with her head
buried in between her knees as she was
hugging her legs. “ MaNkosi ”, he said softly
and the young girl slowly raised her head to
look at him and he walked over to her, sitting
on the edge of the bed, “ Ngiyaxolisa,
bengingaqondile ukukuphakamisela izwi b-
”( I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you I- ),
Tshegofatso stopped him before he couldn't
continue whatever he wanted to say. “ I
understand ”, she said in response and she
noticed Vuyolwethu calm down for a moment.
She did understand, really. “ Why are you
awake? ”, Vuyolwethu asked as he wiped
Tshegofatso's tears away from her puffed
face and, “ Ngibenephupho elibi ”( I had a
nightmare ), she replied and he realised why
she was looking for him in the first place. She
was scared to go back sleep on her own. She
thought something was going to happen to
her, she was overthinking everything.

After taking off his sneakers and t-shirt and

being left with only his jogger pants on, they
both got under the blanket and Tshegofatso
snuggled up closer to her man, and he simply
just held her in a cuddling position and
slowly she drifted off to sleep.

Tshegofatso's alarm rudely awakened her

and she rolled over to switch it off and
realised that there was no one the other side
of the bed. She rolled over again to look if his
briefcase was still on the couch in the corner
of the bedroom but, it wasn't. Tshegofatso
found it odd because it was only 6 AM and
Vuyolwethu never left for work earlier than
7:30 AM. Oh well, he probably had an early
meeting, Tshegofatso thought to herself as
he made her way to the bathroom. She filled
the bathtub with warm water and added
bathsalts as she undressed. She got inside
the tub and she rested her back behind
closing her eyes as she tried to enjoy the bath,
and just let the water ease her body tension.
Unexpectedly, the bathroom door opened
startling her until she saw that it was only
Vuyolwethu and she calmed down resting her
head back and letting out a small sigh.
Vuyolwethu saw this and apologized for
startling her. He didn't look like he was in a
meeting though, he was wearing his gym gear
so she knew that he had probably went for a
jog or was in the gym room upstairs, hitting it
off. He did whatever he wanted to do in the
bathroom and left to give the girl some
privacy.

When she was done she got out of the

bathtub and drained off the water as she
dried herself off. She cleaned the bathtub
thoroughly and then headed out of the
bathroom, straight into the walk-in closet.
She picked out and settled into a white long
sleeved tee, black track pants and pink fluffy
flip flops. She tied her locs into a ponytail and
made edges, as much as she felt down she
knew she didn't have to look like her
problems. Lastly, she glossed her lips and the
walked out of the closet and found
Vuyolwethu in the bedroom, sitting on the
bed and using his phone. She didn't even say
anything to him, she just walked over to the
door and just when she was about to leave
the room, “ I am not the person you think I
am ”, she heard Vuyolwethu murmur and she
turned to look at him not understanding
what he was saying. She heard him but, she
did not understand what he actually meant
when he said that.

“ Then tell me who you are, V. You are so

different, you aren't the man I fell in love with
ever since what happened yesterday ”, the
girl said and Vuyolwethu just looked straight
into her eyes and, “ I am the person you fell in
love with, you just saw the side of me that I
wanted you to see ”, he responded confusing
the young girl way out of her mind, “ Huh? ”

“ The person you saw in that house yesterday,

is me. That guy, is the person you fell in love
with you just didn't realise it until he surfaced.
That is the only life I am used to living, even
all of this stuff is foreign to me. The only
lifestyle that makes absolute sense to me is
that life. Fighting, guns and fast cars, that is
me Tshegofatso, that is who am I ”, at the
mention of fighting and guns Tshegofatso
looked at the man sitting in front of her and,
“ You are a gangster? ”, she questioned and,
“ No ”, Vuyolwethu responded quickly only to
see her visibly tense down. Was being a
gangster that much of a deal breaker to her?
“ No, I work for the South African special
operations force as the lieutenant colonel ”,
Tshegofatso looked at him as in to tell him to
elaborate more on his position but he didn't
so, “ I still don't get your point Vuyo ”,
Tshegofatso said.

“ I don't want to hurt you Tshegofatso. I just

live a really different and dangerous lifestyle,
I don't think you will be able to survive that ”.
“ Vuy- ”

“ I don't want to do this b- ”

“ Well don't do it ”, Tshegofatso cut him short

as she appeared to be in the verge of tears,
“ I'm doing this for your sake MaNkosi, I am
trying to protect you... ”

“ Vuyo I don't need your protection, I need

your love. I need you, I- I want to be with you
”, tears slid down her face as she said this. It
saddened Vuyolwethu to see her like this but
he knew this was the right thing to do so,
“ Nginezitha eziningi Fatso, and if this comes
out your life will be endangered. Not only
yours but Nosibusiso's too ”( I have a lot of
enemies ), he tried to explain this but she just
wasn't having it. He looked straight into her
eyes glistening with tears and, “ I am sorry ”,
he murmured.

“ Awukwazi ungishiya Vuyo, awukwazi. You

can't make me open up to you only for you to
break my heart. I tried to push you away Vuyo,
but you just kept begging and begging until I
let you in and now you are telling me about
protecting me? What about my heart? Why
didn't you protect me from falling in love
with you? ”, she questioned but there was
nothing he could say to explain things to her.
“ I'm so- ”

“ Don't even tell me about being sorry ! ”, she

snapped at him, “ I don't need your sorry, I
need your love Vuyolwethu. THAT IS ALL I
WANT FROM YOU ”, he tried reaching for her
hand but she stepped back and, “ Don't
touch me. I hate you so much, ngiyakuzonda
ukuthanda ”( I hate loving you ), she said and
then turned towards the door, walking out.
Rushing out of the bedroom, he followed the
dark brown skinned girl and on her way
downstairs he caught up with her and
grabbed her by her hand making her shout at
him to let him go but instead of listening to
her, he just pulled her into his arm and held
her tightly until she stopped fighting him.
“ Ngiyaxolisa ”, he whispered into her ear and
with that being said, she just broke down in
his arms. They both sat on the staircase in
silence for what felt like the longest time until,
“ I'm only doing this for you ”, Vuyolwethu
broke the silence.

“ I guess so ”.
-
The following day, I was finishing up my
packing when Vuyolwethu barged in the
bedroom, and threw his blazer on the couch
along with his briefcase. “ Hey ”, he greeted
as he walked over to the bed, “ We need to
talk ”, he took a seat on the edge of the bed
 and patted his side for me to seat. I stopped
packing and walked over to his side.
“ Remember when you said you wanted to
find a job? ”, he asked.

“ Yes, and you were against the idea s- ”

“ I am still against it ”, he interrupted the girl

and she just looked at him, annoyed.Why did
he always have to interrupt her? “ So, there's
nothing to talk about ”, the girl replied with a
little annoyance laced on her voice, even
Vuyolwethu noticed it.

“ There is actually, if you were to return to

school what career path would you consider?
”

“ I've always wanted to be a fashion designer

so... ”, the girl replied not knowing where this
conversation would lead to until, “ I'm going
to have you enrolled ”, Vuyolwethu said.

“ No no no, Vuyo you c- ”

“Bengingakuceli Tshegofatso, uyaphindela
eskolweni uthanda ungathandi ”( I wasn't
asking you Tshegofatso, you are returning to
school whether you like it or not ), the man
said walking towards the bathroom and
Tshegofatso followed behind him angrily not
believing what he just said. Did he just say
she had no choice regarding her future?
Vuyolwethu was definitely taking this too far
now, he was being so territorial and they
weren't even dating anymore, what the f-
“ Angeke ungitshele ukuthi ngenzeni,
awuyena ubab'wami Vuyolwethu ”( You
won't tell me what to do, you are not my
father Vuyolwethu ), she snapped.

“ Ok'salayo awuyi kosebenza MaNkosi ”( You

are not going to work ), Tshegofatso looked
at the man standing in front of her and
slightly shook her head. She opened her
mouth to murmur something but she quickly
held back, and left the bathroom instead -
walking to the bedroom to resume with
packing.
“ I'm done packing ”, Vuyolwethu walked out
of the closet with a changed outfit and he
walked over to where Tshegofatso was
standing. He caressed the dark brown
skinned girl's cheek with his thumb softly
brushing over her lower lip and, “ I'll miss you
”, he confessed and by only hearing him
mutter those words. “ Vuy- ”, he voice broke
as tears escaped her beautiful pair of hazels
and Vuyolwethu found himself involuntarily
biting his inner cheeks. He hated seeing
Tshegofatso cry and this time, it was even
worse because he knew he was the reason
behind her tears. “ Don't do this to us, I don't
want to leave you ”, the girl continued and, “ I
can't risk your life like this Tshegofatso, I
don't want you living in fear just because of
the kind of lifestyle I chose to live ”, the
handsomely dark male tried to explain and
make the young woman seeing his reasons
behind his actions but it didn't work.

“ I don't CARE ABOUT THAT, I just want to be

with you. It doesn't matter what happens to
us, danger or not, I want you with me ”,
Tshegofatso said and Vuyolwethu sighed
heavily and turned to the suitcases that were
on top of the bed, “ I'll go and put these in the
car ”, he said grabbing them, Tshegofatso
nodded at him and, “ Ngizokulandela
ngomzuzwana nje, ngisayolanda uNosibusiso
”( I'll follow you in a minute, I'm going to
fetch Nosibusiso ).

“ Okay ”, Vuyolwethu said as he walked

towards the door but he stopped in his tracks
after turning the door handle. He turned to
look at Tshegofatso who was also looking at
him and their eyes locked for a moment. He
faintly smiled and walked out of the bedroom,
closing the door behind him. Tshegofatso
heavily sighed and walked over to the
bathroom. She washed her face with cold
water and patted her face dry with a towel,
whilst on that she caught a glimpse of her
reflection on the mirror. She smiled when she
noticed that her bruises have already faded
completely and the cuts had already healed
and a year escaped her eye when she
remembered her first encounter with
Vuyolwethu. Him leaving everything,
deciding to follow her just to find out if she
was okay, or not. How he came to her rescue
when she thought she was actually going to
die, in the hands of a man that claimed to
love her. How he rescued her for the second
time, because she was naive enough to
believe that Lunathi wanted peace between
the two of them. In actual fact, Lunathi is the
reason behind all this. She doesn't know how,
but he always had a way to get to her, make
her believe that he was genuine even when
he wasn't and now - it's costing her, that one
man that loved her. If only- If only
Vuyolwethu knew how much Tshegofatso
loved him. The girl wiped off her tears and
sprinkled water on her wrists before heading
to the nursery to fetch Nosibusiso, and she
found Noluthando with her. “ Sowuyahamba
njalo? ”( Are you already going ), Thando
asked as she saw Tshegofatso walk in and
avoiding to burst into tears, the girl simply
nodded. Seeing that Tshegofatso wasn't
really okay, Noluthando pulled her into a
tight hug and, “ Have a safe journey my love,
take care of yourself okay? ”, she said.
“ I will ”, Tshegofatso responded and
Noluthando smiled at her before handing
Nosibusiso over to her. She helped
Tshegofatso carry Nosibusiso's bags and they
headed outside, where Vuyolwethu had
packed his car along with the security detail.
Vuyolwethu took the bags and loaded them
in the trunk and then, they got inside the car.
They drove out of the yard in silence and in
attempt to ease down the tension around
them, Tshegofatso turned on the radio only
to find Cinga by Kid Tini playing. She simply
looked out the window as tears slid down her
cheeks. Vuyolwethu took a quick glimpse at
the side mirror on Tshegofatso's side and saw
that she was crying, and just heavily sighed.
There was nothing he could do.

-
It took only 25 minutes for them to arrive at
their destination, Tshegofatso was moving in
at Vuyolwethu's old house. The security
detail helped with the luggage while
Vuyolwethu remained behind with some of
them as they tried to sort out security issues.
It only took an hour tops and then
Vuyolwethu headed inside to check on.
Tshegofatso, only to find her already
unpacking her stuff. Tshegofatso
acknowledged his presence immediately
when he walked in and she turned to look at
him. “ Are you okay? ”, he asked and
Tshegofatso just nodded at him and, “ I'll just
go and check on Nosibusiso ”, again she
nodded and Vuyolwethu took the staircase to
the already furnished nursery room to check
on Nosibusiso, whom he found sleeping
peacefully with a soft smile on her face. “ Hey
baby ”, he whispered softly to her with a
smile plastered on his face as he caressed the
baby's cheek and, “ I want you to take care of
mommy while I'm gone okay? Just keep on
being a good girl and don't give her any
headaches my love. I love you both so much
and I promise, I'll keep on checking on you
whenever I get the time. See you soon, my
little angel ”, with that said he kissed
Nosibusiso's pouted lips then cheeks before
heading back downstairs.

“ Come here ”, he said taking Tshegofatso's

hands into his and pulled her into his arms,
wrapping them tightly around her as though
trying to protect her from something. “ I love
you ”, he said caressing her cheeks and he
leaned forward to kiss her forehead before
looking into her eyes. “ I love you too ”, she
murmured back as her tears graced her
already puffy cheeks and with that said they
shared a kiss. Their kisses always felt hot,
sweet, loving and electrifying but, this kiss?
As passionate as it was, it was still filled with
gloomy emotions and the minute they pulled
away from each other, Tshegofatso just let go
of Vuyolwethu's hand and rushed upstairs to
her bedroom. She didn't want to say goodbye,
she didn't want to end it all there. Sh- she
wasn't ready for it.

Vuyolwethu got out of the house and headed

straight to where he was parked and as he
was walking one of the guards approached
him. “ Boss I- ”, he raised his hand at the
guard and, “ Not now ” he murmured. He
climbed into the car, started his car's ignition
and drove to Mnqobiwesizwe's house. As
much as he would have loved to return home,
he knew it wouldn't be the same.

He arrived at Mnqobiwesizwe's house and

buzzed himself inside. He parked in the
basement and headed inside, with
Mnqobiwesizwe meeting him halfway as he
acknowledged that his presence. “ Vuyo? ”,
he said in a questioning manner, “ Is
everything cool, do we have a mission I don't
know about? ”, he continued and Vuyolwethu
shook his head no as he let himself inside the
house and Mnqobiwesizwe followed behind
him.
“ No, angikwazi ukuphindela endlini ”( I just
can't go back home ), he said walking over to
the bar area and he grabbed a bottle of red
wine along with a wine glass before taking a
seat on the high chairs. “ Uchaza ukuthini? ”,
Mnqobiwesizwe asked joining his friend.

“ Just dropped off Tshegofatso at Pretoria ”,

Vuyolwethu started as he poured himself a
glass of wine, filling it to the brim, “ You
should have seen her Mnqobi, she couldn't
even handle seeing me leave - she was so
hurt ”, he continued gulping down the drink
before filling the glass again. “ Tshegofatso
will come around, we both know how this
lifestyle can be overwhelming and she
wouldn't be able to handle it ”.

“ I know but - I hurt her ”, he said with tone

filled with sadness and regret,
“ Bekungeyona inhloso Yami but I did ”( it
wasn't my intention- ).
 Chapter Nine

Two weeks later.

Vuyolwethu rushed down the staircase as he

clipped on his timepiece to his wrist and he
found Mam'Nomadlozi and the house chef
preparing breakfast. “ Good evening mister
Ndhlovu ”, they greeted and he simply
nodded their way in acknowledgement
before, “ I won't be here for dinner ”, he
announced grabbing his car keys from the
key holder, and headed towards the
basement. He climbed in his grey Audi RS3
and started the ignition, driving out of his
residence just after telling his security detail
not to follow him. He drove to the nearest
mall and headed straight to the McDonald's
drive through, and ordered something for
himself since he had missed dinner, making
sure he doubled his order. After getting his
order and settling the bill, he drove straight
to Pretoria to see Tshegofatso regarding
school.
He arrived thirty minutes later, and the
guards buzzed him in as they recognised the
car's registration details and they knew him -
he is their boss, what did you expect? He
knocked on the front door and, “ Coming ”,
he heard Tshegofatso shout from the inside
and it didn't even take two minutes, the door
was answered. “ Vuyo? ”, Tshegofatso said
immediately when she opened the door, she
wasn't expecting to see him this soon. It has
been a week since they broke up, since they
last saw each other so she hadn't really
healed from it. As good as seeing him there
was, it still broke her. “ Tshegofatso, can I
come in? ”, she froze for a minute or two
before snapping out of it and shifting from
the door, making way for him to pass. He led
the way to the lounge and when he saw
Nosibusiso laying on the couch, he cracked
into a smile and, “ Here's my pumpkin ”, he
said picking her up and kissing her all over
the face making her giggle and squeal of
excitement. For a brief moment, Tshegofatso
found herself smiling at the sight, she just
loved how Vuyolwethu was fond of
Nosibusiso - it made her happy. Vuyolwethu
turned to Tshegofatso with Nosibusiso in his
arms and, “ How are you? ”

“ Uhm- ”, she breathed out loudly and turned

towards the kitchen, “ I am okay ”, she
responded to his question walking over to
the kitchen with Vuyolwethu following
behind her. Instead of saying anything,
Vuyolwethu just eyed the girl in disbelief of
her response. He wanted to believe her but
her tone showed no sign of being genuine so,
it was hard. “ What? ”, she murmured when
she noticed that Vuyolwethu was staring at
her, “ I'm fine, really ”, she said in a more
convincing manner this time before,
“ Anyway, what are you doing here? ”, she
asked.

“ I was to check on you and Nosibusiso, and

to just give you the stuff you will need for
tomorrow and- ”, he reached into his pockets
and pulled out a MasterCard luxury card, “ -
this ”, he handed it over.

“ I don't need that ”, Tshegofatso said not

wanting to take the black card she was being
handed and, “ Well, it's yours so you can do
whatever you want with it, except giving it
away of course ”, he said placing on the
kitchen counter and Tshegofatso just secretly
rolled her eyes at him. Why was he so
stubborn about- almost everything?! It say it
annoyed the hell out of her would be an
understatement of a lifetime. He
stubbornness just made him seem
controlling and that was one streak
Tshegofatso wanted to avoid in man, last
time she dated a controlling man she became
a punching bag.

“ You said you came to give me something ”,

she said avoid to say something that would
make her sound like an ungrateful bitch and,
“ Zisemotweni ”, Vuyolwethu replied walking
over to the fridge to pour himself a glass of
juice, “ I'll bring them in a minute, I brought
something to eat ”, he pointed over the
kitchen counter where he had placed the
takeaway bag. “ You got Big Mac and the
Oreo McFlurry? ”, Tshegofatso flashed a
beaming smile at him for the first time since
he came and, “ Well, ye- ”, before he could
complete what he wanted to say Tshegofatso
rushed over to the kitchen counter and
started taking out food and dishing it up on
the plates but before they ate, she grabbed
Vuyolwethu's carkeys and, “ I'm coming back
”.

She took out all the shopping bags inside the

car's trunk and took them inside, as heavy as
they were. “ Vuyo ”, she called from the
outside trying to open the door with her arm
but Vuyolwethu opened the door quickly
making her stumble inside the house and,
“ What the h- , I told I was going to get them ”,
he said taking some of the bags from her and,
“ Well, I was curious and you weren't eager to
do it ”, she answered using her leg to close
the door behind her. Vuyolwethu opened his
arm to say something but he just sighed
heavily while shaking her hand at the girl as
she went through the bags, “ I- you so
hotheaded ”, he said through his teeth. “ I
heard that ”, Tshegofatso said rolling her
eyes and, “ You actually were supposed to
hear that, MaNkosi ”, he said in a truth-be-
told kind of tone and, “ Whatever. ”

Tshegofatso unpacked everything that

Vuyolwethu had bought for her and it was
mostly school stationary and a new iPad.
“ What is this for? ”

“ Oh it's yours, I figured since there is going to

be a lot of assignments and mostly of them
will be required to be submitted via emails,
you will be need that and i- ”
“ Vuyo... ”, he stopped talking and looked at
her, “ Thank you ”, she murmured at him and
he just smiled at him and, “ No need to thank
me. ”

They spent almost the whole day together

with Vuyolwethu briefing Tshegofatso about
everything she needed to know with the
institution she was going to attend at. After
all that, Vuyolwethu left the young woman to
get ready for the next day since it was her first
day at school and he had already found
someone who was going to look after
Nosibusiso. No matter what happened,
Tshegofatso would always be grateful to have
met Vuyolwethu in her life. He has been there
through it all and she wouldn't forget him if
she tried.
 Chapter Ten

It has been 8 months since Tshegofatso and

Vuyolwethu ended their relationship and it
hasn't been easy on the both of them,
especially Tshegofatso. If she didn't see him
every weekend having to both discuss school
matters, it was him coming by to visit
Nosibusiso and this simply meant, he was all
over her face. As much as she wanted to
avoid him, she couldn't. On Vuyolwethu's
side, he couldn't really stay away from the
girl or her daughter. He always wanted to
make sure that they were both okay, that
they had everything they needed but most
importantly, he just wanted to be with them.
As much as he would deny it, the two girls
were his happy place - besides his daughter,
they were the first people he would think of
after a long day of work, the first people who
kept him going whenever he had to attend on
one of the dangerous missions he always had
to attend to.

Tshegofatso's phone's alarm went off and

she groaned as she tried to reach out for it
and put it on snooze for just 5 more minutes
but, it was out of reach. She woke up, slipped
on her slides and headed to the bathroom
after doing her bed. She took a long cold
shower to wake herself up and then walked
to the closet, and settled for a pair of ripped
jeans, black strappy vest and white Nike Air
Max 95 LX with an anklet on one leg. She
grabbed all her school stuff along with a baby
pink cropped puffer jacket and headed
downstairs, to make breakfast for herself -
cereal and a cup of coffee.
While she was waiting for Amanda,
Nosibusiso's nanny she decided give her
daughter a bath. Talking about Nosibusiso,
her 1st birthday was coming up and,
Vuyolwethu alongside Tshegofatso's friends,
Kefentse,Ntandoyenkosi and Boikanyo, were
planning a birthday party for her. As much as
Tshegofatso emphasized the fact that just
wanted something small, she knew how her
friends could get all caught up in the clouds
and forget the rules and this time she knew
her words fell to deaf ears when Vuyolwethu
gave them a budget of 50 000 rands. Yes, an
amount of a flipping 50 000 rands for a baby !
Anyways, after bathing Nosibusiso she
settled her into a pair of plain jeans and a
purple hoodie, tied her hair into two afro
buns. They headed downstairs and she left
her in the lounge, on the couch and went to
the kitchen to make her something to eat,
distracting her with her phone. Well,
Vuyolwethu bought her an iPhone 6 Plus after
she caused a scene at the Apple store,
refusing to leave the store without the phone.
Long story short, Vuyolwethu and
Tshegofatso had the most heated argument
when she found out about the phone but, she
didn't win that one.

As she was making cereal for Nosibusiso,

“ Morning family ”, Amanda yelled as she got
inside the house and she gave Tshegofatso a
quick hug before rushing over to Nosibusiso,
“ Baby girl ”, she kissed the little girl all over
the face causing her to giggle and erupt into
laughter. “ How are you? ”, Tshegofatso
asked Amanda as she walked back to the
kitchen carrying Nosibusiso, who had her
phone in hand playing games. “ I'm happy ”,
Amanda responded with a smile and
Tshegofatso couldn't help but smile back,
she always loved seeing her friends happy.

“ uze uyaglowa girl ”( you are even glowing ),

she said grinning at her friend and Amanda
just blushed at the statement. “ Awuth'
ngihambe ngingekabi late for my class ”( Let
me get going before I get- ), Tshegofatso
grabbed her school bags, kissed her daughter
goodbye and headed out when she received
a notification from the Uber App notifying her
that the cab was at her gate.
-
Her class took only 2 hours and then the
professor finally dismissed them. After class,
Tshegofatso and her friend Oyenkosi decided
to take a walk to RocoMamas to grab
something to eat for lunch and they had a
little conversation on their walk there. “ So,
when are you getting laid? ”, Oyenkosi
suddenly blurted out making Tshegofatso
stop in her tracks and look at her friend,
taken back by her question. “ Come on, you
can't tell me you don't miss getting laid ”,
Oyenkosi reasoned when she noticed how
surprised and shocked her friend was when
she mentioned coitus.

“ Hhayi suka, angikho lapho ”( Argh, I am not

even about that ), Tshegofatso responded
and Oyenkosi just looked at her before
bursting out of laughter, “ Mxm ”,
Tshegofatso sucked her tongue pouting her
lips at her friend, pretending to me angry.
“ Let's not talk about me, kwenzakaleni
nalamjita uhlangane naye ngoMgqibelo? ”( -
what happened to the guy you met with on
Saturday ), Tshegofatso asked the girl with
blonde braids who simply side eyed her and
clucked her tongue, making her laugh, “ Okay
now I'm really eager to know what happened
”, Tshegofatso said in between laughs and
Oyenkosi ran her hands through her braids
slightly shaking her head.

“ Yaze yayikaka indoda Zama, andazi noba

ndandiyaphi naye ” -Oyenkosi.

“ Kwenzakaleni kanti? ” -Tshegofatso.

“ Okay so uyamazi moc ubradas mhle and all,
unephepha and uyadiza ke yena shame. So
nithi xanigoduka noKefentse athi sigoduke
siye endlini yakhe ndingabi nastress cause
vele ndifuna ubaswa. Sifike wethu kulondlu
yakhe and yinhle shame yona sana. Okay
sifike sincokole ke sana, into zibeshushu
ngongxama andincamise hhayi nami
ndimncamise back ke cause kudala
ndiyilindile leweyi. Sikhuphuke siyegumbini
lakhe and into ndiyibone pha yhu andifuni
nova ”( Okay, you know the guy was
handsome, he has a lot of money. So when
you and Kefentse left he said we should go to
his house and I didn't mind because I want to
get laid obviously. We got to his house and it
was really beautiful, and talked for sometime
and then things got heated quickly and we
kissed. We went up to his room and what I
saw there, I don't even wanna hear about it ),
Oyenkosi said as they walked in McDonald's
and secured their selves a place by the
window, “ What happened friend? ”,
Tshegofatso asked trying to hold back her
laughter.
“ Ever been turned on by a guy only to be
turned off again. Yhewethu utsho ngento
encinci lamjita, ebengez'undonelisa mna
tchin ”( His was too small down there, he
wasn't going to give it to me good ), that was
enough for Tshegofatso to burst of laughter
and immediately almost everyone turned to
look at her weirdly, and she looked back at
them and shrugged it off. She couldn't
believe her friend had said. A waitress came
to take their order and they decided to have
sparkling water as they waited for their meal.
They weren't sitting in, so they ordered
takeaways.
-
“ I bought you some lunch ”, Tshegofatso half
shouted to Amanda from the kitchen as she
walked in the house and placed her stuff and
takeaway bag on the kitchen counter, “ Hey
baby girl ”, she squealed as she walked over
to the lounge, where her daughter was
seated and she picked her up, “ How are you?
”, she asked her daughter, who was giggling
the whole time and, “ Goo goo ”, she
responded in attempts to say ‘ Good good ’.
“ Mandz, ukahle sthandwa? ”( Amanda, are
you okay love ), the faux loc'ed girl asked as
she threw herself on the couch and placed
her daughter in between her legs and,
“ Ngikahle kakhulu, how was school? ”( I'm
very good- ), Amanda responded grabbing
the remote from the coffee table and
browsing through the movies on Box Office,
to find a movie that was interesting enough
to watch. It took her about ten minutes to
decide on which movie they would watch and
all this time, Tshegofatso was having a
‘ conversation ’ with her daughter who was
barely even paying attention to her -
occupied by the game she was playing on her
phone.

It was eight ‘o’ clock in the evening and

Tshegofatso had already bathed and tucked
her daughter in thirty five minutes ago and
now, she was also taking a shower. Whilst in
the shower, she heard a knock coming from
downstairs and in a rush, she wrapped a
towel around her body and slipped on her
slides - rushing downstairs to get the door.
The knock surfaced again and, “ Give me two
s- ”, she opened the door and she was met
my his lips lingering on hers. Breaking the
kiss, the dark skinned man turned to close
and lock the door before turning to the dark
brown skinned girl and they both looked into
each other's eyes hungrily, without saying
anything.

Taking the lead, Tshegofatso took his face in

her hands and smashed her lips against his.
He kissed her back passionately, pressing his
body against hers. He lifted her onto the
counter, moving down to her neck and
sucking on it hungrily. She moaned, running
her fingers through his hair and he took one
hand and started brushing Tshegofatso's
thigh, the other one still slipped on her waist,
the hand going higher and higher with a little
thigh squeeze in between. Moaning in
between the kisses, Tshegofatso helped
Vuyolwethu take off his t-shirt with him
unwrapping the towel around her body and
let it fall next to his t-shirt. He lifted her up
and wrapped her legs around his waist and
walked up the staircase, to the bedroom
making sure not to break the kiss.

He carefully laid her down on the bed, then

climbed on top of her. Like butter, she melted
into him as he slowly started planting wet
kisses all over her body. From the crook of
her neck, tits, stomach and navel where he
nibbled his tongue and she felt a wave of
pleasure wash over her, making her arch her
body involuntarily with closed eyes, slightly
pulling the sheets. He carefully pinned her
back on the bed and pulled her to edge of the
bed, spreading her legs open - planting wet
kisses on her inner thighs, leading up to her
perfectly shaved cunt.

Once Vuyolwethu reached her clit he licked it

and she gasped before he took that as her
telling him she wanted more. He sucked,
licked even bit down on her clit, forcing her
legs to stay spread and her hips to stay still.
She started to release moaned screams, her
voice shaking just like her legs were beside
his head. “ Stop stalling, V ”, Tshegofatso
moaned throwing her head back, clearly
already at her high. Vuyolwethu continued
eating the girl out until she finally let go, and
came. He licked her clean and kissed her
thighs over again.

It wasn't a minute later, he started teasing

the girl's clitoris - sucking on it, dragging and
twisting his tongue. He kissed and licking Xs
and rings on her clit with precision, filling the
girl with nothing but anticipation and lust
clearly visibly from the eyes. She started
grinding slowly on his face like she was on
the dancefloor and with a stiff tongue,
Vuyolwethu wrote his name on the insides of
her vaginal walls, making her involuntarily
close her eyes, bite her lower lip while
grabbing tightly on the sheets. “ Vuyo, p-
please ”, she begged and pleaded for him to
take her out of her misery and he looked up
and saw in her face, exactly the reaction he
wanted to see.

“ Relax your body ”, he mumbled to her as he

massaged her hips while still teasing her and,
he grabbed her waist to isolate her
movements and the only thing he could hear
in that particular timeframe, was the
vulnerability of her moans. He slowly inserted
two fingers and rotated them in a circular
motion to stimulate the emotions of her
‘ spot ’ and caressed her titties with the other
hand. He kissed her and their lips moved in
sync, hungrily fighting for dominance and
Tshegofatso released a shallow moan
meaning she was close but suddenly,
Vuyolwethu stopped fingering her and,
“ Don't stop ”, she moaned out.

“ Open your eyes ”, she fluttered them open

only to be met by Vuyolwethu's eyes looking
into hers. Looking into each other's eyes,
Vuyolwethu slid himself inside her cunt
unexpectedly and she gasped, completely
shutting her eyes.
 Chapter Eleven

Early in the morning, Tshegofatso woke up

with Vuyolwethu wrapped around her. She
wiggled herself out of his grip making sure
not to wake him up, slipped on her slides and
grabbed her robe and threw it on as she
walked to the bathroom. She sat on the toilet
seat and roughed up her locs, scratching her
head out of regret. What happened yesterday
wasn't supposed to happen.
While still in the bathroom, she decided to
freshen up. After taking a shower, she settled
into a white short sleeve t-shirt, a black
leather skirt and pink fluffy slides paired with
white happy socks and then headed to the
nursery. She bathed Nosibusiso and settled
her into a pink jumpsuit with black sandals,
she combed her afro and they both headed
downstairs to make Nosibusiso and herself
some cornflakes. Tshegofatso placed
Nosibusiso on the kitchen counter and she
warmed up some milk for them while she had
a conversation with her daughter. “ Daddy ! ”,
Nosibusiso screamed, clapping her hands as
she saw Vuyolwethu heading down the
staircase and, “ Munchkin ”, he smiled as he
walked over to where she was seating and,
“ how are you? ”, he asked her.

“ Goo goo ”, she responded with a wide grin

plastered on her face.

“ MaNkosi ”, Tshegofatso sent a faint smile at

Vuyolwethu as a way of acknowledging his
greeting, “ You good? ”, he tried touching her
but she yanked his hand away and, “ Yes ”,
she responded to his question.

“ Unesiqiniseko? ”( Are you okay )

“ I SAID IM FINE ”, she snapped making

Vuyolwethu look at her briefly with faint
smirk on his face before chuckling and
turning to Nosibusiso. “ Asambe baby ”, he
picked her up and headed to the lounge with
Tshegofatso following behind them with
Nosibusiso's cereal. She handed it over to
Vuyolwethu so he could feed her baby and
she headed back to the kitchen, to prepare
breakfast for the both of them. She made
toasted bread with cheese, bacon and eggs
with a cup of coffee for herself and tea for
Vuyolwethu, headed back to the lounge and
gave him his plate taking Nosibusiso's bowl
back with her back to the kitchen. She had
her breakfast while texting with Kefentse,
telling about how her day was going so far
but not bothering to even tell her about what
happened between her and Vuyo - she didn't
want anyone judging her at this point. After
eating, she headed to the lounge to spend
time with her daughter and Vuyolwethu just
headed upstairs to take a shower.

“ Why are you angry ”, she was startled to

hear Vuyolwethu's voice behind her and she
slowly turned to face him, “ I am not angry ”,
she responded trying to keep her composure
to the fact that an effing handsome male
species was standing in front of her, shirtless.
A handsome male she fell romantically and
sexually deeply for. She had just tucked
Nosibusiso in for her afternoon nap ten
minutes ago and she didn't think she would
have to face Vuyolwethu, at that moment.
She probably would have chose to lock
herself in the nursery with her daughter, if
she knew. “ Hey ”, he moved the faux locs
away from her face tucking them behind her
ear and slightly caressing her cheek and,
“ ungabakhohlisa bonke, hhayi mina ”( You
can never fool me ), he said.
“ What happened yesterday... ”, she dropped
her face and looked up again, “ It wasn't
supposed to happen ”, Vuyolwethu looked at
her confused and, “ Why? ”, he questioned.

“ Because we aren't together anymore, Vuyo

”

“ So? ”

“ So i- ”
“ Tshegofatso look, I understand where you
are coming from. I know I messed up and told
you I was trying to protect you but the truth is,
I was scared okay? I was scared I wasn't going
to be enough for you, scared that my line of
work would break us up but, I just can't stay
away from you. You don't know how hard I
have tried, it's like there is something
drawing me back to you ”, he confessed his
feelings and the black haired girl just looked
at him and shook her head in an unbelieving
manner, “ What are you saying exactly? ”, she
chuckled sarcastically.
“ I want you to be mine, again ”, he looked
straight into her glistening eyes.

“ No, Vuyo. You can't expect me to turn my

feelings on and off everytime when it suits
you, everytime you change your mind. It's not
okay. ”

“ I love you ”.

“ I love you too but- ”, he walked closer to her

filling up the little space left between them
and the young lady's breathing patterns
started escalating as his cologne hit her
nostrils, “ But- ”, the words couldn't leave her
mouth.

“ Focus MaNkosi ”, he smirked at her as he

was partly doing this intentionally, he knew
how weak she got whenever he was up close
to her and then, he just had to exploit her
feelings - anything to win her and her trust
back. “ Vuyo, don't do this. You are making
me weak ”.
“ I am not doing anything ”, damn right I am
doing something, he thought to himself.

“ Put on a shirt ”, he raised an eyebrow at her

with a faint chuckle escaping his mouth and
he walked over to stand behind her, still close
enough for Tshegofatso to inhale his scent
but still out of sight, “ Better? ”, he asked and
Tshegofatso just simply shrugged before,
“ Maybe ”, she responded.
“ You were saying? ”

“ I can't be with you again ”, she responded.

“ Why not? ”, Vuyolwethu.

“ I don't know, I just can't ”, Tshegofatso.

“ Tshegofatso, you know you still love me.

Just give me one last chance ”, he said to her
softly and that awakened the little butterfly
that resides in the pit of her stomach, making
them flutter their wings harshly and she
found herself slightly sucking in her stomach,
“ Vuyo ”, she murmured but he turned her to
face him and suddenly, she felt his lips on
hers. She responded to the kiss and they both
pulled out after some time, “ Don't play me
again ”, she warned looking straight into his
eyes.

“ I promise ”, he said pulling her into a hug

and she buried her face in his chest as his
warm hands embraced him. Oh, how she
missed being in his arms. Having him hold
her like that was something she had always
wished for ever since they broke up and now,
it was happening. They headed to the lounge
and they cuddled on the couch while
watching classics, until Tshegofatso fell
asleep in his arms. Exactly where she knew
she, belonged.

Evening before Nosibusiso's birthday

Tshegofatso walked down the passage,

heading to Vuyolwethu's office to check on
him. She had just tucked her little ray of
sunshine in and Vuyolwethu has been cooped
up in his office the whole afternoon. Yes, she
moved back in the Ndhlovu mansion - ask no
questions, here no lies.

She politely knocked and then opened the

door to peak inside. Vuyolwethu looked at
her and signalled her to get inside since he
was on a phone call and he walked in and
took a seat on the couch opposite him.
“ Lerato, you can't expect me to jump
everytime you decided to come to
Johannesburg. Bekumele ungazise
ngesikhathi, hell what if I wasn't around?
”( You were supposed to notify me earlier- ),
Vuyolwethu snapped at the person on the
other end of the call and Tshegofatso found
herself raising an eyebrow wondering why
Lerato was even in town.

“ I'll send someone to fetch you... I am not

doing this for you ”, with that said he hung up,
texted someone and threw his phone on his
desk, getting up to join his woman on the
couch. “ Baby mama drama? ”, the dark
brown skinned girl asked sitting up straight
and he laid his head on his eyes looking up at
her and putting his feet on the couch.

“ Lerato is a nuisance, I literally regret having

a child with her ”

“ Vuyo ”, Tshegofatso playfully hit his

shoulder and he chuckled at this act, “ No, I
didn't say I regret having Olonathando. I just
regret the fact that Lerato had to be her
mother, it's making her think she has a hold
on me ”, Vuyolwethu explained and
Tshegofatso nodded at him with
understanding. “ She sounds like trouble ”.

“ Trouble? You underestimating her ”, the girl

just plainly stared at the man not knowing
how to acknowledge his statement. He
noticed the concern written all over her eyes
and, “ Huh uh, she wouldn't even dare to do
anything to you even if she wanted to ”, he
said reassuring her but she didn't know
whether to believe that or what.

“ You wouldn't know ”

“ She knows the consequences of messing

with people I love, relax ”, he said.

“ If you say so ”, silence filled the room and

Tshegofatso played with her man's hair with
her mind a little occupied from what
Vuyolwethu had said until, “ Let's go to the
bedroom, I need a shower ”, Vuyolwethu said
getting up from the couch and helping
Tshegofatso up, bridal carrying her. They
headed to the main bedroom and when they
got inside, he carefully laid Tshegofatso on
the bed and then went to the bathroom while
they had a small conversation, discussing
nothing of any importance.

“ Come and join me ”, Vuyolwethu peaked

from the bathroom and Tshegofatso turned
to look at him and, “ No chance ”, she said
chuckling slightly.
“ Mara Tshegofatso, just an innocent shower
”, Vuyolwethu.

“ No way, I know you idea on an innocent

shower Vuyolwethu Ndhlovu, and I am not
having it ”, Tshegofatso.

“ Firefly please, we will have your idea of an

innocent shower then ”, Vuyolwethu.

“ Can you just go and shower ”, Tshegofatso

said grabbing her airpods case from the
bedside table, “ Okay fine Fatso, you just
going to have to face Lerato all by yourself. If
she messes with you, ungazomxela kum
”( don't tell me ), with that said he closed the
bathroom door and shortly after that
Tshegofatso jumped off the bed, “ Ngiyeza
”( I'm coming ), she stripped off her clothes
and joined him in the shower. Funny enough,
he really kept his promise. They had an
innocent shower, for the first time ever. After
showering, Tshegofatso settled into a pair of
shorts, sports bra and a black oversized sheer
t-shirt with Nike socks and slides while
Vuyolwethu settled into black Nike
sweatpants, white t-shirt and socks with
slides. They headed downstairs to the lounge
and found a woman and a young adorable
little girl who Tshegofatso figured to be
Olonathando, watching the television.

“ Daddy ! ”, the little girl squealed as she ran

into her father's arms and the 26 years old
man embraced her daughter, picking her up.
“ Olonathando lwaka daddy ”, he said to her
making her giggle and, “ I missed you ”, she
said breaking their hug but still in her daddy's
arms.

“ Stop lying to daddy ”, Vuyolwethu faked an

eyeroll making the little girl laugh and hide
her face on his chest from shyness as she
noticed Tshegofatso looking at them.
Tshegofatso really loved to see this, she loved
how Vuyolwethu was around children and
the glow he got whenever he was around
them, it made her happy to see him happy. “ I
am not lying ”, she whispered.
“ But, you never miss daddy though ”, he
faked a frown and, “ I do daddy ”, she
laughed again with her face still hidden and
Tshegofatso couldn't help but look at her and
smile, Olonathando was really an adorable
little girl. “ Olona ”, Vuyolwethu put his baby
girl down and squared infront of her, so he
could be the same height as her, “ this is
Tshegofatso and she's now a part of our
family okay? ”, the girl nodded, “ She is really
important part of my life just like you are and
I want you to respect her as much as you
respect me or mommy. Can you do that for
daddy? ”, she nodded again before, “ Yes
daddy, I promise ”, she answered and
Vuyolwethu smiled at her pulled her into a
brief but tight hug.

“ Can I give her a hug? ”, she whispered but

she was loud enough for Vuyolwethu and
Tshegofatso to hear her and they both
chuckled at that before Vuyolwethu turned to
his woman for reassurance and Tshegofatso
nodded at him, “ Yes baby, you can ”, he said.
She opened her arms for Tshegofatso to
accommodate her and she embraced her
with a warm and tight hug which lasted for
about a minute before they broke it, “ I love
your hair ”, Olona complimented and
Tshegofatso smiled at her before, “ Thank
you angel but, yours is more beautiful though
”, she blushed. Tshegofatso finally put her
down and she went back to watch television.
“ So, Vuyo, you won't introduce me to your
maid? ”, Lerato said walking over to where
the couple was standing and Tshegofatso
chuckled for a moment before, “ As I pretend
I didn't hear that ”.
“ Lerato, don't dare me ”, Vuyolwethu
warned and, “ I was just asking ”, she
defended herself.

“ Well since you desperately want an

introduction, I'll give it to you. MaNkosi ”, he
turned to Tshegofatso and, “ this is Lerato,
Olonathando's mother, unfortunately ”, he
whispered the ' unfortunately ' but was still
loud enough for Tshegofatso to hear him and
she almost burst out of laughter but she
composed herself. “ Lerato, this is
Tshegofatso, my partner ”.

“ Like, business partner? ”, she asked.

“ No,my partner. As in my partner in

everything, even in bed ”, Tshegofatso
chocked and turned to look at the man
standing besides her a little flabbergasted of
what he said but not to mention a little
amused by hearing him say it, “ Oh ”, Lerato
said in a disappointed look and tone before
dropping her voice. “ Okay, she gets it ”.

“ Uhm, dinner is ready ”, Tshegofatso said

trying to tone down the tension surrounding
them and her and Vuyolwethu walked over to
the dining area where Mam'Nomadlozi and
the chefs had set up. He pulled a sit out of
Tshegofatso and she politely smiled at him
before thanking him. “ Awudli? ”( Aren't you
eating), Vuyolwethu asked Lerato as he took
a seat and, “ No, Olona and I will head to bed
”, she replied and Vuyolwethu chuckled at
her before turning to his daughter who was
all focused on what was happening on the
movie she was watching. Malificent: The
Mistress of Evil, and best believe she was
watching this the millionth time now. “ Olona
ka daddy ”, she turned to look at her daddy
and, “ Yes daddy? ”, she responded after
pausing the movie.

“ Are you hungry? ”, she nodded at him and,

“ Come and eat, ungaya ukuyolala Lerato
”(you can go to sleep, Lerato), he said.
Olonathando joined Vuyolwethu and
Tshegofatso, taking a seat opposite her
stepmother and she dished up for her. Just
when Lerato attempted to take a sit on the
dining table, Vuyolwethu looked up at her
and, “ I thought you are tired, go to sleep and
I'll tuck my baby in ”, Lerato just ran upstairs
and Tshegofatso just glanced at the man
sitting besides him and, “ That was really
unnecessary ”, she said when Vuyolwethu
shrugged at her.

“ No, usile uLerato. This is not her house she

can't do as she pleases ”, Tshegofatso
surrendered to the man and they all resumed
eating in silence. After eating,
Mam'Nomadlozi came to clear the table up
and, “ Can you please bathe me? ”,
Olonathando asked Tshegofatso who just
simply agreed and they headed to her
bedroom. She gave her a bath while the little
girl told her about herself and her friends,
and Tshegofatso found her really interesting.
She was too smart for her age, in a good way.
After bathing her, she settled her into her
pyjamas and tucked her in. “ Goodnight baby
girl ”, Tshegofatso said.
“ Goodnight ”, Olonathando smiled at her
and Tshegofatso switched off the lights only
leaving the side lamp and then headed out,
going to the main bedroom. She found
Vuyolwethu already in bed so she just took
off the t-shirt she was wearing, kicked off her
slides and joined him. Vuyolwethu cuddled
the girl as they talked about irrelevant things
until she drifted off to sleep.
 Chapter Twelve

Tshegofatso was woken up by someone

shaking her and when she fluttered her eyes
open, she saw Olonathando smiling down at
her and, “ Morning ”, the little girl greeted.

“ Baby girl, are you okay? ”, Tshegofatso

asked out of concern and the little girl
nodded at her, “ Are you hungry? ”, she asked
again and, “ Yes, but I want to see Busi first ”,
she replied and Tshegofatso finally calmed
down, as she thought there was something
wrong with the little girl.

“ Let me go and take a shower first, get under

the blankets ”, she climbed up the bed and
Tshegofatso headed to the bathroom, to
freshen up. She started my brushing her
teeth and then took a long shower,
moisturized her body and wrapped a towel
around her body, heading to the walk-in
closet. She settled into a simple black
summer dress and pink fluffy slides paired
with white happy socks. She tied her faux
locs into a messy bun and then walked back
into the bedroom, found Vuyolwethu already
awake. “ Ndhlovu ”.

“ Huh uh, take your child I want to sleep ”,

Vuyolwethu said turning his back away from
Tshegofatso and Olonathando and, “ Uchuku
Vuyo, let's go baby ”, Tshegofatso reached
out for Olonathando to take her hand and
they headed out of the bedroom, heading to
the nursery. They found Nosibusiso already
awake playing with her dolls and her face
immediately lit up when she saw her mother,
“ Mommy ”, she stretched out her hands for
Tshegofatso to pick her up, which she did.
“ Birthday girl, how are you? ”, Tshegofatso
asked as she walked over to the pit of balls
with Olonathando and, “ Goo goo ”, she
responded as she put her down next to
Olonathando and, “ Hello ”, the six year old
girl greeted the one year old and turned to
Tshegofatso, “ She's beautiful ”, she
complimented her.

“ Just like you ”, she smiled at the both of

them and then headed to the bathroom to fix
a bath for Nosibusiso. She bathed her with
the ' help ' from Olonathando and then
settled her into a pink t-shirt, denim jeans
and white all-star shoes, only God knows who
was going to wash those because...

After that both Tshegofatso and Olonathando

took Nosibusiso to the main bedroom for
Vuyolwethu to look after her, they were just
trying to piss him off really. “ Ndhlovu, please
after uNosibusiso tuu ”( please ).
“ MaNkosi, go away, nonke futhi ”, he said
grabbing the pillow next to him and covering
his head with it, to block out the noise but,
“ Ngizomshiya la eceleni kwakho ”( I'm going
to leave her next to you ), Tshegofatso said
taking Olonathando's hand and they headed
out of the bedroom, giggling.

“ Daddy ”, Nosibusiso crawled closer to

Vuyolwethu and pulled the pillow away from
his face making him growl in frustration. He
was really tired but the moment he raised his
head and saw little Nosibusiso smiling at him,
he melted. She always knew how to charm
him out of his mind, it was always her smile
and teary eyes that worked on him.

Tshegofatso ran Olonathando a bath and

while she bathed herself, she did her bed and
then picked out an outfit for her - pink
cropped hoodie, skinny jeans and white all-
star shoes. Olonathando came back and she
helped her into the outfit and then she did
her hair, combing it back and tieing it into a
bun. After going back to the main bedroom to
take Nosibusiso from Vuyolwethu, they all
headed to the kitchen and Tshegofatso made
cereal for the children and a cheese and
polony sandwich for herself. As the girls were
eating, Lerato walked downstairs still
wearing her pyjamas and she stood opposite
Tshegofatso with a table knife and apple in
hand making Tshegofatso raise an eyebrow
and chuckle at this. If only she knew that
she's been through so much, it would literally
take more than a table knife to intimidate her.

“ If you know what's good for you, you will

stay away from Vuyo - he is mine ”,
Tshegofatso laughted at Lerato's face and,
“ He is yours? Funny enough, he never
mentioned you yesterday when I was doing
wonders to him ”, the girl licked her lower lip
and winked at the girl standing opposite her
trying to be all intimidating but Lord knows,
she failed dismally.

“ Just stay away from him, it's for your own

sake ”, Tshegofatso just looked at the girl and
smirked when she noticed the person
standing in front of her. Oops, something's
about to go down, “ If it means to kill that
little brat of your to prove that I am not joking,
then I gladly will ”, Lerato threatened and,
“ That's if I don't kill you first ”, Vuyolwethu
said in the most calm tone that it scared
Tshegofatso for a minute. He was so calm yet
so serious, and that was the worst reaction
you could ever get from the man - even
Tshegofatso knew that. Lerato jumped at his
voice and, “ I- ”, her voice broke as she felt
her mouth dry up from fear and, “ I didn't see
you there ”, she swallowed hard and faked a
giggle.
“ Book into a hotel, Bullet will drive you in 30
minutes, just make sure to leave my daughter
behind ”, he said walking over to the fridge
and grabbing a bottle of sparkling water,
“ Ndhlov- ”

“ Wena Tshegofatso make sure Thando and

Busi are ready when I get back down, I am
taking them to the hairdresser ”, with that
said he headed back upstairs to his bedroom
leaving Lerato all tensed up. Tshegofatso
took the children to the lounge, turned on the
television and left them to watch movies
while she followed Vuyolwethu to the
bedroom, and she found him in the shower
so she waited for him to come out, when he
did, he walked to closet and Tshegofatso
followed him. “ Why are you using
Olonathando to fight Lerato? ”, she asked
folding her arms in front of her chest and, “ I
am not ”, the man responded not even
turning to look at his inamorata.

“ Vuyo, just answer my question ”, the young

woman said sternly and the man slowly
turned to look at her and, “ Tshegofatso
please don't involve yourself in this matter,
just make sure everything is okay when I get
back ”, she chuckled at him not believing
what he just said and, “ So, is that all I am
good enough for? ”

“ What? ”, he looked at his love, a little

confused of what he was implying.

“ My opinion never matters, all I am meant to

do is just make sure everything is okay and
just sit back and let you handle everything
right? ”

“ I never said that ”

“ You didn't have to, Vuyo. I mean, that is all a

woman is good enough for. To just let the
man be the head of the house and rule over
everything and everyone. You just want
submissive women who is just going to say
yes to every single thing you say no matter
how st- ”
“ Hey hey, I never said your opinion doesn't
matter Tshegofatso. You know I value your
opinion more than anything else but, you just
don't understand the shit I have to go
through when it comes to Lerato. She literally
threatened to kill uNosibusiso and what did
you expect me to do, laugh it off? Heck as
much as she isn't my biological daughter, she
is still MY daughter okay? And there's no one,
I mean no one who's going to harm you, or
her or uOlonathando and get away with it.
Kungawa ilanga licoshwe zinkukhu ”( Hell
would freeze over ), his facial expression
literally changed from caring to being stern
but at that moment Tshegofatso didn't really
care. “ Mhm ”, she turned her back and
attempted to leave but he slipped his hand
over her waist and pulled her back, hugging
her from behind and, “ Don't be angry,
MaNkosi. Lerato is not so much of a good
mother as she seems, I just let her live with
Olonathando because I am hardly home so I
couldn't afford having to travel with her ”, he
explained and, “ It's fine, I'm going to check
on the chefs ”, he turned her around to face
him and pecked her lips before letting her go
and, she headed to the second kitchen -
upstairs.
~
When Vuyolwethu returned from the
hairdresser with Olonathando and
Nosibusiso, Noluthando took them to the
guest bedroom to get them ready while
Tshegofatso and Vuyolwethu headed to their
bedroom. Tshegofatso changed into a royal
blue dress with a slit on the left leg and an
open back with a deep v neck paired with
black suede block heels while Vuyolwethu
settled into a pair of jogger jeans and white
all-star shoes, white short sleeve t-shirt and a
royal blue blazer jacket paired with an
elegant vantablack timepiece with diamonds
engraved on it. “ You look beautiful, Miss
Nkosi ”, Vuyolwethu smiled as he
complimented his future wife and he stood
behind her and planted a kiss on her
shoulder, “ I might just have to take this off
you, later on ”, he murmured in the sexiest
tone making the butterflies in Tshegofatso's
stomach go wild, immediately. “ Oh my,
Mister Ndhlovu what a tempting offer you
have there ”, she turned around to face the
man and they shared a passionate but brief
kiss and, “ You don't look bad yourself ”, she
complimented him and, “ Not bad? Honey,
have you seen how good looking I am? I
literally turn heads, everywhere I go ”, he
boasted and the woman raised an eyebrow at
him with a little smirk plastered all over his
face and, “ Whatever tickles your fancy ”, she
said and turned on her heels and walked out
of the room with Vuyolwethu following after
her shortly. They both headed to the guest
bedroom where the girls where getting ready
hand in hand and when they got there, they
found MaShandu helping Noluthando and,
“ Aunty ”, Tshegofatso exclaimed when she
saw her aunt and she walked over to give her
a hug, “ Awusemhle sana ”( You are so
beautiful baby ), the girl couldn't help but
blush and she thanked her aunt.

Nosibusiso was wearing a white t-shirt, royal

blue tutu skirt with black and white
Alexander McQueen sneakers with a sash
written “ Happy birthday Princess ” and a
diamond tiara while Olonathando was
wearing a royal blue bodysuit, black
boyfriend jeans, white denim jacket and
white Fendi sneakers. “ Ready? ”, Vuyolwethu
asked and, “ Always ” Tshegofatso responded.
He carried Nosibusiso while Tshegofatso took
Olonathando's hand and they all headed
downstairs, heading straight to the garden
where the party was being held and they
found everyone there. Immediately when
they appeared, they turned heads and there
were a few awes and cheers from the guests.
Tshegofatso took to welcoming the guests,
they sang to Nosibusiso and then everything
went on great, as planned, but most
importantly Nosibusiso was happy - even
though she didn't pay even half her attention
to the children, she just remained glued to
Vuyolwethu and other people she was
familiar with. The rest, she sidelined to the
point of even crying when they attempted to
play with her.

Tshegofatso left Nosibusiso and

Olonathando with their father and headed to
her friends and immediately when they saw
her approaching them, they screamed
gaining themselves a few stares from the
guests and, “ Y'all causing a scene ”, she said
signalling them to tone it down and, “ If we
don't, who will? ”, they all replied except for
Oyenkosi.

“ Okay guys, contain yourselves. My future

bae may be here, who knows? ”, Oyenkosi
said pretending to fix her dress and
Tshegofatso and Kefentse shared a look right
before bursting out of laughter. “ Lucky for
me, I have found mine ”, Tshegofatso said in
a more bragging kind of tone.
“ And you did shame my friend, I am so happy
for you ”, Kefentse pulled Tshegofatso into a
hug, squeezing her tightly and the minute she
let go Tshegofatso saw that Kefentse had
teary eyes and this took her aback until she
realised that, her friend was actually drunk.
While still chatting with her friends,
Tshegofatso spotted Lerato from the corner
of her left eye and she immediately felt a little
anger brew up inside her.
-
It was time for a speech and Vuyolwethu
offered to do it since Tshegofatso hadn't
prepared anything, at all. Well, this party was
also a surprise to her - she thought it would
only be a few friends and family members but,
she was wrong. Tshegofatso was now with
her aunt and Nosibusiso, who was all
energetic you would swear it was not nearly
her bedtime. “ Uyakuthanda uVuyo,
Tshegofatso ”( Vuyo loves you, Tshegofatso ),
MaShandu said catching Tshegofatso off
guard and she didn't even know what to say
so, “ Okay ”, she said weirdly and, “ Where is
that coming from? ”

“ His eyes have been fixed on you ever since

this party started, he can't get enough of you
”, Tshegofatso felt herself flush immediately
after hearing her aunt's response. It was
definitely not what she had expected to hear
from her.

Vuyolwethu walked to the middle of where

they were all gathered and used a teaspoon,
clicked the glass of champagne he had in his
hand to grab everyone's attention. “ So, I'm
here to thank everyone who managed to
bring their child to celebrate with my
daughter, even though little miss party, isn't
paying any attention to them ”, laughter filled
the room but died down a few seconds later,
“ Before you leave there are favour boxes
which you can grab but only for your children
please and, thank you for coming - we really
appreciate it ”, he politely smiled at everyone
and then walked to where Tshegofatso and
her aunt where seated and, “ Come with me ”,
he reached out his hand for Tshegofatso to
take.

“ Siyaphi? ”( Where are we going ), the

woman asked taking his hand standing up,
“ You'll see, MaShandu please take care of
Nosibusiso and Olonathando for us ”,
Vuyolwethu asked already walking away with
Tshegofatso and MaShandu simply nodded
and smiled at them and the couple rushing to
their bedroom as the rest of the guest already
leaving. Arriving in their bedroom,
Tshegofatso found a white deep v neck
bodysuit, denim ripped shorts and a black
sheer pleated skirt overlay with a pair of
white flip-flops. “ I know for sure that you
didn't buy these ”, Tshegofatso said jokingly
and Vuyolwethu looked at her confused,
“ Bumshorts? You? ”

“ Kefentse bought them ”.

“ Couldn't have missed me ”, Vuyolwethu

laughed and helped Tshegofatso take off her
dress and then she settled into the outfit
Kefentse had bought for an unknown reason
while he settled into black jogger jeans, white
vest and Balenciaga sneakers. “ You still not
going to tell me where we are going? ”,
Tshegofatso and Vuyolwethu shook his head
no and, “ Not even by mistake ”, the girl fake -
sulked and he just rolled his eyes and picked
her up, fireman lifting her and he headed out
of the room, taking the elevator downstairs.

The guests had left except for Tshegofatso's

friends, Bullet and Tools who were only
leaving the following morning. The couple
headed out, heading back to the garden by
the poolside since Vuyolwethu had a surprise
for Tshegofatso. Halfway from reaching the
spot they were heading to, Vuyolwethu
stopped the girl and, “ Do you trust me? ”, he
asked and in a hesitant manner, she nodded
at him, “ You know I want to hear you say it ”,
he said.

“ Yes, I trust you ”, she said in a less hesitant

tone and Vuyolwethu reached inside his
pocket for a blindfold and blindfolded her
and then carefully led her to where they were
heading. There were few obstacles but they
still managed to get there without
Tshegofatso bumping into something or
tripping and hurting herself. “ Ready? ”

“ Come on, just take the blindfold of ”,

Tshegofatso said desperately wanting to
know what her inamorato was up to and he
chuckled at her response as he slowly took
off the blindfold and immediately, he saw
Tshegofatso's jaw drop in amazement of
what she was seeing. It was a picnic set up
right next to the pool. It had golden fairy
lights, yellow rose petals sprawled around
the blanket with pillows for them to sit on
with the food, not forgetting the vanilla
scented candles that surrounded the whole
set up, shaped like a heart - it was definitely a
sight for sore eyes. “ Like what you are seeing?
”, she turned to face him and threw her arms
around him, embracing him and, “ I love it ”,
she responded.

“ This is so beautiful V, thank you so much ”,

she said with her eyes sparkling with tears on
the verge of falling and, “ Anything for you ”,
the 26 years old said right before giving her a
kiss, it was brief but it was also one to
remember. He took her hand and they both
sat down and just enjoyed the whole scenario.
Them sitting them watching the stars shine
down at them, not worrying about anything
else but themselves, feet dunked inside the
pool, eating and just talking about nothing of
relevance. For Tshegofatso, this was the
perfect way to end the day but for
Vuyolwethu eh-

“ Uhm, firefly ”, he reached in his pocket and

took out a small box and, “ I have something
for you ”, he said.

“ O-kay ”, he handed the box over and she

took it and not knowing what to expect, she
slowly opened it and her eyes widened and
glistened with joy and excitement, “ Is- is this
for me? ”, she said excitedly pulling out the
Audi RS7 carkeys of the box and Vuyolwethu
nodded at her with a smile plastered on his
face. Seeing her this happy, also made him
happy. Still admiring the the carkeys
Tshegofatso turned her back on Vuyolwethu
and he took that as his chance. He kneeled
down on one knee, pulling out the black
suede ring box and opening it revealing the
infinity snowflake ring with diamonds and
black diamonds engraved on it. “ MaNkosi ”,
he called out softly and she turned to face
him and her tears slid down her cheeks
leaving a wet trail behind. She was
overwhelmed beyond measure that the only
thing she could murmur was, “ Vuyo ”.

“ MaNkosi, when I found you, I wasn't really

looking for love. I had no intentions of falling
in love but I guess the universe had other
plans for me because, here I am ”, he
chuckled at himself, smiling, reminiscing
about his first encounter with Tshegofatso, “ I
know we haven't been together for the
longest time, but we've had our own fair
share of ups and downs and I think those
were enough for me to know that you are the
one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I
know I am not perfect, I know I can be really
hard to deal with my stupid jealous ass, and
the fact that I probably don't deserve you but
I don't care about all. I just want to be with
you so, can you accept this ring as a symbol
of my love and commitment to you.
Tshegofatso Zamangwane Nkosi, would you
do me the greatest honour of marrying me? ”,
the girl looked down at the man kneeling
infront of her with teary eyes and for the very
first time, just looking straight into his
glistening brown eyes, she could see and feel
the love. He didn't even have to express
himself for her to know that he was genuine
about everything he said. “ Uhm, my knee is
kind of starting to hurt s- ”

“ Yes ”, she responded. He slid the

engagement ring onto her ring finger and
smiled at his now fiancée, got up and pulled
her into a hug and spun her around, making
her giggle happily as she admired her ring
from behind him. He put her down after
sometime and they shared one of the most
passionate but slow kiss ever. Could the day
get any better?
 Chapter Thirteen

Back in the house, Tshegofatso was with

Vuyolwethu and Nosibusiso in the nursery
room. They were both trying to get
Nosibusiso to sleep. Vuyolwethu was sitting
on the rocking chair with the little angel
laying on his chest while Tshegofatso was
reading a story to her and, she was slowly
drifting off to sleep. “ I'm going to check on
Olonathando, will you be okay? ”,
Tshegofatso whispered softly as she got up
from the floor and her fiancé nodded at her
before looking down at the little girl laying on
top of him with a faint smile. Tshegofatso
headed towards the door and just when she
was about to leave the house, she heard
Vuyolwethu singing a lullaby softly to the
little baby laying on his chest and she looked
at them for a brief moment and smiled to
herself.

She headed to Olonathando's bedroom and

found her sitting on her quiet corner, reading
a book. She walked over to where she was
and took a seat next to the girl and, “ Aren't
you sleepy? ”, the girl shook her head no and
with a faint smile plastered on her face, “ I
think a glass of warm milk can fix that ”, she
said making Olonathando smile and nodded.
“ But first, we need to get you bathed ”,
Tshegofatso said standing up and walking to
the bed to take Olonathando's pyjamas and,
“ You going to bathe with me? ”

“ You want me to? ”

“ Yes ”, Tshegofatso smiled at her and

nodded. They headed to the main bedroom
and, took a long bath together with
Olonathando telling Tshegofatso stories
about being in Grade 1 and about the friends
she had made back in school. After bathing,
both girls settled into their pyjamas and then
headed downstairs, heading to the kitchen to
get that glass of milk Tshegofatso had
promised Olonathando. Tshegofatso placed
Olonathando on the kitchen counter and
warmed up the milk for the both of them.
Tshegofatso handed over a glass of milk to
the girl and took a seat on the highchair.
Vuyolwethu headed downstairs and joined
his fiancée on the highchairs after kissing
both the girls on the cheeks, and he took
Tshegofatso's glass of milk drinking it. “ Huh
uh daddy, that's aunt Tshegofatso's milk ”, he
briefly looked at her daughter and then his
woman who was trying so hard not to laugh
next to him and, “ She doesn't mind baby ”,
he responded to his daughter but she wasn't
having it. “ I do, warm your own milk ”, his
jaw dropped and, “ You are a smart mouth for
a Grade 1 learner ”, he murmured but was
still loud enough for Tshegofatso to hear him
and she laughed at that.
-
Today, Olonathando was going back to
Beaufort West with her mother, Lerato, and
luckily enough Tshegofatso had only one
class for the day meaning she could get back
early from school and see her soon-to-be-
stepdaughter off. She was having breakfast in
the kitchen downstairs while browsing
through a magazine when Vuyolwethu came
downstairs looking all shades of handsome in
his black jeans, black turtleneck and a dark
green blazer jacket paired with matching
Fendi sneakers. He had recently did a haircut,
so it enhanced his looks. “ You sure you are
going to a business meeting? ”, Tshegofatso
asked and, “ Yes wife ”, he responded before
pecking her lips and, “ Your jealousy is
something else. ”

“ I was just asking ” - Tshegofatso.

“ I know baby, you want me to drop you off at

school? ”, he asked grabbing all his important
file and putting them on his bag with his
laptop and, “ Please ”, Tshegofatso said
walking over to the sink to wash her plate
and cup. He took his things along with
Tshegofatso's and headed to the basement
with his fiancée following shortly after. He
grabbed the Audi A7 carkeys and put
everything in the boot before getting the
door for his steady and when she had gotten
inside he closed the door for her and jogged
to his side. Driving out of the residence, he
turned on the radio and Tshegofatso's
favourite album, T R A P S O U L, by Bryson
Tiller echoed in the background.

They both jammed to the album while driving

to the campus and, Exchange, her favourite
song went on and he briefly looked at her
with a smile before returning his full
attention to driving and, he started
serenading the young lady and gosh, his
voice did things to her. He kept stealing
glances at her and her level of going scarlet
was cosmic, out of this world. “ Focus on the
road, Vuyo ”, she turned to look at the
window to hide her blush but, it was already
late, he had seen it and it made him happy. I
mean, wouldn't you be happy know your
woman is happy and it is all because of you?

“ I am focusing, hau ”- Vuyolwethu.

“ If focusing means still glances at me then

yeah, you are focusing ”, he laughed at that
and Tshegofatso found herself sucking in her
stomach to prevent the butterflies in her
story from awakening. What was he doing to
her? Still driving, he placed his hand on her
thigh squeezing it softly and then fully
focused on the road.

He parked in the students'parking area and

they both got out of the car, with Vuyolwethu
taking out Tshegofatso's bags in the trunk
and handed them over to her. He slid his
hand on her waist and pulled her into a
passionate kiss and the guys that were
passing by whistled at them, making
Vuyolwethu chuckle at their gesture.
“ Brunch after your class? ”
“ Yes ”- Tshegofatso.

“ I'll fetch you then, I love you ”- Vuyolwethu.

“ I know ”, he raised and eyebrow at the

response and murmured a soft ‘ what ’ before
chuckling and, “ Tshegofatso, I love you ”, he
looked her straight in the waiting for her
response and, “ I love you too ”, he smiled
and pecked her lips before she rushed to
class and he got inside the car and drove out
of the campus, to his early meeting.
-
It was almost time for Olonathando to leave
and Lerato would arrive to fetch her any
minute then. Tshegofatso packed her bags
while she took a quick bath to freshen up and
after bathing, she settled into a white Kappa t
-shirt, a purple Kappa tracksuit and white
Nike air Jordan shoes and they headed
downstairs. Walking down the staircase,
Olonathando saw Lerato in the kitchen and
instead of running to her excitedly as one
would do when they saw their parent but, she
stopped deadly in her tracks and held
Tshegofatso's hand even tighter. Worried and
not knowing what was happening
Tshegofatso looked at Olonathando and,
“ Olona, are you okay? ”

“ I don't want to go back to Western Cape ”,

Tshegofatso turned to look at Lerato who just
dropped her face and fiddled with her fingers.
She picked Olonathando up and placed her
on top of the kitchen counter and, “ What's
going on baby? ”, she asked and just when
Olonathando attempted to say something,
“ Stop pretending like you care about my
daughter ”, Lerato said.

“ Bengingakhulumi nawe, Lerato ”( I wasn't

talking to you ).

“ I am not going to let you come between me

and my daughter ”, she shouted and from the
corner of her eye, Tshegofatso saw
Vuyolwethu make his way down the staircase
to where they were and she turned all her
attention to him. “ Uyenzani indodakazi Yami
Lerato? ”( What are you doing to my daughter
), he asked calmly but sternly and Lerato
swallowed hard before, “ Nothing ”, she
answered.

“ Good ”, he said looking straight into her

eyes briefly before turning to look at their
daughter, “ Khuluma Olonathando ”, he said.

“ Vuy... ”, he turned to give Lerato the

deadliest stare that made Tshegofatso body
cringe and blood run, and Lerato dropped
her face. She looked up a few seconds later
and she was suddenly crying. Why? Beats me
too. Tshegofatso looked at Lerato surprised
of her little act and then chuckled before
clapping her hands and she grabbed a glass
and poured water for Olonathando. The girl
drank half the water and when she was finally
calm, “ Mom is always bring man at the house
and she let them touch me ”, Vuyolwethu's
facial expression turned from worry to anger
in just a matter of nanoseconds the minute
his daughter mentioned being touched and,
“ Nana ”, he said and took a deep breath in to
calm himself down, “ Where do they touch
you? ”, he questioned in the slowest manner
to hide his anger from Olonathando.

“ They touch me ”, she started crying all over

again, “ uncle Bavumile once put his thing
inside me and- when I told mommy s- s- she
hit me and told me not to tell anyone ”.

“ What?? ”, Tshegofatso exclaimed at what

Olonathando had just said. Lerato had her
own daughter keep quiet about being raped
by her boyfriend, hit her and forced her to
keep quiet about it? Vuyolwethu slowly
turned to look at Lerato who was just
standing there, glued to the wall with nothing
to say in defence for herself. “ So... ”,
Vuyolwethu started making his way over to
where Lerato was standing, walking slowly
towards her with the most furious, seething
expression written all over his face,
“ Indodakazi yami idlwenguliwe,
idlwengulwa ngumasaka ombiza ngendoda
and awukuboni okubi lapho? ”( My daughter
got raped, raped by a sorry excuse you call a
man and you see nothing wrong with that ),
Vuyolwethu asked looking straight into her
eyes which were now covered in fear and
tears threatening to fall from them. “ Vuyo I
didn't mea- ”

“ Waphoqa indodakazi YAMI Lerato ukuba

ithule ihlukunyezwa ngokocansi, ingane
oyibelethile ifika kuwena ikuthembe wena
uyibukisela phansi ngoba ukhetha indoda
kunayo? ”( You forced MY daughter to keep
quiet while she was being sexually abused
Lerato, a child you gave birth to trusts you
enough to bring this to you but you decided
to side with your boyfriend instead of her? ),
he asks slowly, sounding calm but truth is, he
wasn't.

“ Bengingaqond- ”

“ Fuseg' ! Fuseg' ! ”( Voetsek ), he shouted

and Lerato jumped at the sound of the voice
while Tshegofatso pulled Olonathando closer
and blocked out her ears with her hands so
she didn't hear anything that was happening,
and she just stood there looking at this
foreign man who just took over her fiance's
body. The person she was looking at in that
particular timeframe, was definitely not the
person she fell in love with, he looked exactly
like the person she saw when she was
kidnapped by Lunathi and she knew that
things were about to be messed up.
“ MaNkosi, thatha uOlonathando niye
phezulu ”( take Olonathando and go upstairs
), he said not facing them and quickly
Tshegofatso picked Olonathando up and
walked towards the staircase and, “ Don't
 wait up for me ”, he said after them.
Tshegofatso walked up the staircase heading
to Olonathando's bedroom and just after
they got inside the room a loud bang echoed
in Tshegofatso's ear followed by a woman's
loud scream and shortly after that,
everything went silent - dead silent.Oh God,
what did I get myself into? She thought to
herself.

“ Aunty? ”, Tshegofatso looked at the little

girl who just called her, “ Is daddy angry at
me? ”
“ Nooo ”, Tshegofatso said pulling her into a
hug and, “ Daddy is not angry at you my love,
he is just protecting you okay? ”, she said to
the little girl who just nodded at her and, she
just hugged her and cuddle her to sleep.
-
Tshegofatso tried getting some sleep but it
was all in vain, she kept tossing and turning
wondering about Vuyolwethu's whereabouts.
He left at six ' o ' clock in the evening and now
it was quarter past three in the morning, and
there was still no sign from him. She
attempted calling him a million times but his
phone just took her straight to voicemail,
including Mnqobiwesizwe's, making her even
more anxious. Not having anything else to do,
she headed to Olonathando's bedroom to
check on her and she found her still sound
asleep - she must've been drained from all
the crying. She left her room and headed
downstairs, to the kitchen to warm herself a
glass of milk, not that it would've helped
because she was already on her fifth glass.
She drank the milk and whilst in the kitchen,
she kept checking the time and the door
hoping that Vuyolwethu would walk in, safe
and still in one piece. Seeing that she
wouldn't have been able to go to bed without
Vuyolwethu, she headed to the lounge to
watch movies and she ended up falling
asleep there.

An hour later, Vuyolwethu returned back

home and when he noticed that the
television was on, he went to check if
someone was in the lounge only to find his
woman sleeping peacefully on the couch. He
contemplated between taking her upstairs or
letting her sleep down there but he didn't
want to wake her up so, he grabbed a throw
blanket and covered her with it and switched
off the television and kissing her temple
before heading out of the lounge. It wasn't a
nanosecond later that Tshegofatso called
behind him and when he turned to look at
her, she patted a space on the couch she was
laying on. She sat up and pulled him into the
tightest and warmest embrace ever and
when she finally let go of him, tears started
sliding ncontrollably down his cheeks.
“ Ndhlovu... ”

“ I failed her Tshegofatso. I was too busy

saving the country and I forgot about
protecting my own daughter ”, he said in
tears and Tshegofatso felt her heart shutter
from seeing her man like this. She has never
seen Vuyolwethu so helpless, vulnerable and
worse - in tears, it was all new to her and it
hurt her. “ You wouldn't have known, Vuyo ”,
she tried explaining but she could have been
just talking to a wall at that moment. “ I am
her father Tshegofatso, I was supposed to
notice that she was being violated. I failed
her, just like my own mother failed me ”,
Tshegofatso just kept quiet trying to make
sense of what Vuyolwethu meant on the last
part but, “ What do you mean your mother
failed you? ”, she finally decided to ask.

“ Exactly what I said, she failed me and my

siblings. ”- Vuyolwethu.

“ Talk to me Vuyo. Isn't that why I am here?

To be with you in every step of the way? ”, he
turned to look at the woman sitting besides
him before dropping his face and raking his
fingers through his hair and, “ You are ”, he
responded in a low voice.

“ Then talk to me. I can't help you if you won't

tell me what's wrong Ndhlovu, khuluma nami
”, he got up and walked over to the bar
counter, took a bottle of Remy Martin and a
whiskey glass the walked back over to the
couch. He poured himself a full glass and
then sat back down, literally gulping the
spirit down but when he was about to pour a
second glass, Tshegofatso took the bottle
and glass from him. “ Alcohol won't help you
in any way Vuyolwethu, talking will ”. He
leaned back on the couch, looked up at the
ceiling and closed his eyes, “ Every single
night I had to watch my mother get raped
and beaten up by my stepfather. He would
come back home drunk, order her around
and if she didn't listen to him he would beat
her into a pulp and he wouldn't even show
any remorse but then- my older brother
decided to fight him to protect us but, he
killed him. He was only 15 MaNkosi, and he
died while protecting our so called mother. ”,
tears departed his closed eyes sliding down
the sides of his face and Tshegofatso
attempted to wipe them off but, he held her
hands. “ And then this one time, my mother
sold me and my little brother for a bag of
drugs. A bag of cocaine, Tshegofatso, and we
were molested day in, day out because she
chose a drug over her own family, her own
children. One day, we plotted to run away
with him but in all that mix up, he was shot.

“ He died? ”
“ Zwelethu? No, he's still alive also an ops
leader in US. If it wasn't for my father, it
would have been a different story now. Yes,
he was pretty much late but, ingisindisele
impilo leyandoda ”.

“ You are broken Vuyo ”, dhe took his hands

into hers and, " This tough guy act is just a
barrier you have created to hide your
emotions and, it's not good ”, Vuyolwethu
chuckled faintly closing his eyes only flutter
them open again a few seconds later and, “ I
once underwent therapy but, it was just too
much for me. Having to relive those moments
was too hard so my father took me to military
school after my business courses were
complete ”, he confessed and Tshegofatso
just figured it all and she nodded in
realisation of why her fiancé went to military
school.

“ So, because you couldn't help your family,

you figured you would save the country from
criminals? ”, he nodded before flashing a
faint smile at his woman and he got up. He
reached his hand out for Tshegofatso to take
and they headed up, to their bedroom. He
went straight to the bathroom to freshen up
while she just headed straight to bed and
read an e-book while waiting for Vuyolwethu
to come out.

30 minutes later, he got to bed and joined

Tshegofatso, wrapping his arms around her
waist and pulling her closer to him and, “ I'll
take Olonathando to a therapist today, it
might not have helped me but it surely will
help her, right? ”

“ Yes, it's worth a try ”, he took a deep breath

and faintly smiled before kissing
Tshegofatso's head and, “ I love you so much
”, he whispered to her and she instantly
blushed at that.

“ I love you too ”

 Chapter Fourteen

After Olonathando's therapy session,

Vuyolwethu, Olonathando and Tshegofatso
went back to fetch Nosibusiso before heading
to McDonald's for a little family outing. They
bought food takeaways there, a few snacks
and drinks at Woolworths before they went to
Johannesburg Zoo and had a petite picnic
there. For the first time, Olonathando
loosened up and became free, became
herself, genuinely smiling. Her face just lit up
in a rather different way meaning she was
slowly opening up and this made not only
Vuyolwethu happy but, Tshegofatso too. She
might have not been Olonathando's
biological mother but, when she saw her she
saw her own child - she didn't care about the
blood running through their veins, exactly
like how Vuyolwethu cared for Nosibusiso.
They all had a very nice day and what even
made Tshegofatso happier was the look on
her daughter, Nosibusiso's face when she
saw the animals in real life, it just showered
her with joy.
Back at home, Tshegofatso gave the girls a
bath and settled them into warm pyjamas
and then took them to the house cinema. She
had rented a few animated and “ child
friendly ” movies for them so she let them
choose one and left them there as she
wanted to take a long, soothing bath to relax
as she had the longest day today. After
bathing, she wrapped a towel around her
body and went to the bedroom where she
found Vuyolwethu laying on the bed texting
on his phone. She sat on the edge of the bed
and looked at him, waiting for him to say
whatever he wanted to say and when he
finally acknowledged that she was looking at
him, he quickly sat up and, “ Should I fear? ”

“ Maybe ”, Tshegofatso chuckled, “ What do

you you want? ”, Vuyolwethu looked at her
confused of what she meant and, “ Lutho
”( Nothing ), he responded.

“ Uhm, try again ”.

“ Okay fine ”, he switched off his phone and

put it aside, “ I need to talk to you about
something important ”, he said and
Tshegofatso's insides instantly knotted up
when he mentioned ' important ', plus the
look on his face didn't really comfort her in
any way possible. The last time he had that
look plastered on his face, he broke up with
her, telling her about wanting to protect her
and all those lousy excuses. He sat next to her
and took her hands into his and this act,
made her even more edgy. “ Okay, you are
scaring me now ”, she said looking straight
into his eyes and, “ Promise me you will keep
an open mind? ”, Vuyolwethu requested.

“ Huh uh, why? ”

“ Tshegofatso stop being stubborn and just

promise me ”, she hesitated for a moment
before finally gave in and finally promised. “ I
need you to reunite with your father ”, and
immediately when he mentioned that,
Tshegofatso quickly pulled her hands away
from his and got up. “ No ! ”
“ Tshegofatso, please ”

“ Vuyo no ! ”, she snapped at him and he

raised an eyebrow at her surprised of she
managed to get all worked up in such a short
space of time while she promised she would
keep an open mind, “ That man chose a
woman over me, his own daughter. If only he
didn't do that, I wouldn't have been a victim
of domestic abuse and I- ”

“ And you wouldn't have met me ”, he

attempted to reason with her but then...

“ Vuyo I won't do it, okay?! He is the one who

wronged me, he should be the one
apologizing and not the other way around ”,
Vuyolwethu squinted his eyes in confusion
before, “ Whoah ”, he said standing up and
walking over to where Tshegofatso was
standing and, “ I never said go and apologize
to him, I just need you to reach out, to him ”,
he said looking straight into her eyes and she
just rolled her eyes at him, “ Tshegofatso for
us to get married, I need your father's
blessings ”, he said and, “ No you don't ”.

“ Yes I do. I can't just marry you without your

family knowing. I need you to reach out to
your uncles and the only person connecting
you to them, is your father ”, he explained but
it didn't really matter because Tshegofatso
was hearing none of this.

“ Vuyo please don't force me to do this ”, she

begged.
“ I am not forcing you do anything, but the
thing here is angikwazi ukukushada
ngingakulobolile MaNkosi ”( - I can't marry
you with paying the dowry, MaNkosi ).

“ Angifuni ungilobole ”, Vuyolwethu glanced

at her like she was some kind of lunatic and
chuckled after a second, “ Unfortunately, it's
not your choice. Tell me when you are done
being stubborn ”, he headed towards the
door, opened it and looked at his beautiful
but hella stubborn fiancée for the longest
time and just when he was about to leave the
room, “ Ngizokwenza ”( I will do it ), she
shouted behind him.

He stopped in his tracks and took a deep

breath in and out before turning to face
Tshegofatso and, “ Do I always have to walk
out on you just so you can stop being
stubborn? ”, Tshegofatso shook his head no
with tears threatening to depart her beautiful
black glistening eyes and, “ Fuck... ”, he raked
his hands on his hair and, “ You will be the
death of me ”, he walked over to her and
pulled her into a hug. He kissed the top of her
head and then, they pulled out of the hug. He
wiped off the girl's tears off her beautiful face
as they looked straight into each other's eyes
and, they shared a slow yet passionate kiss,
his hands slowly caressing her body. Within a
matter of time, Tshegofatso's towel and
Vuyolwethu's t-shirt were on the floor, with
her pinned against the wall, her legs
surrounding her waist and Vuyolwethu held
her arms up against the wall with another
hand caressing her breast before sliding it
down, exploring her body until it reached her
cunt. They pleasured each other with three
hot steamy rounds of love making, with the
last one taking place in the shower.
-
The journey to Katlehong was long and
unbearable for Tshegofatso. Vuyolwethu kept
trying to reassuring her that she was doing
the right thing but to her, it just didn't feel
like it. She was on her way to see the man
who kicked her out to the streets and cold,
when she was only 15 years old - barely a
teenager and just vulnerable little girl who
needed a father's love. Vuyolwethu had
tracked Mr Nkosi down and found his
location and it turned out that his ' wife ' left
him for another man when he went bankrupt
and his businesses and cars were
repossessed by the bank.

Vuyolwethu parked right in front of

Tshegofatso's home and it looked, the same
as she had last seen it. Nothing had changed
except the lawn which looked like it hadn't
been mowed in the longest time. Still
standing outside the yard observing her once
home and reminiscing about how things
changed when her monster stepmother
arrived, people started coming out of their
houses to see the return of the ' prodigal
daughter ' and some of them managed to
greet her with heart warming smiles but
some? They just kept pointing her way and
this did not only make her uncomfortable but
Vuyolwethu to because, “ This is the exact
resolution why I live in a middle of nowhere
with no neighbours ”, he ended up saying,
“ People just can't mind their own damn
businesses ”, he rolled his eyes and took
Tshegofatso's hand and they walked inside of
the yard and towards the front door.
Tshegofatso knocked for about five times but
when she received no response Vuyolwethu
decided for them to just let themselves in and
just when they were walking into the lounge,
a loud cough met them halfway. The house
pretty much looked different inside, most of
the furniture had been repossessed to and
there was just this unpleasant smell that
filled the house. There was a nauseating
smell of alcohol and sweat and when
Tshegofatso laid her eyes on her father, who
was sitting at the corner of the lounge on top
of a crate looking all sweaty, her suspicions
were proven. He looked sick, and hadn't had
a bath in days. The 45 years old man looked
up and when he saw his daughter standing in
front of him, a faint smile creeped out of his
face and a tear shed from Tshegofatso's eye.
She couldn't really believe her eyes. See, her
father had money and everything everyone in
this township would wish for. He had power
and now, now he was... Broke, dirty and sick.

“ Tsheg.. gofatso mtanam' ”, she just looked

at him and then at Vuyolwethu who just
stared back at her, no words said, no
questions asked. Not knowing what else to
do, Tshegofatso ran out of the house and
Vuyolwethu chased after her and just when
she was about to get out of the gate he
reached for her hand and pulled her back.
“ Vuyo ngiyeke ”( Let me go ).

“ Udinga usizo lwakho Tshegofatso, msize

”( He needs your help Tshegofatso, help him
), he begged while looking straight into her
eyes and she gave in and slowly walked back
to the house. She got inside and opened
every single window and door there was. She
searched for a mop and bucket and when she
finally found them, she started cleaning the
whole house, making sure to use bleach.
After cleaning, Tshegofatso filled the bathtub
with warm water and then walked her father
to the bathroom and left her father to take a
bath before heading to his bedroom to
search for a clean bedding set and she found
them, she made his bed. She took out the
bottles of beer that were all over the lounge.
Mr Nkosi got out of the bathroom and
Tshegofatso helped him back to his bedroom,
tucking him in and then headed back to the
kitchen, only to find Vuyolwethu preparing
vegetable soup, much to her surprise and
amusement. “ Uyapheka? ”( You are cooking?
), he laughed and just shook his head while
she sat on the plastic chair that was in the
corner of the room. “ Tools said it will help
him regain his strength ”, Tshegofatso just
simply nodded and Vuyolwethu left
everything he was doing, wiped his hands dry
and walked over to where his soon to be wife
was sitting and he squatted in front of her
and, “ He is going to be okay ”.
“ Yeah, he must be okay. I have a lot of
questions for him ”.
-
Vuyolwethu dished up the soup in a bowl and
gave Tshegofatso two pills, that she knew
nothing of, because apparently Tools
prescribed them and he bought them when
he went to buy the vegetables. She poured a
glass of water and then took it to the
bedroom along with the soup. After Mr Nkosi
was done eating, Tshegofatso collected the
dishes and just when she was about to leave
his bedroom, “ Ngiyaxolisa ”( I am sorry ), he
called out behind her and she turned to face
him and look him in the eye before, “ Kungani
wangixosha baba? ”( Why did you kick me out
), she questioned.

“ Kwakuyisimo mtan- ”( It was the situation

my ch- )

“ Cha ! You have a choice to choose between

me and her but... You chose her baba ”( No ! ),
her voice started breaking and, “ I was only
15 and I just needed your love but you just
had to choose a woman you hardly knew
over me and you didn't even care where I
went ”, she continued.

“ Ngiyaxolisa ”- Mr Nkosi, regretfully.

“ For what? ”- Tshegofatso, in tears.

“ For choosing her over you. I regretted that

decision ever since you left this yard that day
and I even tried looking for you but I couldn't
find you anywhere ”- Mr Nkosi.

“ You didn't search properly, if you had done

that you would have found me. You had the
resources baba, but it's fine... For my own
sanity and peace, I will forgive you. ”

Tshegofatso left her father's room shortly

after that conversation and went back to the
lounge, found Vuyolwethu sitting on that
plastic chair busy on his phone, he smiled at
his woman when he saw her and she
returned the kind gesture. “ So, when are you
buying furniture here? ”

“ Uza ngamandla manje Vuyo, now I should

buy furniture too? ”( You are coming on too
strong now, Vuyo... )

“ Unless of course, you want the negotiations

to be held here with no chairs, plates and- ”

“ I get it, I get it ”, she cut him off and he

smiled at her like retard making her roll her
eyes at him and, “ I'm hungry, what did you
make? ”, she asked pecking his lips and,
“ Your food is on the kitchen counter ”, and
when Tshegofatso got to the kitchen she was
welcomed by this strong smell of something
she didn't know and immediately after she
opened the plate of food, the smell came on
too strong and she felt the intense urge to
puke forcing her to rush to the bathroom and
puke the breakfast she had that morning.
Vuyolwethu had followed her when he
noticed she wasn't okay he held her hair back
and when she was done puking her guts out,
he helped her up and she rinsed her mouth
with warm water before they headed back to
the lounge. “ Why did you fry rotten eggs? ”,
Vuyolwethu a little surprised of the question,
he looked at Tshegofatso with squinted eyes
and, “ Rotten eggs? ”, he questioned, “ What
are you talking about? ”

“ Can't you smell how bad your food smells

like? ”, Tshegofatso asked a little annoyed
and Vuyolwethu opened his mouth to say
something but shut it again and, “ Are you
okay baby? ”, he questioned after a few
seconds.

“ Yes ”

“ Like, really okay? ”, he grinned from ear to

ear and this annoyed Tshegofatso and,
“ Voetsek Vuyo, what are you trying to say? ”

“ Nix ”( Nothing ), Tshegofatso gave him a

death stare and, “ Okay fine, just don't feed
on my head okay? ”, Tshegofatso rolled her
eyes and him and he chuckled before asking,
“ Did you go on your monthly cycle last
month? ”

“ Huh? ”, Tshegofatso hm'ed in confusion and,

“ Did you get your periods last month? ”

“ Yes, I had my last cycle ”, she checked on

her phone calendar to verify but immediately
turned to look at Vuyolwethu when she
noticed that she didn't go last month and,
“ Last of last month ”, she continued and
Vuyolwethu almost burst out of laughter but
he quickly held it in but chuckled, making
Tshegofatso almost slap the annoyance out
of him but he quickly held her hand and,
“ Asoze ke tana ”( You will never ), he said and,
“ Ngenzeni kanti? ”, he said laughing.

“ Vuyo you'll go and but a home pregnancy

test kit and on your way there and back,
you'd better pray I am not pregnant ”, she
threatened and, “ Hhayi, so now I must pray
that something that has already happened
didn't happen? ”
“ Don't test me, Vuyo ! ”

“ Yho, I am coming back ”, he grabbed his

carkeys from the kitchen counter and headed
out while Tshegofatso was left behind and
she made fruit salad for herself and when she
was done, she went to her father's room to
talk to him. “ So what are you studying? It's
your second year right? ”, Tshegofatso shook
her head no in response before saying, “ It's
my first year ”
“ You took a gap year? ”

“ Yes, to take care of my daughter ”

“ You slept around?! ”, he snapped and

Tshegofatso chuckled at his reaction before,
“ I had to survive, only if you hadn't kicked
me out of my mother's house I wouldn't be a
mother myself ”, she responded with
annoyance laced on her tone and, “ So, I am
to blame? ”
“ Yes, you are to blame ”, she responded
without any hesitations and, “ Had you chose
me I wouldn't have accepted help from
Lunathi, I wouldn't have dated him and he
wouldn't have impregnated me, he wouldn't
have abused me both physically and sexually !
”, the girl snapped at her father.

“ I didn't know that ”

“ Some kind of a father you are ”, she said

before leaving the room, refusing to carry the
conversation any further because she would
have probably mentioned a lot of painful
things to him and she just didn't want to fight
anymore.
-
When Vuyolwethu came back from the shops
Mr Nkosi was now in the lounge. He planted a
kiss on her lips and sat on the kitchen
counter, “ What happens if you are pregnant?
”, he asked and standing in between his legs,
“ Honestly, I don't know, I don't think I'm
ready to be a mother again ”, she gave her
honest answer. “ Whatever the results, I
won't leave your side okay? ”, she nodded
and with a grin on his face, “ Good, in 30
minutes furniture will be delivered. ”

“ Vuyo! ”

“ It was a mistake ”, Tshegofatso rolled her

eyes at him and they headed to the bathroom
and Tshegofatso had the test done. Waiting
for the results was the second longest five
minutes of her life, she was panicking with
each and every passing second but luckily
Vuyolwethu was there besides her, helping
her keep calm. Finally the time went off and
she quickly glanced at Vuyolwethu who
simply nodded at her and she took hold of
the test and the results were right there,
displayed and he was right, Tshegofatso
indeed had a bun in the oven, she was three
weeks. The happiness in Vuyolwethu's eyes
went unmatched. To say he was excited
would be a huge understatement.

The delivery men from the furniture shop

came and delivered the furniture Vuyolwethu
had purchased and installed the DStv,
Tshegofatso attempted talking Vuyolwethu
out of this but he didn't even budge so she
finally decided to just let him be. She
introduced Vuyolwethu to her father,
formally as her fiancé and she went to
prepare dinner while the two man had a little
conversation together, which ended with Mr
Nkosi giving Vuyolwethu the blessings to
marry her daughter. After dinner, Vuyolwethu
and Tshegofatso returned to Johannesburg.
 Chapter Fifteen

It has been a week since Tshegofatso

reunited with her father and today was the
day of the lobola negotiations between the
Ndhlovus and the Nkosis and not knowing
what to expect made Tshegofatso as nervous
as hell. She had just finished taking a shower
and was getting ready when Nosibusiso and
Olonathando barged inside her bedroom,
“ Morning angels ”, she greeted them with a
smile and they just ignored her and headed
straight to bed, got under the blankets and
drifted off to sleep almost immediately and
she just laughed at them. She settled into a
white dress and a red kente headwrap with
pumps and it wasn't long when she received
a text message from Vuyolwethu telling her
he was outside and she must come to him.
They hadn't seen each other in a week and
she was tempted to take his offer but,

' I am not allowed to see you nor go outside ',

she texted back and a few minutes later, she
heard a soft knock on her bedroom window
and when she opened it, there he was
standing with a smirk on his face, “ Hey you ”,
he greeted her.

“ You know you aren't supposed to be here

right? ”, she asked laughing and, “ Woza
”( Come ), he helped her out of her room
through the window which luckily didn't have
any burglar steels, and since her bedroom
was by the garage they sneaked out of the
yard and ran down the street to where he had
parked his car which was six house away
from her house. They both got inside of the
car sighed out heavily before turning to look
at each and bursting out of laughter.
Vuyolwethu kissed her with so much passion
and she returned the gesture before, “ I
missed you ”, he confessed pulling out of the
kiss and, “ It's been a long week. ”

“ You forgot hard ”- Vuyolwethu.

She chuckled at that and they talked for

about five minutes catching up before
walking back home and Vuyolwethu went
back to his car while Tshegofatso sneaked
back in. She found her friends in the room
and they all stared at with looks of surprise
before she shrugged and, “ Yini? ”( What ), she
broke the silence.

“ Hehe girl, ngeWindow vele? ”- Boikanyo.

“ Voetsek ! ”, they all laughed at her and she

joined in. After sometime, Tshegofatso and
her friends were called in so that
Vuyolwethu's uncle's could identify her and
luckily they had a chance to meet her before
she came to Katlehong so, they picked guess
who? Her, obviously. The lobola negotiations
were finalized and the Nkosis hosted a small
braai to welcome the Ndhlovus to the family.
Tshegofatso and her friends were in the
kitchen having their lunch when
Vuyolwethu's mother came into the kitchen
and asked to speak to Tshegofatso, privately.
“ It's okay guys, you can excuse us ”, she
assured her friends that they could leave her
and they headed out leaving her with her
mother in law. “ Well, I guess we are family
now ”, Mrs Ndhlovu Snr said to Tshegofatso
with a smile on her face and not knowing
how to react to this sudden ‘ love ’ she faintly
smiled at her mother-in-law awkwardly
before, “ Ma, you don't really have to pretend,
ngiyazi ukuthi awungithandisisi futhi
sengikwamukele lokho ”( - I know you really
love me and I have already accepted that ),
she confessed.

“ Uhm Tshegofatso ”, Vuyolwethu's mother

took a seat next to Tshegofatso and, “ I know
I didn't really welcome you the way you
would have wished but that doesn't mean I
don't like you. I just thought that you were
too young to be with him but then, Vuyo
loves you and I don't really have a say in his
love life... ”, Tshegofatso chuckled at that and,
“ And besides, I think you are a good woman
and you deserve each other ”, she smiled at
the girl who just happily attacked her with a
hug and, “ Ngiyabonga ma ”, she thanked her.

“ MaNkosi where are y- ”, Vuyolwethu

stopped in his tracks when he saw his mother
and his fiancée, who is now technically his
wife since the dowry has been paid, and he
tensed up. Knowing that his mother didn't
really welcome Tshegofatso when they met
and seeing them together just ticked him off
and, “ Ma, I swear if you harrassing m- ”

“ Haibo Vuyo ihaba, akekho

ongihlukumezayo lapha ”( Wow Vuyo stop
exaggerating, no one is harrassing me here ),
Tshegofatso cut him short while laughing and
he looked at both the woman confused of the
scenario happening in front of him and,
“ What's happening here? ”, he asked.
“ We fixed our difference Vuyo ”, his mother
responded walking towards where he was
standing giving him a hug before leaving the
kitchen and, “ O- kay ”.

“ Anyway why are you inside? ”, Vuyolwethu

asked his woman walking over to her and
pecking her lips before, “ Too many people ”,
she responded and Vuyolwethu simply
nodded as he joined her and they spent
sometime together, catching up with each
other over what has happened within a week
of them being apart.
-
Tshegofatso was packing her luggage along
with Nosibusiso and Olonathando's as they
were getting ready to go back to
Johannesburg. Vuyolwethu had returned to
KwaZulu Natal two days ago with his parents
so he could see his siblings. As she was still
packing, she received a phone call from
Vuyolwethu and she put him on loudspeaker
before answering and placing the phone on
the bedside table. “ Ndhlovu ”
“ MaNkosi ”, he greeted back, “ I am 15
minutes away from your house ”, he said
letting her know that he would be arriving
any minute then and, “ Okay sthandwa, I will
see you when you arrive ”, she responded
with a smile on her face.

“ I love you ”, he confessed and, “ I love you

too ”, she confessed back and just when she
was about to hang up, Nosibusiso burst
inside the room excitedly while shouting,
“ Daddy, daddy ! ”

“ Hey munchkin ”, Vuyolwethu laughed while

greeting his daughter back. “ I want iceam
”( Ice cream ), she said in her little baby voice
and, “ Nosibusiso, it's 8 in the morning ”.
Tshegofatso saw how her daughter's
excitement quickly toned down and turned
into a frown and, “ Goo' bye ”, the baby girl
said before leaving the bedroom with her
petite imaginary tail between her legs. The
disappointment in her eyes was too much,
Tshegofatso burst out of laughter
immediately when she got out of the room
closing the door behind her.

“ You spoiling them Vuyolwethu, you see your

work now? ”, he hung up and before he could
even mutter a word, the scent of his cologne
did all the talking and Tshegofatso turned to
look at him and he pecked her lips and, “ U-
munchkin ungikwatele ke ”( Munchkin is
angry at me ), he said throwing himself on the
bed and, “ Don't involve me ”, Tshegofatso
laughed and he threw a pillow her way. She
threw the pillow back at him and turned
towards the door in attempts to run away but
within a second, Vuyolwethu picked her and
threw her on top of the bed, and started
tickling her. She was laughing her heart out
trying to fight him off when they both
suddenly they heard a loud bang coming
from Tshegofatso's father's room. They both
glanced at each other before jumping off the
bed and rushing there, found Olonathando
and Nosibusiso standing by the door not
knowing what to do. Vuyolwethu and
Tshegofatso rushed over to his side and
helped him up and he was weak and
sweating profusely so they let him lie down
and rest while Tshegofatso went to prepare
breakfast.

Olonathando opted for cornflakes while

Nosibusiso was sulking because she wanted
ice cream for breakfast so Tshegofatso just
simply made Weetabix and left her on her
own. She absentmindedly prepared
breakfast with Vuyolwethu stealing glances
at her as she kept pacing up and down the
kitchen until he finally put his phone down
and looked at his woman and, “ Can you stop
worrying and pacing around? ”

“ He is sick Vuyo, I can't leave him here ”, his

eyes slightly widened when she heard
Tshegofatso say that and, “ And I thought she
didn't care ”, he murmured before, “ Look,
Fatso your father can come with us just until
he has fully recovered. ”

“ I don't want to inconvenience you ”, she

responded and Vuyolwethu raised an
eyebrow at her before, “ You won't, besides
you have school so you can't really stay here
”

“ Yeah, I'll talk to my dad ”

“ As long as you won't have to kill my child

because of stressing too much, I am cool ”, he
said turning on his phone to check the time
and turning it off again, getting off the chair
and taking over the pots. After cooking, they
dished up for Mr Nkosi and they took his food
to him and they talked to him about moving
in with them. At first he didn't budge but they
managed to crack his hardhead. After
breakfast Tshegofatso packed for him while
he took a bath and they left for Johannesburg
shortly after that.

They arrived in Johannesburg a few hours

later and after doing all the necessary
unpacking and showing Mr Nkosi to his
bedroom, Vuyolwethu decided to call Tools
to come over the house and check on
Tshegofatso's father. Tshegofatso tucked the
sleeping Nosibusiso in while Olonathando
decided to watch movies on Netflix and then,
Tshegofatso headed back to the kitchen to
find something to munch on and she found
Noluthando preparing lunch, “ Thando. ”

“ Fatso ”, she politely smiled and, “ Do you

need anything? ”, she asked resulting to
Tshegofatso shaking her head no before,
“ Huh uh, I'll just pour myself a glass of milk ”,
she responded. She walked over to the
refrigerator and took out a carton of milk and
grabbed a glass from the cupboard, filling it
up before occupying the highchair and
drinking up her glass of milk. Vuyolwethu
headed downstairs wearing a pair of shorts
and flip flops and seeing this, Tshegofatso
almost spitted out the milk and, “ You have
flops? ”, she asked with the most dramatic
expression written all over her face and,
“ What? ”

“ Angikaze ngikubone ufake ama ' tswape ' so

I figured you didn't have them ”( I have never
seen you wearing flip flops so- ), Noluthando
laughed and Vuyolwethu turned to look at
her with an eyebrow raised and she quickly
succumbed her laugh and carried on with
what she was doing, “ Well, I can't really go
around wearing such shoes MaNkosi like... ”,
he dramatically rolled his eyes and
Tshegofatso laughed at him before he joined
in and, “ Hitting the pool? ”

“ Yes ”, he responded before giving her a

quick forehead kiss and, “ Join me ”, he said
in a more ordering tone instead of asking her
but she really didn't mind so they both
headed back upstairs and Tshegofatso
changed into a swimsuit, bumshorts and
flops.

They were just sitting there, chilled and

drinking fruit smoothies with only their feet
dunked inside the pool sitting in a snuggly
position enjoying each other's company.
“ Don't forget your appointment with the
wedding planner, MaNkosi ”, he reminded his
woman when he noticed that she wasn't
mentioning it and figured she had already
forgotten about it and, “ Snap! What time is it?
”, she asked with a little bit of panic in her
tone and after checking the time, “ It's half
past two ”, he responded.

“ Vuyo, the meeting is in thirty minutes ”, she

said leaving his arms in a rush but he
carefully pulled her back into his arms
wrapping them around her and, “ Relax, I'll
tell her to come here ”, she heavily breathed
out in relief before, “ You are a lifesaver ”, she
said to him inamorato who just simply used
his pointer finger to lift her face up to face
him and pecked her lips, “ Anything for my
wife ”, Tshegofatso smiled when he said that
and she quickly dropped her face to hide her
blush. Twenty minutes later, the couple got
out of the pool and headed inside the house,
to their bedroom and they took a shower
together since Vuyolwethu had a late
business meeting with the shareholders of his
company. He settled for a white turtleneck,
black blazer jacket with a pair of denims with
Adidas sneakers while his soon to be wife
opted for a simple pink summer dress since
she wasn't going out anymore. Vuyolwethu
left and a while later, Bianca, the designer
arrived. Tshegofatso headed downstairs and
as she walked down the staircase, she saw
her daughter sitting at the end of the stairs
eating hotdog and, “ Nana, are you okay? ”,
she sat besides her and, “ Ya, cela i-ceam? ”

“ Okay, wozothatha ”( Come and take ), they

both got up and she headed to the
refrigerator and took out the tub of ice cream
and dished it up for both Nosibusiso and
Olonathando then gave them to Noluthando
who took Nosibusiso and headed upstairs
while Tshegofatso headed to the lounge, and
found Bianca already waiting for her busy on
her laptop.
“ Bianca ”, the designer got up and they
quickly shared a hug before sitting back
down and, “ I am so sorry to keep you waiting
”, she apologized and Bianca didn't mind at
all.

“ How are you? ”- Bianca.

“ I'm good, I'm good ”- Tshegofatso.

“I'm glad to hear that ”, Bianca politely

smiled. “ Okay, before we go even further
with any drastic plans let's start with the
basics, the theme and the colour scheme,
what do you have in mind? ”, she asked
typing something down on her tablet and,
“ The colours will be black, white and wild
plum with a little bit of silver. And the theme,
uhm, I was thinking of going with something
along the lines for Winter in Paris ”,
Tshegofatso explained and all this time
Bianca kept typing down every single detail
Tshegofatso mentioned and, “ Great, I can
pull that off ”.
Bianca and Tshegofatso carried on discussing
about the wedding plans from the dress to
the decor and transportation, everything was
discussed and all i's were dotted. Two hours
later, Bianca left, rushing to another meeting
and Tools arrived shortly after that. “ Tools ”,
Tshegofatso greeted as she welcomed him
inside after getting the door and, “ It's
Nqabayomzi to you, Tshegofatso ”, he
politely corrected him and she nodded at him
in acknowledgement and, “ Okay
Nqabayomzi, my dad is this way ”, she led the
way to Mr Nkosi's bedroom and they found
him still asleep. Tshegofatso woke him up for
Nqabayomzi to to examine him properly
while Tshegofatso told him everything about
the symptoms of sickness she has seen and,
“ From what you just told me, your father
seems to have symptoms to diabetes ”,
Nqabayomzi said.

“ So, what now? ”- Tshegofatso.

“ I will give him a few meds for today and

tomorrow, and the day after that you can
bring him over to my hospital and I will
conduct a full medical check up and run a few
blood tests to find out what is really wrong
with him ”, he explained further and
understanding everything that has been said,
Tshegofatso simply nodded.

“ Thank you ”, Tshegofatso thanked

Nqabayomzi and with a polite smile
plastered on his face, “ I'm only doing my job
”, Nqabayomzi responded and Tshegofatso
just simply smiled back at him. They headed
out of the bedroom and left Mr Nkosi to get
some rest and she walked the man out and
realising she had nothing better to do, she
went to check on her daughters and then
went to take a nap shortly after that.
 Chapter Sixteen

At seven ‘o’ clock in the morning,

Tshegofatso was woken up by Nosibusiso
and Olonathando, asking her to join them
and watch movies with them. The girls were
already bathed and full of energy, you would
swear it was noon. Tshegofatso woke up and
took a quick shower and joined her
daughters in the house cinema. She only had
an afternoon class so she had plenty of time
to spare and besides, Vuyolwethu left very
early since they needed him at the office so
she only had little Nosibusiso and
Olonathando to keep her company. They
spent almost the whole afternoon in the
cinema and had their brunch there.

At one pm, she took a quick shower to

freshen herself up and settled into a white
long sleeved crop top paired up with a black
Kappa tracksuit with royal blue Balenciaga
sneakers. She styled her hair into bantu knots
and made simple edges, glossed her lips,
took her bags and headed downstairs and
found Mam'Nomadlozi preparing dinner.
“ Sawubona ma ”, she greeted the old lady
and, “ Tshegofatso, sowuyahamba? ”( Are
you leaving already ), she nodded in return
grabbing a fruit and car keys on her way out
and, “ Bye ma ”, she yelled already heading to
the basement. She hopped inside her car,
turned on the car aircon and connected her
phone to the aux and played Romance, the
last album by Cuban-American singer, Camila
Cabello. She arrived at school, parked in and
headed straight to class.

Class was dismissed two hours later and

instead of spending time with her friends as
usual, she drove straight home in hope that
she would find Vuyolwethu already at home.
She hadn't seen him all morning and she was
already missing him, you would swear she
last saw him a month ago. As Tshegofatso
was driving home, she felt as if someone was
following her but whenever she looked at the
side mirrors to see something or someone,
she just saw ordinary people driving to and
from work. She finally figured she that she
was just being paranoid and shifted the
feeling off. She got home and found her little
girls with her soon to be husband hanging
out in the garden, and she joined them after
putting her stuff away. “ Ndhlovu. ”

“ MaNkosi ”, she took a seat besides him and

they shared a quick kiss and Nosibusiso
looked at them them and, “ Ha mama, daddy,
mba nami? ”( Can I get a kiss too ), she said
pouting her lips and leaning over to
Tshegofatso then Vuyolwethu, for a baby kiss.
“ Dankieeee ”, she said after they both gave
her kisses and she headed back to
Olonathando and played with her, leaving
the couple in stitches. When it was starting to
get dark, they all headed back inside and
watched TV while having dinner. After dinner,
Tshegofatso bathed the girls and tucked
them both in then headed to the main
bedroom and found Vuyolwethu getting
ready to take a shower. “ Can I join you? ”,
she grinned closing the door behind her and
Vuyolwethu looked at her a little amused and
he bit his lips seductively before, “ I like that
idea, Mrs Ndhlovu ”, he said.

“ Mrs Ndhlovu, I love the sound of that ”, she

licked her lower lip and stripped off her
clothes until she was butt naked and, she
headed back to the bathroom just after
seductively winking at her man who just
watched her disappear into the bathroom
and he slowly shook his head and licked his
lip at the thought of what he would do to her.
He joined her in the shower and they bathed
each other, scrubbed each other's back and
before she even knew it, Vuyolwethu picked
her up and pinned her back against the wall
with her legs wrapped around his waist. He
hungrily kissed her and she responded with
as much passion, while his thumb was
teasing her clitoris sending her to another
cosmic planet. Her moans were like music to
his ears, slowly turning him on by the minute
as he continued to tease her. “ Oh my... ”, she
couldn't even complete her sentence
because Vuyolwethu unexpectedly slipped
two fingers inside his cunt and she arched her
back, letting out the loudest moan. They had
three steamy rounds of some good rough sex
in the shower and after that, Vuyolwethu
bathed her and dried her up and headed back
inside the bedroom. Tshegofatso settled into
panties and one of Vuyolwethu's t-shirts,
which happened to look like a dress to her.
They got under the blankets and cuddled up
while telling each other about how their day
went about until, “ You know, I felt like I was
being followed today on my way here back
from school ”, Tshegofatso told Vuyolwethu
and he immediately got up and looked her
straight in the eyes and, “ What? ”

“ I was just being insecure Vuyolwethu, I

don't think someone would actually have me
followed ”, she said trying to reassure him
that she was just being paranoid but,
“ Tshegofatso you weren't imagining it okay?
You were really being followed ”, he
responded and Tshegofatso looked at him
with confusion, not understanding what he
meant by that. “ What do you mean? ”

“ Tshegofatso I have warned you a lot of

times about my line of work. I have a lot of
enemies and they always, always try to use
my loved ones as weapons against me. You
should have told me this sooner Tshegofatso,
you should have told me immediately when
you realised that you were being followed ”,
he snapped at her and, “ I didn't know
Vuyolwethu, and besides I... ”

Tshegofatso was interrupted by a sound of a

gunshot, which scared me. A nanosecond
later, more bullets were fired and they
seemed to be getting closer and closer, and
dialing a number on his phone Vuyolwethu
quickly headed out of the bedroom and came
back with Olonathando and Nosibusiso,
kicking the door behind him. “ Pull the carpet
back from the floor ”, he said laying both the
girls on the bed and rushing over to lock the
door as Tshegofatso did what she was
ordered to do. ‘ Jaguar ’, Mnqobiwesizwe
spoke from the other side of the line, with
Vuyolwethu having put the phone on speaker.
He headed to the closet whilst on the phone
call with Mnqobiwesizwe and came back a
while later, wearing all black with a bullet
proof and carrying a huge case. He lifted up
the rest of the carpet and it revealed a secret
door, he took a key and unlocked the door
revealing a keypad, he punched in the
password and it slid open. It was an
underground booth. He went inside with
Olonathando and Nosibusiso and then came
back for Tshegofatso. “ Okay look, I will lock
you in here for safety reasons, and please do
not leave until Fire comes for you guys ”, he
pleaded with her.

“ And what do I do if the kids are hungry? ”

everything down there, and the

“ There's

password is the combination of Olonathando

and Nosibusiso's birthdates respectively,
years first. ”, he said and Tshegofatso nodded
but she was out of it making Vuyolwethu,
“ Tshegofatso don't dare leave here ”, say
sternly and she nodded again before, “ My
dad, Vuyo ”, she remembered that her father
was also here and, “ Snap ”, a bullet was fired
on their bedroom door but since it was bullet
proofed the bullet didn't penetrate through
but that shot did get Vuyolwethu to start
moving and, “ I'll go and get your father. ”

“ I love you, and please protect yourself ”

 “ I love you too, get inside ”, Tshegofatso
reached in for a hug and quickly heading
inside leaving it to Vuyolwethu to lock them
in and after that, he closed the secret door
and returned the carpet to where it was and
then grabbing his gun, unlocked the door and
headed out heading to the bedroom Mr Nkosi
was occupying to fetch him. “ Baba, I need
you to come with me ”, Vuyo woke the old
man up and after putting on his shoes they
headed out of the bedroom only to find
Vuyolwethu's details and the man from the
opposing team having a shoot out by the
staircase and before Vuyolwethu could even
take a chance and return to the bedroom, a
shot was fired their way and hit one of them,
and a groan was heard as the man fell down
and shortly after that, lost consciousness. All
this is happening, Tshegofatso is stuck with
Noluthando and Mam'Nomadlozi and her
children while the rest of the staff members
where occupying the second lounge.

An hour passed and Vuyolwethu and Mr Nkosi

still did not bother to show up and
Tshegofatso was starting to get worried, but
because she trusted Vuyo and that he would
do anything to protect himself and her father,
she decided to stop overthinking. Besides,
she had to think of the baby so she shifted
every single ounce of worry to the back of her
mind.

Approximately five hours passed with no

phone call or message from Vuyolwethu,
Tshegofatso attempted calling him a number
of times but his phone just kept taking her
straight to voicemail. She was now worried
sick, Noluthando and Mam'Nomadlozi tried
calming her down but it didn't really help and
the fact that she had lost sleep made matters
worse. As they were still waiting, they heard
someone type in the password of the
underground booth and they quickly rushed
over to were Mnqobiwesizwe had just
entered and, “ Ukuphi? ”( Where is he ), was
the first question that departed
Tshegofatso's lips. “ He is okay. ” “ My dad? ”,
he simply looked at the girl and, “ It's not my
place to tell you ”, he said insisting that
something was indeed wrong but he wasn't
going to tell her. “ He is my father Mnqobi, I
deserve to know if something is wrong with
him ”, the girl pleaded and he just stared at
her, dreading to say anything until he
eventually gave in and, “ Your father was shot,
he is admitted in hospital as we speak ”, said
something.

“ But, he is fine, right? ”

“ He is in the ICU. ”
“ No, no, no ”, tears immediately slid down
the girls cheeks and, “ Take me to him ”, she
asked.

“ I have to get you to the safe house

Tshegofatso. ”

“ Now, Mnqobiwesizwe ”, the girl snapped at

him and he quickly lifted his hands up in
surrender and, “ Have it your way then,
Noluthando please help me with the kids ”,
he took Olonathando while Noluthando took
Nosibusiso and they headed out of the booth,
into the house. Everyone headed to the
basement after taking everything they would
need, except Tshegofatso. She just remained
behind, just to look at the wrecked house.
Broken glasses and vases, bullets and
everything else sprawled all over the floor
and as much as she wouldn't admit, the
scenario in front of her reminded her about
her life with Lunathi. How he abused her
physical, intentionally, and not having to
regret that. Seeing everything so wrecked
just brought back a lot of bad memories she
would have preferred to forget to leave
behind, along with her last life. She followed
everyone after sometime and
Mnqobiwesizwe took her to the hospital
while the rest of the staff was driven to the
safe house.

They found Vuyolwethu talking to

Nqabayomzi and when Vuyolwethu saw
Tshegofatso he turned to Mnqobiwesizwe
with a seemingly annoyed look on his face. “ I
forced him to being me here, he did nothing
wrong. Can I see my dad? ”, Nqabayomzi
turned to Vuyolwethu who just simply
nodded and, “ Okay, follow me ”,
Nqabayomzi said leading Tshegofatso to the
suite her father's was in and when they got
there, she just didn't even know how to react.
Seeing her father lying helplessly in that
hospital bed, seeing those machines
attached to him keeping him alive just
triggered something in him. She walked over
to the bed and sat next to him, took his hand
and held it as he wailed. “ You can't die baba,
not like this ”, she started talking to him. “ We
had our differences but I never wished death
upon you. Baba, I still need you to walk me
down that aisle, who will if you leave me all
alone? Ngisakudinga baba, ngisakuthanda
”( I still need you dad, I love you ), she found
herself wailing even harder after saying all
that. Vuyolwethu got inside the suite and
walked over to where his woman was seated
and instead of saying something, he just
pulled her into a hug assuring her that
everything would be okay. Tshegofatso
decided to have an ultrasound scan done
since she was already in hospital and, she
needed something to lift her spirits up and
when she saw the sonogram, she felt
happiness showering over her and the look
that she saw in Vuyolwethu's face was so,
priceless. After the ultrasound scanning,
Tshegofatso was driven to the safe house to
freshen up.

Immediately when they arrived she went

straight to the refrigerator and took out the
carton of milk and cornflakes, making
breakfast for herself and after eating she took
a nap.
She woke up four hours later feeling a bit less
refreshed than usual and opted to take a long
shower to freshen herself up. After bathing,
she settled for a pair of denims and a black
hoodie with peach sneakers and then headed
downstairs. She found Nosibusiso and
Olonathando watching the television and
when she sat down on the couch opposite
theirs, Olonathando walked over and sat next
to Tshegofatso and rested her head on her
chest. “ Why are we at the safe house? ”
“ It's just a temporary situation, baby. ”

“ Are we in danger again, mommy? ”

“ Again? ”, Tshegofatso questioned to

understand what Olonathando meant and,
“ Daddy always bring me here or takes me to
the safe house in Dubai with uncle Zwelethu
when he thinks our lives are in danger ”

“ Oh, our lives aren't in danger Nana, we will

go home soon, okay? ”, she smiled at her
daughter and, “ Okay mommy ”,
Olonathando smiled back at her and
Tshegofatso's heart lightened up when she
said mommy, not that she was trying to
replace Lerato in Olonathando's life but
hearing her say it just made her feel happy.
She called Nosibusiso over and she cuddled
up her daughters as they watched movies,
binging on some popcorns and drinks and at
about four pm, she drove to the hospital to
visit her father. On her drive there, she
received a call from an unknown number and
she pulled over the side and answered it,
“ Hello. ” “ Hi, can I speak to Miss
Tshegofatso Nkosi ”, the person on the other
side of the line asked and, “ On the line. ”

“ Miss, I am calling from Charlotte Maxeke

Hospital about your father. ”

“ What about him? ”

“ Unfortunately, your father has passed on

Miss, I am sorry for your loss ”, that came as a
shock on Tshegofatso, she didn't even know
how to respond so she just kept quiet, “ Miss,
are you still there? ”

“ Thank you for notifying me ”, she hung up

before the receptionist could even respond
and then sent Vuyolwethu her location, asked
him to fetch her as she was in no good state
of mind to be driving around town.

Thirty five minutes later, he arrived and took

over the driver's side while Mnqobiwesizwe
drove his car and they drove to the safe
 house. They arrived at the safe house and
Vuyolwethu and Tshegofatso headed straight
to the bedroom. Tshegofatso took a seat on
the edge of the bed and just stared into thin
space, Vuyolwethu pulled her into a hug and
she absentmindedly pushed him away. She
was still confused, how could her father leave
her all alone? Vuyolwethu attempted to pull
her into another hug and this time, she let
him hold her as she wailed her lungs out.
Somewhere around the world

“ So ”
“ So? ”, the man turned to look at the woman
standing in the middle of the wrong in a
questioning facial expression and, “ Did it
happen? Did you kill her? ”

“ No, the mission flopped ”

“ You mean that little brat is still walking

around playing wife with my man? Turning
my child and poisoning her against me?
Siyabonga you just had to mess this up right?
You jus- ”

“ Shut the fuck up ! Just, shut up Lerato. I

have bigger problems to deal with right now ”,
Siyabonga snapped at the woman as he
stood up and walked over to her, “ If I were
you I would worry about what would happen
if Vuyolwethu found out that you were trying
to kill his wife, because he will and I won't be
saving you this time ”, he said sternly looking
straight into her eyes.
“ What do you mean? ”

“ Are you that stupid? Did you think you could

plot having his wife killed and endangering
his family and children and get away with it?
”, Siyabonga chuckled at Lerato, “ You of all
people should know Vuyolwethu better than
anyone else, he will hunt you down and when
he finds you, you will regret ever crossing
paths with him. ”
 Chapter Seventeen

It has been five days since Mr Nkosi left the

land of the living and, Tshegofatso hadn't
muttered a single word since. Everytime
someone tries to talk to her she just simply
stares, shrugs or nod in response.
Nqabayomzi has attempted getting through
to her but even with his number of
qualifications to help his patients, he just
couldn't get through Vuyolwethu's wife. She
was holding in the pain and if she was to
carry on like that, it would have been highly
unlikely for her to carry her baby full term.
Her aunts and uncles also tried speaking to
her but it was like speaking to a wall. As
though her silence was not enough, she also
started ignoring and avoiding the children
making them ask a lot of questions, to which
Vuyolwethu didn't have answers to.

It was late in the afternoon and church along

with community members had started
arriving for the memorial service so
MaShandu and the aunts prepared
something for them to eat, just cookies and
juice. At four ‘o’ clock, the hearse brought the
body of deceased and Vuyolwethu wished he
wouldn't be here but, he had to support his
wife. Tshegofatso's behaviour was starting to
creep him out, I mean you also would be
creeped out if your wife was so cool about
everything while the other family members
were crying their hearts out.

A small service was held in commemoration

of the man and it was beautiful. Everyone
spoke about him so well and everything just
went accordingly. A while later, the people
started leaving after having something to eat
and Tshegofatso went to her bedroom with
Vuyolwethu following behind her. She looked
at her man and smiled politely before
heading to the bathroom to freshen up while
Vuyolwethu headed back downstairs to get
something for her to eat. He headed back to
the bedroom and found her busy with her
drawings, he gave her her good and started
browsing through her drawings. “ This is
mesmerizing, you are good at this ”, the
woman just smiled and carried on eating.She
finished eating and headed to the kitchen to
put away her dish and then headed back to
the bedroom, she snuggled up in
Vuyolwethu's arms and he just cuddled her to
sleep.

Day of the funeral.

Vuyolwethu and Tshegofatso woke up at half

past four in the morning and got ready for the
funeral, within an hour they were both done
and they woke up Nosibusiso and
Olonathando and got the both of them ready.
It was a full house with everyone preparing
and it was really hard to walk around so
Tshegofatso headed to the kitchen to make
cereal for her daughters and fiancée.

By eight ‘o’ clock people started arriving for

them funeral and the service started thirty
minutes later. The home service only took an
hour and a half and then, they went to the
cemetery. The pastor opened a short Bible
verse, and shortly after that the church choir
sang a hymn as the casket was being lowered
and right then, it finally hit Tshegofatso that
her father was no more. Seeing the coffin
being lowered brought back flashbacks of
what happened when her mother died, the
last words she said to her in her deathbed
were " Uthandaze ungaphezi mtanam',
umama uyakuthanda ”( Pray with no ceasing
my child, I love you ).

Reminiscing about that moment and having

to relive it again, burying her own father, she
wailed profusely and Vuyolwethu just pulled
her into a hug, wrapped his arms around him
and, “ H- h- he is really gone Vuyo, he left me
all alone... ”

“ He didn't leave you alone MaNkosi, I am

here. I promised I wouldn't leave you alone
and I plan to keep that promise, okay? ”

“ Don't ever leave me ”

“ I won't ”, MaShandu walked over to where

they were and she comforted her and
Vuyolwethu joined his crew. He turned to
look at Nqabayomzi and he nodded before,
“ She was in denial ”, he said.

“ I guess. ”

“ She is going to be okay now, don't worry. ”

“ Mzi, I can't help but think this is my fault. I

should have allowed Tshegofatso to stay here
and look after her father instead of having
him move in, maybe he would still be alive. ”
“ Ay mfethu I don't know ab- ”, Nqabayomzi
was interrupted by gunshots being fired their
way, from a black car. Everyone started
screaming and ducking behind the chairs and
the first thing Vuyolwethu did was pull
Olonathando and Nosibusiso inside the tent
and passed them over to Nqabayomzi to
guard them, he got out of the tent and he
grabbed a case and pulled out his fully
loaded shotgun and started firing back at the
car with the rest of his crew. The shots were
fired back and forth and Vuyolwethu and his
crew shot a few of their members. In the mix
up, Vuyolwethu was shot in the arm but he
carried on firing back as though nothing
happened. His adrenaline was still rushing so
he couldn't feel a thing, and the man from
the other crew got away and instead of
letting Nqabayomzi help him, Vuyolwethu
quickly rushed back to Tshegofatso and the
girls to check if they were okay as the rest of
the crew checked on everyone. “ Vuyo, you've
been shot ”

“ I know but are you okay? ”, he said as he

carefully pushed Tshegofatso back to check if
she wasn't hurt in any sort of way, “ Are you
hurt? Is eve- ”

“ Vuyo, I am okay ”, she assured him, “ Please

let Nqabayomzi check on your arm, please ”,
he looked straight into her glistening eyes,
her tears to roll over any second and he
slightly closed his eyes and heavily breathed
out before fluttering his eyes open again and,
“ Okay ”.

Vuyolwethu left with Nqabayomzi and seeing

that the rest of the people were in good
shape the service was finished off and then
everyone drove back to the house, for lunch.
Arriving at home, everyone was dished up for
and when everything was done, the catering
company came and got their utensils while
the cleaning company came and got their
utensils while the cleaning company came
and cleaned both the house and yard since
everyone was preparing to leave.
Tshegofatso not wanting to spend one more
day at Katlehong, she started packing her
stuff along with Vuyolwethu's and her
daughters. Vuyolwethu returned at half past
four and they went back to Johannesburg,
since Tshegofatso was eager to leave
Katlehong.

They arrived at the Ndhlovu residence and

headed inside the mansion with Bullet
carrying their luggage in while Vuyolwethu
carried the sleeping Nosibusiso inside the
house. He had an arm sling on his left arm so
he carried her on one hand and headed to the
nursery room, layed her down and covered
her with a throw blanket before heading to
the main bedroom to look for Tshegofatso.
He found her laying on the bed, facing the
other side of the bedroom but he heard her
sobs so he knew she was crying. “ MaNkosi ”,
she ignored him, “ Tshegofatso ”, she sniffed
and got up, wiped her tears away and turned
to face Vuyolwethu and, “ It's all your fault,
you know? ”, she said looking straight into his
eyes and out of confusion Vuyolwethu
squinted his eyes at her and, “ What? ”

“ I said it is your fault that my father is no

more ”, Vuyolwethu widened his eyes in
surprise and chuckled at what Tshegofatso
had said before, “ So, it's my fault? ”

“ Yes ! ”, she screamed at him, “ It is your fault,

if you had gotten to him earlier or if you
hadn't brought him here he would still be
alive- ”, she kept on screaming and
screaming and Vuyolwethu was slowly
getting annoyed by this and, “ DON'T FUCK
WITH ME, TSHEGOFATSO ! ”, he yelled
making Tshegofatso jump involuntarily from
the roar of his voice and, “ Don't fuck with me
”, he repeated in a more calm manner this
time but Tshegofatso knew he was too far
from being calm at that particular moment.

“ I already blame myself for your father's

death and the fact that he was shot in my
house doesn't do no justice to it, knowing I
could have protected him does no justice for
me ! Tshegofatso you are the one who didn't
want to leave him alone, sick and you
couldn't afford to miss school. I thought I was
doing the right thing okay? I couldn't have let
you miss school knowing I could have done
something to help and if caring about you
and your future is such a bad thing
Tshegofatso, then I am sorry. ”

“ You should have just let me stay at

Katlehong and maybe he would sti- ”

“ He would be what? Still alive? Are you even

sure about that or you just simply naive
enough to think those people were after me?
”, he asked and Tshegofatso looked up at
him with a confused look before, “ What do
you mean? ”
“ Nothing ”, he said taking his fingers through
his hair and he was just about to leave the
room when, “ I want out ”, he heard
Tshegofatso said behind him. He
immediately stopped in his tracks and slowly,
he turned to look at Tshegofatso and, “ Sorry?
”

“ I said I wan- ”

“ I heard you the first time! ”, he snapped,

“ You want to leave for what apparent reason?
”

“ If this relationship is going to cost me the

people I love, then I don't want to be in it ”,
Vuyolwethu scoffed at that and looked
straight into her eyes and, “ You aren't going
nowhere Tshegofatso, I'd be damned if I ever
let you go ”

“ You don't own me, Vuyolwethu. ”

“ I never said anything about owning you, but
you aren't leaving me. ”

“ You wouldn't dare keep me here against my

will ”, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow
and, “ I'll be back later, and maybe you'll be
in a good state of mind for us to have a sane
conversation because I am not going to fight
you Tshegofatso, atleast not over this ”, he
turned towards the door and, “ Vuyo- ”

“ TSHEGOFATSO JUST ST- ”, he turned

angrily and Tshegofatso thinking he would
hit her, she ducked and shielded her face
with her arms and remained in that position.
Vuyolwethu saw this and looked down at her
letting out a soft, disappointed chuckle
slightly shaking his head not believing his
eyes. Slowly Tshegofatso let her arms down
and, “ Did- did you really think I was going to
hit you? ”, he asked with a sad tone, knowing
that Tshegofatso was scared of him broke
him but what wounded him was the fact that
she seriously though he was going to laid a
hand on her. “ Vuyo I- ”
“ Don't... ”, he gestured to her that she keeps
quiet and he looked at her for the longest
time before turning to leave the room and he
jogged down the staircase with Tshegofatso
running behind him, trying to stop him. He
got downstairs and grabbed his carkeys from
the kitchen counter and walked out with
Tshegofatso calling behind him.

“ VUYO- lwethu ”, he closed the door behind

him and it wasn't long when Tshegofatso
heard the car ignition starting and
Vuyolwethu driving away and in tears,
Tshegofatso just sat at the end of the
staircase and cried.

Vuyolwethu drove to AncientLink, a lounge

owned by Mnqobiwesizwe. He arrived within
30 minutes and he parked in the private
parking lot and headed inside. “ Mr. Vilakazi
is not in today, Mr. Ndhlovu ”, one of the
bouncers said. “ I am not always here for him,
you know? ”
“ Oh, sorry ”, he moved away and Vuyolwethu
made his was inside, straight to the bar area
and the batman came to him when he was
done serving the other customers. “ Mr
Ndhlovu ”, he acknowledged him and, “ Hot
stuff, on the rocks, keep it coming. ”

“ Coming up ”, he poured him the first glass

and handed it over, and he gulped it down as
if he was drinking water. The barman kept
the spirit coming until the first bottle was
finished and was halfway through the second
one. He finished the last glass and asked him
to pour him another glass but the barman
plainly said no. “ Sorry? ”

“ I can't give you more drinks, Mr Ndhlovu ”

“ Unfortunately, I am the customer here so I

believe whatever I say goes. ”

“ You do not speak to any of my employers

like that, Jaguar. ”
“ Well, tell your employer to get me what I
want ! ”, he snapped and Mnqobiwesizwe just
looked at him and, “ Not possible ”, he
responded calmly.

“ Fine ! ”, he grabbed his phone and carkeys

and got up to leave but his friend stopped
him and, “ Where is your wife Vuyo? ”, he
chuckled at the question and sat back down,
“ Which one? ”, he questioned.
“ Which wife? The one who wants to leave me
just because her father was shot in my house,
and I was suddenly a danger to her and her
daughter? Or, the one who blames me for her
father's death? Or, the one who thought I was
literally going to hit her just because of one
useless misunderstanding we had? If you
talking about that wife then, she's at home. ”

“ I'll take you to my house bro, Themba take

my car and you'll follow us to my house ”, he
threw his carkeys to the bouncer and, “ Sure
boss ”, they all headed out and both
Vuyolwethu and Mnqobiwesizwe took
Vuyolwethu's car with Mnqobiwesizwe being
the one who is driving, obviously. Arriving at
Mnqobiwesizwe house, Vuyolwethu headed
straight to his bedroom, and drifted off to
sleep immediately when his head hit the
pillow.

Tshegofatso Nkosi.

Vuyolwethu hasn't been home since our

squabble yesterday and I was starting to get
worried. I mean, he has never stayed out with
notifying me but this time... I tried calling him,
and it rang unanswered but the second time
it took me straight to voicemail so, I decided
to try Mnqobiwesizwe to find out if he was by
any chance with him because they are friends
and he answered just when I was about to
hang up, “ Tshegofatso. ”

“ Hey. ”

“ Sure, what do you want? ”

“ UVuyolwethu unawe? ”( Is Vuyolwethu with
you ), he chuckled and, “ I thought you were
the wife here, so I should be the one asking
you about him. ”

“ Please do... ”

“ Tshegofatso I have work to do, so please... ”,

he hung up on me before I could respond,
leaving me dumbstruck. He was so
unnecessarily rude and I didn't really
understand why. It was four ‘o’ clock in the
woo hours so I decided to warm myself a cup
of milk before heading to bed.

I woke up with hope that Vuyolwethu had

returned, but he wasn't back. I headed
straight to the bathroom to take a quick
shower and settled for black leggings, white
crop top with pink fluffy slides paired with
happy socks. I headed downstairs to make
breakfast for my daughters and myself and
headed to their rooms to wake them up. I
bathed Nosibusiso while Olonathando
bathed herself, settled both of them into
tracksuits and shearling boots before
heading downstairs. After breakfast,
Olonathando and Nosibusiso headed to the
playroom while I just settled for a cup of
coffee, a throw blanket and a novel “ A
wrinkle in Time ”.

Time passed and darkness flooded the sky

and still, Vuyolwethu was no where to be
found. I gave Mam'Nomadlozi the time off
and prepared dinner, to take my mind of
things. “ Mommy ”, Nosibusiso yelled as she
headed downstairs and, “ Yes baby? ”

“ Lambile ”( I'm hungry ), she said in her

adorable baby voice with a pouty mouth and
Tshegofatso kneeled in front of her, “ What
do you want to eat? ”

“ Blead and cheese ”( Bread ), she responded

sitting on the staircase and, “ Okay, call
Olona ”, she stood up and ran upstairs and I
made sandwiches and tea for the both of
them. They came back a few minutes later
and indulged themselves before heading
back to the playroom.

An hour later, I finished with cooking and

called them back downstairs and we had
dinner together. I gave my daughters a bath
and tucked them in since it was way past
their bedtime and then headed to the
bedroom, stripped off my clothes and then
took a long bath for relaxation. I settled for
my pyjamas, took my book and headed to the
kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee.
Vuyolwethu arrived as I was making my way
to the lounge and he didn't even bother to
greet me or acknowledge my presence even
with a simple nod. He headed straight to the
main bedroom and I followed him, he went
straight to the closet and took out his clothes
and out of worry, “ Ubukuphi? ”( Where were
you ), I questioned.

“ Ini? ”( What ), he turned to look at me and,

“ Bengikhathazekile ngawe, Vuyo ”( I was
worried about you ), he raised an eyebrow at
me and chuckled before, “ That's nice ”, he
responded.
“ Vuyo? ”

“ Ufunani Tshegofatso? ”

“ I want to talk. ”

“ You have said enough. I am moving to the

guest bedroom. ”

“ You don't have to, I'll move. I'm going back

to Pretoria. ”

“ Cool, goodnight ”, he took his clothes and

left the bedroom and I just sighed heavily and
threw myself on the bed. So, this was really
happening.

I was struggling to sleep, I kept tossing and

turning because I was worried of how
Vuyolwethu was starting to turn out. The love
I used to see glisten in his brown eyes had
now vanished into thin air and was now
replaced with ruthlessness and anger. It was
like he didn't care about anything, anymore. I
stayed up all night as these thoughts kept
flooding my mind and I finally decided to
wake up and take a long, soothing bath to
revive a little bit of energy I would need to get
through this day and after bathing, I settled
into my Nike tracksuit and sneakers since the
weather was a little bit off today and then I
started packing my luggage. After packing my
stuff, I moved on to Nosibusiso's room and
packed her stuff too and after packing I ran a
bath for my baby girl and then woke her up,
after bathing her I settled her into a pair of
denim jeans and a black hoodie with
sneakers and then we headed downstairs. As
we were walking down the staircase,
Nosibusiso saw Vuyolwethu and she rushed
down the stairs almost tripping but luckily
Vuyolwethu scooped her in his arms quickly,
causing her to giggle. “ Hey munchkin ”, he
smiled at her and, “ Daddy ”, she returned the
gesture.

“ Unjani? ”
“ Good good ! ”, Vuyolwethu kissed her
cheeks and placed her back down and, that is
when he noticed I was in the room. The smile
plastered on his face quickly died down and
he looked at me for the longest time, “ I will
never stop loving you ”, I said.

“ Have you ever even loved me, Tshegofatso?

Or maybe, you thought being with me was
the way you could repay me for saving you? ”
“ Noo ! ”

“ It's probably that, I mean... Nevermind. ”, he

took his stuff and headed out. I made
breakfast for myself and Nosibusiso since
Olonathando was still asleep, we watched Mr
Bean the whole morning and when
Olonathando came down she was already
bathed. “ Mommy, can we go for icecream
after lunch? ”

“ Nana, I have to return to Pretoria today. ”

“ Can I come with? ”

“ I'll ask your daddy ”, she took my phone

from the coffee table and I unlocked it, dialed
Vuyolwethu's number and called him, he
answered within first ring. I let Olonathando
talk to him because he was angry with me
and he probably would say no but
surprisingly, he decided to let her come with
me so we headed upstairs and packed for her.
After lunch, I helped Noluthando tidy up the
kitchen and then my babies and I left for
Pretoria.

Vuyolwethu Ndhlovu.

After work I drove straight to

Mnqobiwesizwe's house because I knew
Tshegofatso and the girls would have left by
then and I wasn't prepared to head home. It
would probably be too quiet without
Olonathando and Nosibusiso, and there were
just too many memories in that house I
would rather forget.

I arrived at his house and buzzed myself in,

parked in and headed inside and found him
lounging around watching football. “ Jaguar
”, he acknowledged me and I nodded at him
kicking my shoes off and throwing myself on
the couch opposite his and, “ Rough day? ”

“ Tshegofatso left for Pretoria this afternoon ”,

I responded and, “ Okay, forget I asked. ”
“ So, should we watch those soppy movies
and eat a lot of ice cream, next to a box of
tissues like these girls do? ”, Mnqobiwesizwe
joked after a second they both turned to look
at each other and, “ Nah ”, they said in unison
as they shook their heads no and, “ Let's just
go shooting and grab a few drinks on our way
back ”, Vuyolwethu suggested and they both
got up and rushed upstairs to change into all
black outfits and headed back downstairs,
Mnqobiwesizwe carrying a case with different
types of guns inside and they headed out,
taking his black matte black Ferrari Enzo.
 Chapter Eighteen.

Later that day, Amanda arrived with Kefentse

and Boikanyo at Tshegofatso's house just
when she had finished preparing dinner. “ I'm
here to babysit ”, was the first thing Amanda
said when she got inside the house and
Tshegofatso looked at her confused before,
“ We aren't going anywhere ”, she said.
“ Ungazosihlanyela wena, you didn't think we
will come here for a sleepover over right? ”,
Tshegofatso just glanced at her with pursed
lips and, “ Unyile ke, go and get ready ”,
Boikanyo said and, “ Mar... ”( But... ) “ Okay,
we are done talking asambe ”, Kefentse
dragged Tshegofatso to the bedroom and
headed straight to the closet and took out a
white offshoulder bodysuit, black leather
mini skirt with a black ankle block heel boot
and handed them over to Tshegofatso to
wear. She sat her down and did her make up
even though she told her not to but luckily,
she didn't go all extreme on her. After that,
Tshegofatso grabbed her denim jacket and a
black clutch bag, packed her lipgloss, a
tampon and her phone and money and they
headed downstairs. “ You look beautiful
mommy ”, Olonathando complimented
Tshegofatso and she kissed her daughter's
cheeks before, “ Ngiyabonga nana ”( Thank
you baby girl ), she thanked her, making the 6
year old smile and continue eating. Boikanyo
and Kefentse took their bags and
Tshegofatso kissed her babies goodnight and
they left.

They arrived at AncientLink and then headed

inside after taking a few pictures and
Kefentse uploaded them on her Instagram
account. Boikanyo paid the entrance fee and
they headed inside to the couches by the
window as it had the best view at night and,
Tshegofatso and Boikanyo made themselves
comfortable. “ What are you guys drinking? ”,
Kefentse asked and, “ The regular honey ”,
Boikanyo asked referring to cocktails and,
“ Grapetiser ”, Tshegofatso said and they
both turned to look at her amazed and she
just laughed them off before, “ I won't be
drinking any alcohol anytime soon ”, she said
and, “ Upreg ne? ”( You are pregnant right ),
Boikanyo asked and Kefentse rolled her eyes
before, “ Obviously. ”

Kefentse went to the bar and came back a

few minutes later with their drinks. They had
a really nice evening, they managed to lift
Tshegofatso's spirit and that is all she needed.

They were all having a nice flowing

conversation when Boikanyo and Kefentse
suddenly drooled, look at the entrance and
Tshegofatso turned to look to see who had
gotten their friends all dumbstruck and what
she saw, WAS. A. SIGHT. FOR. SORE EYES !
There were three guys and one of them
looked at Tshegofatso and winked at her, and
she politely smiled at him. The guy was
handsome, not the ‘ Vuyolwethu Ndhlovu ’
kind of handsome but he was handsome. The
three guys made their way to the girls and
Boikanyo and Kefentse started fixing their
selves and Tshegofatso just looked at them
and shook her head. “ Ladies, I am Nkosinathi
Mahlangu and these are my colleagues
Mandla and Lethabo ”, the guy that winked at
Tshegofatso introduced himself and his
friends and extended his hand for
Tshegofatso to take, which she took and he
kissed the back of it, “ Tshegofatso Nkosi ”,
she introduced herself.

“ Can we join you? ”

“ Gladly ”, Boikanyo made space for them to

sit and they spent the whole evening
together. Tshegofatso was having a
conversation with Nkosinathi when she heard
a familiar sound of laughter that came from
upstairs and suddenly, Vuyolwethu came
down with Mnqobiwesizwe, Nqabayomzi and
Suffocate, whose real name she doesn't
know. Vuyolwethu stopped for a moment
when he laid his eyes at her and Tshegofatso
smiled at him politely while he just shook his
head slightly, chuckled and carried on with
whatever he was doing.

Across the room was where Vuyolwethu and

his crew were sitted and having a few drinks,
preparing to leave. Everyone was engaging in
a conversation except Vuyolwethu who was
suddenly awfully quiet and not paying
attention to anything that was being
discussed. “ You still love her, don't you? ”,
Mxolisi asked and Vuyolwethu turned to him
and, “ I found a plan of how we are going to
catch that fool ”, he responded and all his
friends paid attention to him. “ Look who is
with Tshegofatso ”, he used his head to signal
them and one by one they all turned to look
and, “ Yeah ”.

“ If what's happening there is what I think it is,

then we have found a way to keep him in
Johannesburg or better yet, in South Africa
and that, will make our jobs even easier. ”

“ But, he is with Tshegofatso. ”- Nqabayomzi.

“ I know. ”

“ Doesn't i- ”

“ As much as I hate seeing her with someone

else, we need her to do this ”, they nodded at
him and he turned to look at where
Tshegofatso was seated with her friends.

Tshegofatso noticed that Nkosinathi's hand

was on her lap and she shifted it and turned
to look over the table where Vuyolwethu was
sitting with his friends and, their eyes locked
but he quickly shifted his gaze from her. It
was time for Tshegofatso and her friends to
leave and that is when she became glad that
she didn't drink any alcohol, benefits of being
pregnant. She got up and took their clutch
bags and turned to Nkosinathi and, “ It was
nice meeting you. ” “ I could say the same
thing too. ” “ But? ” “ I didn't get your
number ”, he handed over his smartphone
and Tshegofatso punched in her number and
gave the phone back. They shared a quick
hug and Mandla helped Tshegofatso with
getting the girls to the car, since they were
both wasted. They all said their goodbyes
and Tshegofatso drove to her house, calling
Amanda when she was five minutes away
telling her to wait for her outside. She arrived
and parked in, Amanda came and helped
Tshegofatso get the girls inside, to their
bedrooms. “ Goodnight ”, Amanda said and
they both headed to their bedrooms.
Tshegofatso changed into her pyjamas,
tucked herself in and fell asleep immediately
after that.

Tshegofatso was woken up by her phone

ringing and she reached out for it and
answered the call without looking at the
caller ID. “ Hmm? ”
“ Usalele ngaleskhathi? ”( You are still asleep
at this time ), she recognised the voice
immediately and, “ Nathi, what time is it? ”

“ Nine AM. ”

“ What did you want to talk about? ”

“ Your treat? ”

“ As if I'd let you pay, it's my treat obviously. ”

“ Okay, text me the time and place. ”

“ Even better, send me your location and I

will fetch you. ”

“ Great, see you ”, Tshegofatso hung up and

headed to the bathroom to take a shower.
After showering, she settled into a high
waisted Jean and a cropped hoodie
sweatshirt with suede ankle boots. See, one
thing she liked with this pregnancy is that she
wasn't showing yet and she didn't think she
would show anytime soon. Even when she
was pregnant with Nosibusiso, she started
showing on her last trimester and she hardly
experienced morning sicknesses.

She headed downstairs and found her friends

having breakfast at the kitchen and, “ There
aren't ghosts in her lounge ”, she said
jokingly. “ Yoh, bekungangcono kube
bekunezipoki Tshegofatso ”( It would have
been better if there were ghosts ), Kefentse
said looking down at the magazine she was
browsing through and she looked at her
friend confused until, “ There's your husband
in the lounge ”, Boikanyo said.

“ Vuyo? ”

“ Haibo, utshate naphi kanti? ”, Boikanyo

asked and, “ Voetsek ”, Tshegofatso said
heading to the lounge. She found Vuyolwethu
and Nosibusiso squabbling over which
channel they should watch, Nosibusiso
standing infront of the TV trying to block the
view, with her hands on her waist while
Olonathando took a video of them, dying of
laughter. I swear, Tshegofatso gave birth to a
drama queen. Nosibusiso noticed that her
mother was in the room and she ran to hug
her legs and, “ Mommy ! ”

“ Hey baby girl ”, she picked her daughter up

and kissed her cheeks before pecking her lips
and then sat down, with Nosibusiso on her
lap and she look over Vuyolwethu. “ Uhm,
what you saw yes- ”
“ It doesn't matter ”, Vuyolwethu cut her
short. “ You can be with whoever you want to
be with ”, this surprised Tshegofatso and,
“ Just don't involve Olonathando and
Nosibusiso in your relationships Tshegofatso
and ”, he got up from the couch he was
occupying and sat next to Tshegofatso, “ Just
know, my story with you hasn't ended, it's
actually beginning. ”

“ What do you mean? ”, Vuyolwethu glanced

straight into Tshegofatso's eyes and chuckled
slightly, “ I let you go because I know you will
come back, nothing, and I mean nothing is
ever going to break us apart ”, he leaned in
closer for a kiss and Tshegofatso four herself
involuntarily closing her eyes, she parted her
lips but instead of kissing her, he caressed
her face and flicked her lower lip before
getting up and making his way upstairs,
“ Come and pack for Olonathando and
Nosibusiso, I'll bring them back next of next
week ”, he shouted going up the staircase
and Tshegofatso looked at him stunned of
what had just took place, but she followed
him still. She packed for the girls in one
suitcase and they left shortly after that.
Tshegofatso headed back downstairs and
joined her friends since they were watching a
movie. She took the yoghurt on top of the
table and indulged herself and, “ If it wasn't
for the fact that you are pregnant, bendizo
kuqhwaba ngomva because I really don't
know why you didn't ask ”( I would have
backslapped ), Boikanyo said.

“ I would have asked, but you rushed me ”,

Boikanyo and Amanda laughed and Boikanyo
gave them a death stare. “ By the way, why
are you scared of Vuyo? ”, she asked making
herself comfortable and they all turned to
look at her and, “ Have you seen your
husband? ”, they said in unison and, “ Chile, I
can't even greet the man ”, Kefentse said and
Tshegofatso laughed.

“ But he is not scary nje? ”

“ In case you haven't noticed, that man only

smiles when you are around him or else, he
doesn't mind keeping a straight face ”,
Amanda said.

“ What we are trying to say is, indoda yakho

ayingeneki. He actually doesn't even greet
back, he nods when you greet him so...
”( Your man is unapproachable ), Kefentse
said not shifting her focus from the TV screen.
A while later, Tshegofatso received a text
message from Nkosinathi telling her that he
was outside her house and, she grabbed her
phone and money for in case and she headed
out after saying goodbye to her girls. She
found Nkosinathi leaning onto his car, busy
on his phone and when he saw her approach
he opened the door for her and she hopped
inside after giving him a hug. They drove to
McDonald's for lunch and when they arrived,
they found a spot by the window and
Nkosinathi let Tshegofatso order since he
was exactly familiar with the menu.

“ Afternoon Mr and Mrs, what can I get you

today? ”, the waitress said. “ Good afternoon.
Can I please have 2 large Big Mac meals, both
mild with 30 chicken nuggets and 2 chicken
wraps ”, Tshegofatso placed the order and
Nkosinathi gasped with each order she
placed making Tshegofatso laugh at him and,
“ Are you going to eat all that? ”, he asked.

“ I am not done, yet ”, she rolled her eyes at

him and, “ Mozzarella sticks and a large
pineapple smoothie and... ”, she turned to
look at Nkosinathi, questioning which drink
he will be having and, “ Sprite ”, he
responded.
“ Medium or large, Sir? ”

“ Medium. ”

“ Are you seriously going to finish all of that? ”,

Nkosinathi asked and Tshegofatso looked at
him for a moment before, “ Yes, why? ”, she
responded.

“ Isn't it like, a lot? ”, he said hesitantly and

Tshegofatso shot daggers at him before,
“ Uzoswaba Nathi ”, he raised his hand in a
surrendering manner and, “ Besides, I am
eating for two. ”

“ You pregnant? ”, the woman nodded in

response and, “ You married? ”

“ Almost got married, I just recently broke up

with my fiancé ”, he nodded in understanding
and the waitress came back with their food,
and they indulged themselves. After eating,
Nkosinathi settled the bill and they left. “ So,
how do I win your heart over? ”, he asked
unexpectedly and Tshegofatso just looked
over him and smiled, with him returning the
gesture.
 Chapter Nineteen.

It has been seven months since Tshegofatso

met Nkosinathi Mahlangu and they have
been in a relationship for six months now.
She was eight months along with her
pregnancy but you would swear she was only
six months pregnant. She was currently in her
house preparing to go out with Nkosinathi
and no, she hadn't moved in with him nor
introduced him to her daughters,
Olonathando and Nosibusiso, not that she
would even get the chance because they
spent most of the time with Vuyolwethu.
Speaking of them, they even abandoned her
and went to Cape Town with Vuyolwethu for
a mini vacation that by the way they hadn't
returned from and they left two months ago,
talk about MINI vacation. It was Friday, and
Tshegofatso was watching movies all say
since she was too lazy to go out with her
friends and she didn't have any classes to
attend then.

At half past six in the evening, she took a

shower and then settled into a strappy
sleeved royal blue jumpsuit and an overskirt
with a nude block heel, she wasn't really
prepared to sit down and do her make up so
she just opted for something simple but
elegant and then she took her clutch bag
along with her phone and headed downstairs.
She received a call from Nkosinathi and she
answered within the first two rings and,
“ Sthandwa ”( Love ), she greeted with a smile
even though he couldn't see her and,
“ Kumkanikazi, I am at the gate. ”

“ Coming ”, she headed down and made sure

to lock the door and headed out. She
approached the car and the driver got out of
the car, opened the door for her and she got
inside before he closed it and returned to the
driver's seat. “ You went all out, I see. ”

“ Anything to make my half happy ”, she

smiled and pecked his lips. She then sat back
and rested her head on his shoulder and he
had his arm around her the whole time.
Thirty minutes later, they got to the
restaurant and headed inside and there was
no one there, Instead there were rose petals
scattered all over the room, soft music
playing in the background and a table set in
the middle of the room with red candles and
a bottle of non-alcoholic wine in ice, in the
middle. “ Evening ”, the waiter greeted as he
led them to the table and, “ Enjoy the rest of
the evening. ”

“ Thank you ”, the waiter left and after a few

minutes he returned with the couple's meal
and, “ Food is served, enjoy your dinner ”,
they thanked him once more and he left them,
and they indulged themselves in their food
while having a nice conversation. The food
was delish, it literally sent Tshegofatso to
heaven on Earth. After eating, desert was
served along with the wine and they dug in.

They were having a nice flowing conversation

when Nkosinathi suddenly got up from his
chair and kneeled infront of her with a ring on
his hand. “ Tshegofatso Nkosi, can you make
me the happiest man in the universe and
marry me? ”
“ Nathi, it's too early. ”

“ We know we love each other so why should

we wait? ”, Tshegofatso dropped her face and,
“ You love me right? ”, the man asked and,
“ Yes. ”

“ Then say yes, be my wife ”, the young

woman hesitated for a few minutes but,
“ Okay, I will marry you. ” He got up from his
knees and spun her around. He put her back
down after a few minutes and planted kisses
all over her face causing her to giggle. “ My
ring, bhuti. ”

“ Oh sorry ”, he slid the ring on her finger and

hugged her and somehow to Tshegofatso,
this didn't feel right. It felt like she was
rushing into this whole thing but she shook
the feeling off because she thought her
insecurities were playing her mind. If only she
knew...

“ We are getting married in a few hours,

everything is ready ”, Tshegofatso looked at
Nkosinathi flabbergasted, WOW was the only
word she could think of at that moment.

Next morning Tshegofatso was woken up by

Boikanyo, Kefentse and Amanda jumping on
her bed. She sat up rubbing her eyes and they
all attacked her with a hug with Boikanyo
screaming, “ Sis is getting married ! ”

“ I knoooow and I am so excited ”,

Tshegofatso squealed back and, “ Fatso, are
you sure you want to get married to this guy?
”, Kefentse asked sitting next to her
bestfriend, “ I mean, you hardly even know
him ”, she tried making her friend why it was
too early to marry Nkosinathi but, “ Huh uh,
Kefentse it's my day today and I don't want
anyone or anything ruining it, besides I still
have plenty of time to know him. ”

“ Do whatever you want to do my love, it's

your life ”, Kefentse said and headed out of
the room. Tshegofatso headed to the
bathroom and took a long bath, she needed
all the relaxation I could get. After showering,
she wore her robe and then headed to the
bedroom and Boikanyo did her make up. She
opted for a natural yet elegant look and she
gave her just that. Amanda came back with
her wedding dress and when she saw it, she
was amazed beyond measure. It was the
most beautiful, elegant dress she has ever
seen, even though her dream was to always
design her own dress, she knew this was the
perfect dress. She wore the dress and it fitted
perfectly, it was a white offshoulder mermaid
dress with a touch of silver and it had a long
trail and let's not even mention how beautiful
it looked on her belly bump. Her bump really
looked great, it wasn't big, it was just...
Perfect. “ Mnganiii ”, Amanda squealed when
Tshegofatso turned to face them and, “ You
are so beautiful. ”

“ Really? ”, Tshegofatso asked hesitantly and,

“ You are perfect friend, if Nkosinathi doesn't
cry when you walk down that aisle I don't
know... ”, Tshegofatso chuckled at that and
thanked her friend. Amanda and Boikanyo
left to get their selves ready and Tshegofatso
was left alone. She stopped for a second and
looked at herself in the mirror, caressed her
stomach and sighed heavily, wishing her
parents would have been there with her
today. She wished her father would be the
one walking her down that aisle and her
mother would see her marry her husband,
but as impossible as it was she knew they
were with her in spirit.

She walked over to the bed and sat on the

edge and closed her eyes. “ God Almighty ”,
she started with her prayer, “ I know I haven't
been a good child, I know I didn't obey my
mother's last words and I know I do not
normally do this but, I come to you with a
humble heart. I am not here to ask for much
but for you to pave my way, make it clearer
and guide me unto the right path. The step I
am about to take right now is scary, and I
don't want to walk this journey on my own.
Father, do not let me take this step if it's
going to backfire someday. Show me if I am
doing the right thing and if I am not, out an
end to this journey immediately. I ask for all
this in the name of my saviour Jesus Christ,
Amen. ”

-
Kefentse, Boikanyo and Amanda returned
from their suite and immediately when
Tshegofatso laid her eyes on them, she
started tearing up. They were her
bridesmaids and they looked so beautiful on
their outfits. They were wearing maroon mini
dresses paired with black strappy heels. “ Oh
my God ”, was the first thing that came out of
Tshegofatso's mouth and, “ Uze ukhale ke,
ngizokukhahlela ”( If you dare cry, I am going
to kick you ), Boikanyo threatened and the
girls laughed before, “ Boikanyo, stop being
dramatic ”, Tshegofatso whined.

“ Hay'ska, let's go and get you married ”,

Tshegofatso took her bouquet of flowers
before they headed out and when they got to
the entrance of the chapel, she found her
aunt waiting for her.

MaShandu faintly smiled at her niece and

gave her a hug, “ I don't like this at all,
Tshegofatso ”, she said breaking out of the
hug and Tshegofatso just simply dropped her
face not knowing how she would reply to this.
“ Are you even sure you want to get married
to this man? ”

“ I- I am already here aunty ”, she said

hesitantly and MaShandu just looked at her
and faintly chuckled. The melody of the song
went on and the chapel doors opened as
everyone stood up and MaShandu walked
Tshegofatso down the aisle and the guests
were awestruck our of their minds by how
beautiful the bride was. MaShandu handed
her over to Nkosinathi who was all smiles the
whole time, looking at his soon-to-be-wife
walk down that aisle. “ We are gathered here
to witness this amazing couple as they
exchange vows of marriage and promise each
other forever but, before we carry on with
this union, is there anyone against this
marriage? If so, may they speak now or
forever hold their thoughts ”, the pastor
stated and the room remained quiet and,
“ Okay, seems th- ”, before the pastor could
finish what he wanted to say, the door
opened and in came Vuyolwethu. “ I am,
against this marriage ”, he said calmly
standing right in the middle of the entrance
and, “ Vuyo no ”, Tshegofatso murmured to
herself.

“ Why are you against this union? ”

“ Why don't you ask Nkosinathi Mahlangu, or

better yet ask, Siyabonga Xulu ”, he
responded and Tshegofatso looked at him
confused and, “ What are you on about? ”,
she questioned him.

“ The man you are standing next to right now,

is Siyabonga Xulu not Nkosinathi. He is the
most wanted gangster, drug lord and human
trafficker in South Africa. He is not marrying
you out of love, it's just part of his plan to get
closer enough to me to attack the people I
love ”, Tshegofatso turned to look at the man
standing in front of her, Nkosinathi or
whoever his name was, and he just turned to
look at Vuyolwethu with a smirk on his face,
“ I see you have done your homework ”, he
said and Vuyolwethu laughed for a moment
before, “ Cha Siyabonga, you actually did
most of our work for us. All you had to do was
fled the country and disappear into thin air,
make us sweat while looking for you but...
You were stupid enough to try to spite me by
pursuing my wife, you made things a lot
easier for us so... ”

“ Is all of this true? ”, Tshegofatso asked and,

“ Yes, everything he said is true ”, Siyabonga
replied with much pride in his voice. “ But y...
 ”, Tshegofatso attempted to say something
by Siyabonga pulled out his gun and slowly
pointed it to her, making the guests
screaming as some of them hid behind their
chairs others staying glued to their chairs
because of fear. Vuyolwethu just stood
kinetic by the door, not even attempting to
get any closer to Tshegofatso and Siyabonga.
The almost wife closed hear eyes as tears slid
down her face and she started praying by
heart, asking God to save her life or better yet,
her unborn child's life. Suddenly, she heard
the door open and she quickly fluttered her
eyes open and saw the whole ops team
standing by the door, with Vuyolwethu in the
middle with the rest of the carrying fully
loaded AK-47s. “ Game well played Mr Xulu,
drop your gun now ”, Vuyolwethu said calmly
but Tshegofatso knew that he was too far
from being calm, he was furious, seething for
that matter.

“ Checkmate ”, Mnqobiwesizwe said with a

smirk on his face and Siyabonga pretended
to drop the gun but he shot Tshegofatso on
the chest and Nqabayomzi quickly ran to
where Tshegofatso was standing while
Siyabonga attempted to get away but
Vuyolwethu caught up with him and injected
him with a sleeping drug and after a few
seconds of fighting, he finally succumbed to
the sleepiness. Leaving Mnqobiwesizwe with
the rest of the ops crew to deal with
Siyabonga, Vuyolwethu quickly rushed to
where the paramedics were wheeling
Tshegofatso inside the ambulance.

Vuyolwethu took his car and followed the

ambulance to hospital and when they arrived,
they rushed her in as Nqabayomzi signed in
as her doctor and they took her straight to
surgery room as Nqabayomzi got ready. “ Will
she be okay? ”, Vuyolwethu asked
Nqabayomzi as he approached him, heading
to the surgery room and, “ To tell the truth, I
don't know man. It's not only Tshegofatso's
life that is at risk here but your child's too.
There are high chances that Tshegofatso
could die and if she dies, that could lead to
your child dying because babies in uteros
depend solely on the mother's heart and
respiration to to oxygenate their own blood
so... ”

“ Nqabayomzi, I don't care what you do but

you need to save them both. You need to
save my wife and my child okay? ”

“ I can't prom... ”

“ Do not promise me anything, just do it !

Please... ”, he said as his eyes started filling
up with tears and Nqabayomzi just looked at
him and, “ Okay, I need you to sign a consent
form for me to do a caesarean section to
deliver the child ”, Vuyolwethu just nodded at
him and followed him to the office to have
the form signed and filed in the Nqabayomzi
left to attend the urgent case while
Vuyolwethu stayed and waited for him in his
office.

Five hours passed and Nqabayomzi still had

to returned with any feedback and this was
worrying Vuyolwethu because he didn't know
what was happening. Being kept in the dark
was messing him up and he was slowly going
crazy. He started pacing around the room,
checking the time every five seconds and
everytime he heard footsteps heading
towards the office he rushed to open the
door expecting to find Nqabayomzi or
anyone who had some tangible information
but there was no one. Not knowing what else
to do, he poured himself a glass of water to
try and calm himself down but the thought
that there was a possibility Tshegofatso
could die just made him angry and he
unexplained started holding the glass too
tight, squeezing it until the point where it
broke and still not feeling any pain, he
squeezed and squeezed until the glasses
penetrated through his skin and when he
started feeling pain he just stared at his hand
for the longest time and tears started sliding
down his face and he walked over to the
window and just looked outside, watched the
rain as it was chucking it down. “ Ngiyazi
nginqabile ”( I know I am scarce ), he said
staring up at the pitch black sky, “ Ngiyazi
angikukhonzi ngokwanele, kodwa akekho
omunye enginga memeza asabele. I need you
to save my wife and child, because I don't
think I can ever survive without them in my
life. I still need uTshegofatso in my life and if
you are not saving her for me, then do it for
her daughter. I know you are listening and I
am willing to do anything in exchange that
you save my loved ones. I ask for all this in
the name of Jesus Christ... ”, the minute he
finished of his prayer the door opened and he
slowly turned to see Nqabayomzi walking in
and, “ What happened? ”, was the first thing
he asked.

“ We managed to save both of them. You

have a healthy baby boy, and we have put
him in the incubator to look out for any lung
complications before you can take him home
with you ”, Nqabayomzi explained and
Vuyolwethu just sighed heavily at this before
asking if Tshegofatso was okay and,
“ Tshegofatso is stable. We have sedated her
so she is currently unconscious but the
sedative may wear off in two hours. ”

“ Can I go see her? ”

“ Yes, let me treat you hand before taking you
to her ”, Vuyolwethu sat down as
Nqabayomzi grabbed the first aid kit and
started treating his hand and bandaging it.
Shortly after that, they both headed to
Tshegofatso's suite. Vuyolwethu hesitantly
walked in the suite and when she saw
Tshegofatso laying on that bed, not moving
even by lifting a finger he started worrying all
over again. What if something bad could
happen? What if there were complications
during the removal of the bullet? What if...
“ Stop worrying, she will be okay ”,
Mnqobiwesizwe said from behind and
Vuyolwethu turned to face him with a faint
smile and, “ Did that fool admit that he was
the one who tried to kill Tshegofatso? ”

“ Yes, and you won't believe who he was in

cahoots with... ”, Vuyolwethu squinted his
eyes at his friend with a questioning look and,
“ Who? ”

“ Lerato, your baby momma. ”

“ Excuse me? ”

“ Yup. ”

“ That little bitch ”, Vuyolwethu cursed and,

“ I need you to look for her, and make sure
you find her. I think it's time I teach that bitch
a lesson, personally this time ”, he said
keeping a straight face and it immediately hit
Mnqobiwesizwe that Lerato and Siyabonga
have awoken the Jaguar in Vuyolwethu and
they were soon to rip what they sow.

Tshegofatso Nkosi.

I was laying on the grass, staring up at the

clear blue skies when I heard a voice calling
out my name, “ Zamangwane, Zamangwane ”,
and it was a very familiar voice. It had been
long since I heard it but I recognised it
immediately and when I turned to my side, I
saw her standing in front of me. I saw her,
once again. I saw, my mother. I quickly got up
and ran to her and the first thing she did was
engulf me into a tight hug and for the first
time in years, I felt the warmth of my mother
once more. God, how I had missed being in
her arms. “ NaNgwane ”, I looked behind her
mother and I saw my father looking at her
with a smile on his face. He was so different
from how he was the last time I saw him. He
looked healthy, and strong like he was never
sick or even shot. “ Baba ”, I called him out
and, “ Yebo ndodakazi, yimina ”( Yes
daughter, it is me ), he confirmed and
Tshegofatso literally ran into his arms and
hugged him for dearly life and, “ I thought I
would never see you again ”, she said.

“ NaNgwane, you have to return to the land

of the living, you don't belong here. ”

“ What? ”, I questioned as I let go of my father

and looked straight into his eyes and, “ It is
not your time yet, you need to go back home
to the people that love you, you have three
beautiful children who need you and not only
them but, Vuyolwethu too. ”
“ But, Vuyo is the reason why you were killed
baba, I can't go back to him ”, Tshegofatso
tried to reason but, “ NaNgwane, I had to die
somehow for your son to live. That is just how
life is, a life is lost for another one to form. ”

“ No, I want to stay here with you. I don't

want to lose you again. ”

“ Zamangwane, ziyakudinga izingane zakho.

Buyela ekhaya Ngwane omuhle, buyela
ekhaya ma ”( Zamangwane, your children
need you. Go back home Ngwane, go back
home ), my mother begged her and they both
gave me a hug before letting her go. I tried
holding on to them but it was hard, they let
go of my hand and started to slowly walk
back and faded away as everything else
turned pitch black and...

Third Person Narration.

Tshegofatso regained consciousness and

after a lot of struggling, she finally fluttered
her eyes open and started looking around to
see where she was. She noticed that she was
in hospital and the first thing that came to
her mind was her baby. She touched her
stomach and when she felt that it was soft,
and it was smaller than it was before she
started panicking and, “ Vuyo... ”, she called
out the man who was sitting by her bedside
and he looked up and when he saw that she
was panicking he rushed to her and,
“ Tshegofatso, start breathing. ” “ No, my son
Vuyo. He- ” “ He is alright. Nqabayomzi had
to perform a c-section on you to save both
yours and our son's life. He is okay, I promise
”, Vuyolwethu said trying to calm the young
woman and immediately when she heard
that her son was safe, she sighed and visibly
tensed down. Vuyolwethu caressed her face
and smiled for a minute before he sighed out
and, “ You are finally awake. ” “ How long
was I out for? ”, Tshegofatso asked. “ It has
been ten hours plus, but the surgery went
well and the bullet was safely removed from
you ”, Vuyolwethu answered her and she
simply just nodded with a faint smile on her
face. Suddenly, she closed her eyes and tears
escaped from them and, “ I am sorry ”, she
apologized.

“ What for? ”

“ For leaving you, for putting our baby's life in

danger and... ”

“ Relax, I get why you decided to leave me

and I don't blame you, I probably would have
left too if I had to go through all that. Don't
worry too much, I got you ”, Tshegofatso
smiled as she heard Vuyolwethu say those
words to her and he planted a kiss on her
forehead and hugged her tightly whilst
making sure he wasn't hurting her. He closed
his eyes from behind and, “ Thank you ”, he
murmured looking briefly at the ceiling.

Tshegofatso and Vuyolwethu's son had

finally been given an all clear. He no medical
condition the doctors had to be concerned
about and his lungs were functioning quite
well on their own and he didn't need the
incubator so he was moved to his mother's
suite. Tshegofatso was currently asleep and
Vuyolwethu was still in hospital and he was
gazing over the little gift Tshegofatso had
given to him when the nurse got in to check
on Tshegofatso. “ Sir, would you like to hold
him? ”

“ No, I'm waiting for his mother to wake up ”,

he responded politely and the nurse just
nodded with a smile and she took whatever
she needed and then left the suite. Shortly
after that, Tshegofatso woke up and when
she saw Vuyolwethu she faintly smiled at her
and, “ Thank you ”, he thanked her. “ What
for? ”

“ This is the most precious gift you've ever

given me, thank you ”, he said smiling down
at his son and, “ Just give me my baby and
stop being so over emotional ”, Vuyolwethu
chuckled and handed over the baby to her.
The look Tshegofatso had on her face when
she held her son for the first time, the smile
she had plastered on her face when she
finally held him in his hands was priceless.
Vuyolwethu quickly sneaked his phone out
and secretly started taking videos and photos
of both his son and Tshegofatso, this was one
moment he will forever cherish in his whole
entire life.

“ MaNkosi ”, he caressed her cheek and, “ I

love you ”, he admitted and Tshegofatso just
smiled when she heard him say that and,
“ Take me back. ”

“ But, I thought it was over between us ”, she

said and Vuyolwethu took her hand in his,
and kissed the back of it and, “ I did say
nothing would come between us, it's you that
I want to be with. I want you next to me every
single day of my life, I don't want to lose you
again. Please, marry me ”, Vuyolwethu
begged and Tshegofatso wiped off the tear
that was falling from her left eye and, “ I also
want to be with you forever, I will marry you.
”

Vuyolwethu took out the ring he had bought

in Cape Town when he was there with his
daughters and, “ I hope this one will never
come off, I want this to be the symbol of my
never ending love for you. If we have a lash
out, we don't threaten or leave each other
but we find a way through the difficulty. I
can't afford to lose you again. Yes, I am a very
difficult person to live but please try and bare
with me, MaNkosi. ”

“ I promise I won't ever leave you again ”, she

promised and Vuyolwethu took the ring out
of its box and slid it on to her finger and
leaned in for a kiss but before their lips could
touch, Tshegofatso's friends barged in the
suite. Vuyolwethu clenched his jaw and
Tshegofatso burst out of laughter but quickly
held it back because she didn't want to look
awkward. “ Yhuuuu, akasemhle sana ”( He is
so beautiful ), Amanda said gushing over the
beauty of Tshegofatso and Vuyolwethu's son
and, “ I guess I've found myself a Ben Ten ”,
Vuyolwethu turned to look at Boikanyo and
she looked away from embarrassment while
Amanda, Kefentse and Tshegofatso burst out
of laughter. I really don't know where
Tshegofatso found her friends because they
were all highkey lunatics but, in a good way.
Nqabayomzi got in with forms and he greeted
everyone and, “ Names please ”, Vuyolwethu
turned to look at Tshegofatso and she
nodded at him and, “ Imibuleloyenkosi
Amogelang Ndhlovu ”, he responded.

“ I'll add Sfisosam' ”, Nqabayomzi joked.

“ Ngimfake impama umuntu engiphaphela

mina ”( I will slap you ), Tshegofatso joked
back and everyone burst out of laughter. Well,
Sfisosam' is actually Nqabayomzi's second
name which is why he wanted to include it in
Oyenkosi's birth certificate.

“ By the way, everything with you and your

son is all clear so I will be needing my bed
back, thank you ”, Nqabayomzi said meaning
that he was actually discharging Tshegofatso
because everything was alright and they had
absolutely nothing to worrying about.

“ You are on her payroll Nqabayomzi ”,

Vuyolwethu joked and, “ Who said I care
about your money? ”, Nqabayomzi asked.

“ Uhm, guess who isn't getting paid this

month? ”, Tshegofatso asked and they all
turned to look at each other and burst out of
laughter with Nqabayomzi shooting daggers
at Tshegofatso and, “ Usupholile uyadelela? ”

Before he discharged Tshegofatso, he told

them everything they needed to know about
the medication Tshegofatso would have to
take for pain for her bullet wound and the
stitches on her abdomen, from the caesarean
section. After that, he left with Vuyolwethu to
sign the discharge forms while Kefentse and
Amanda helped Tshegofatso get ready to
leave with Boikanyo gushing over Oyenkosi,
nonstop.
 Chapter Twenty

Jaguar arrived at the headquarters, parked in

the basement and headed inside and,
“ Evening Mr Ndhlovu ”, the receptionist
greeted him and he just responded with a
polite nod as he made his way upstairs, to the
cold room where they were keeping both
Siyabonga and Lerato. Everything was ready,
the weapons and all that was short was his
presence. He entered the room and found
Mnqobiwesizwe already there waiting for him
and, “ Have you contacted Ebongweni
Correctional Services? ”, was the first thing
Jaguar asked and, “ Yes, they are flying out
here to get him as we speak. ”

“ Thank you, get him out of here I need time

with her ”, he said referring to Lerato and
Mnqobiwesizwe simply nodded at the order
and left with Siyabonga, leaving him with
Lerato.

“ Vuyo I- ”
“ Shut the hell up Lerato, there is nothing you
can say to get yourself out of this mess. ”

“ But- ”

“ Shukuthi angeke wayeka ungijwayela

amasimba Lerato, until I deal with you
personally? ”( So, you won't stop pissing me
off... ), he asked the girl who just kept quiet
and looked at Vuyolwethu straight in the eye,
trying to free herself from the handcuffs.
“ You know, Lerato, I never lay a hand on a
woman because I respect them but you... You
have been messing with me every single
chance you get and I'll put a stop to it, today.
You started off by having my daughter raped,
and then you plotted to have my wife killed,
what will be next? Huh? What will be next? ”,
he questioned.

“ Vuyo I am really sorry I didn't me- ”

“ Lerato, you are yet to be sorry. Right now,

you are just guilty but when I am done with
you, you will be sorry that you were even
born ”, he said calmly as he walked over to
lock the door and untying Lerato. “ See, I
don't want you to be helpless. I want you to
fight back so I am going to untie you but, if
you dare try something funny, I will kill you
without hesitations ”, he said untying her legs
and put the keys in his back pocket and when
he turned, he backslapped Lerato so hard
that she stumbled upon the wall and her lips
was cut.

“ Fight for yourself. If you have the nerve to

hire people to kill my loved ones then you
can fight me ”, he said pulling her back up
with her braids and roughly pushing her back
to the wall with her head and she hit her
forehead and broke her nose on the wall. She
stumbled back and turned towards
Vuyolwethu, she attempted to throw a punch
but he was to quick he held her hand and
twisted it back making her screams loudly
and, “ I am sorry ”, she yelled while in tears.

“ What are you sorry for? ”, he asked and,

“ For trying to hurt Tshegofatso and letting
Olonathando get raped, ngiyaxolisa ”, she
apologized and Vuyolwethu just laughed and
pulled her into a sitting position with her
braids and backslapped her again and she
literally fell unconscious with that last slap.
He checked her pulse and she was still alive
so he unlocked the door and headed
downstairs, to find Mnqobiwesizwe and when
he did he told him to just drop Lerato off at a
random hospital, far from Johannesburg and
then went to deal with the man from
Ebongweni Correctional Services as they
headed already arrived. There wasn't much
to do regarding Siyabonga's case, he only
needed to sign paperwork to deal with the
transfering Siyabonga to the super-
maximum prison. “ If he dares escapes in
your care, all hell will break loose and flood
your world ”, Jaguar threatened as he
handed over the files and one the man took
them as they dragged Siyabonga to the
helipad. Seeing that everything was starting
to line up, Siyabonga was finally in custody
and Lerato has been dealt with, he decided to
just leave everything else for some other time
and he drove back home to his wife and
children.
-
Olonathando barged in the main ensuite
bathroom just as Tshegofatso had finished
bathing and for some unknown reason, she
seemed excited beyond measure. “ Gogo is
here ”, she said unable to contain her
excitement and, “ Muphi? ”( Which granny ),
Tshegofatso asked as she dried herself up
and, “ Gogo MaNdhlovu ”, she replied
referring to Vuyolwethu's mother.
“ Okay baby, I will be there in a minute ”,
Tshegofatso assured the six year old and she
ran out of the bathroom heading downstairs
as Tshegofatso headed to the closet to find
something respectful to settle into and after
a hard time deciding she finally settled for a
black knee-length dress with an Ankara
headwrap with slides. She started by the
nursery to check on Imibuleloyenkosi and she
found Vuyolwethu already there. He was
sitting on the rocking chair, with his eyes
closed and Imibuleloyenkosi laying on his
chest as he hummed a lullaby softly for him
to fall asleep. Tshegofatso smiled at the sight
as she stood at the door, balancing on the
doorframe with folded arms. She just smiled
at how Vuyolwethu was making an effort to
love and make time for his children, with
Nosibusiso included. He has proven over and
over again that no matter what happened
between him and Tshegofatso, he would
never abandon Nosibusiso and Tshegofatso
was just grateful for it. Grateful that she
finally met someone who could deal with all
her unnecessary crap without laying a hand
on her, someone who was willing to stay with
her through it all and that was all she really
wanted.

Vuyolwethu finally opened his eyes and when

he saw Tshegofatso standing there, he smiled
at her and, “ How long have you been
standing there? ”

“ Long enough to witness this bond ”, she

responded as she walked over to the pair and
Vuyolwethu chuckled softly and stood up. He
gently laid the sleeping Imibuleloyenkosi in
his cot, and covered him with a throw blanket
and they both tiptoed their way out of the
nursery after making sure that the monitor
was on incase he was to wake up. When they
were finally out of the nursery room,
Vuyolwethu pinned Tshegofatso against the
wall and kissed her as though his life
depended on it, with her responding as
intensely to the smooch. They pulled out
after sometime and he glared into her eyes
and, “ I love you ”, he confessed.

“ Let's hope your mother still does too ”,

Tshegofatso.

“ What? ”, Vuyolwethu asked in confusion

and, “ She's downstairs. ”

“ With my dad? ”

“ Angazi ngitshelwe nguOlona ”( I don't know,

I was informed by Olonathando ), she
answered him and he just simply took her
hand into his and they headed downstairs, to
the lounge and found Vuyolwethu's parents
watching TV with Nosibusiso and
Olonathando and having coffee and biscuits.

“ Huh uh ma, it's 9 am ”, Vuyolwethu said and,

“ Manje? Utsho ngeshori nje ”, his father
teased at him and, “ It's not too early if we
haven't see our son in almost a year, uk'gqiba
sive ngoZwelethu uba umtshato
uyaqhubekeka ”( and we only found out from
Zwelethu that the wedding was back on ),
MaNdhlovu said and, “ I was going to tell you
”, Vuyolwethu quickly shot back and his
mother just rolled her eyes at her son and,
“ Haisuka khaw'zapha ”( Whatever, come and
give me a hug ), she said walking over to her
son and pulling him into a tight long hug and
let go of him after sometime time and turned
to look at Tshegofatso for the longest time
before smiling at her and, “ Ukuze ubuye,
kunini ebelesele uVuyo ”, Tshegofatso
chuckled and MaNdhlovu pulled her into a
hug. Tshegofatso wasn't expecting this, the
last time they met she had her swore she
would never break Vuyolwethu's heart and
right now, after all the events that took place
in the past seven months, she though
MaNdhlovu would be out to kill her for
leaving him. “ Sawubona ma ”, she politely
greeted.

“ Haibo Tshegofatso, andibonakali ndilixhegu

ndingaka? ”( Tshegofatso, am I invisible even
at this old age ), Mr Ndhlovu asked and
Tshegofatso laughed as she headed to him to
give him a hug. Shortly after that, Vuyolwethu
practically dragged Tshegofatso to the
kitchen and, “ So, have you found a wedding
planner? ”
“ I was going to call Jessica this afternoon ”,
Tshegofatso.

“ Don't worry, I'll help ”, MaNdhlovu.

“ Ngiyabonga ma ”, Tshegofatso.

“ It's only a pleasure sthandwa, now can I see

my new grandchild, whom you were going to
hide from me anyway ”, MaNdhlovu joked
and Tshegofatso gasped before, “ Maaa, that
is not true ”, she whined making MaNdhlovu
laugh before, “ Haiwethu, asikho apho.
Asambe ”.

“ Tshegofatso led the way to the nursery and

when MaNdhlovu finally saw
Imibuleloyenkosi she was so excited she
almost even cried. It was mostly because the
child was so adorable and the fact that
Imibuleloyenkosi looked much like
Vuyolwethu was a huge bonus. It was true,
the only features Imibuleloyenkosi had
inherited from Tshegofatso was her
birthmark, her light brown eyes and nose,
everything else mirrored Vuyolwethu and she
wasn't complaining.
 Epilogue

It has been four months since

Imibuleloyenkosi was born and it was the
afternoon before Tshegofatso and
Vuyolwethu's wedding and Tshegofatso was
both nerve wrecked and happy at the same
time. Nothing she felt when she was about to
almost marry Nkosinathi or Siyabonga, that
day she plainly felt belittled and felt
controlled as she always felt when she was
still with Lunathi. This time it all felt different,
she wasn't pressured into anything, it was all
because she loved Vuyolwethu and she
wanted to spend the rest of her life with him,
and only him. Today she wasn't allowed to
see Vuyolwethu at all, even if it was just for a
split second and everyone has been trying
their utmost best to keep the couple away
from each other, but knowing her soon to be
husband, Tshegofatso knew he was probably
coming up with a plan to see her.
Tshegofatso was with her aunts,
Vuyolwethu's mother and aunts and they
were advising her of how she had to behave "
emendweni " and to her, this conversation
was both funny and uncomfortable at the
same time, especially when they started
talking about sex.

A few hours later, Amanda came to fetch

Tshegofatso as she had promised to take her
out to celebrate her last day as Miss Nkosi.
The nineteen year old headed upstairs to
take a quick shower and then settled into a
black backless romper paired up with black
and white Alexander McQueen sneakers. She
combed her short hair and grabbed her
things and headed downstairs. She found
Olonathando and Nosibusiso with their gran,
having hotdogs and juice and she offered to
look after them along with Imibuleloyenkosi
so Tshegofatso didn't have to worry herself
too much.

She kissed her baby girls goodbye and they

headed out. “ So, where are we going? ”,
Tshegofatso asked as she buckled herself up
and, “ AncientLink hunnay ! ”, Amanda
screamed happily as she started the car
ignition and driving out of the Ndhlovu
residence and, Tshegofatso connected her
phone to the aux and played her ‘ Chills ’
playlist. They drove to the lounge while
jamming to Holy Ground by Davido featuring
Nicki Minaj, and they had the song on repeat.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at

AncientLink and it was too quiet and it was
weird because Tshegofatso is used to the
place being to busy. “ Mandz, are you sure
they are open? ”
“ Stop being insecure wena man ”, Amanda
said taking Tshegofatso's hand and heading
inside, “ It's unusually quiet ”, Amanda
chuckled at that because she figured
Tshegofatso would already know what was
happening by now but, she was wrong. They
got inside the lounge and immediately after
the girls closed the door behind them, the
light flicked on and everyone shouted,
“ Surprise ! ”, and Tshegofatso slightly
jumped at this because she wasn't expecting
it. She slowly turned to face everyone and
when she saw all her friends there, she just
smiled happily and sighed out as she visibly
calmed down. Most of the people that were
here were really old schoolmates and she
figured they were actually here to see if she
really was the one getting married. She
spotted Kefentse and Boikanyo walking over
to her and, “ You guys ”, she attacked the
both of them with a hug, “ I wasn't expecting
this at all. ” “ Reason why it's called a
surprise, dummy ”, Kefentse said rolling her
eyes and everyone laughed. Boikanyo helped
Tshegofatso wore the ‘ Bachelorette ’ sash
and the crown. Tshegofatso socialized with
almost everyone and had a chance to catch
up with her old ' friends ' and everyone had a
great time. About five hours later,
Tshegofatso and her friends drove straight to
Emperors Palace since the wedding was
taking place there. Tshegofatso was sharing
the suite with her three musketeers and
when they arrived there, they pretty much
hung out and watched a few classic movies
and only slept at midnight. Tshegofatso
really needed her beauty sleep, she couldn't
afford to be an ugly and grumpy bride.
 Tshegofatso Nkosi.

I was first to wake up today and without

waking up my friends, I headed straight to
the bathroom and took a long relaxing bath
because for some odd reason, I was nervous
and jumpy today. I got out of the bath an
hour later and wrapped a towel around my
body, rinsed the tub and then headed back to
the bedroom but weirdly, Amanda, Kefentse
and Boikanyo were no longer there but I
didn't let it worry me. They were probably
out to get breakfast or something. There was
a knock on the door so I answered it and my
make up artist let herself inside the suite.
“ Morning darling ”, she greeted as she
started setting up her equipment and, “ How
are you? ” “ I should be the one asking, are
you ready? ”, she smiled at Tshegofatso as
she pointed a seat for her to sit on and, “ I am
nervous. ”

“ Don't worry, it's normal. As long you are

sure that he is the one for you, then there's
nothing to worry about. ”
“ You think? ”

“ Honey, I know ”, Angelique said looking at

Tshegofatso through the mirror and smiled at
her with the young woman returning the king
gesture.

I opted for a more natural look with a little bit

of colour because I had to remind
Vuyolwethu the reason why he fell in love for
her, in the very first place. Boikanyo and
Amanda returned just when I had finished
doing my make up and they helped me wear
my wedding dress and it looked so beautiful
on me and I was obsessed with it. The dress
flattered my body in all the right places, it
was a sheer dress but it covered up all the
private necessities. It was a mermaid dress,
and it had diamond and silver detailing, it
was like a cloud from her knees down and the
seam lining was silver and royal blue. My
heels were royal blue suede stilettos. “ Are
you done? ”, I asked Boikanyo and she
nodded and I slowly turned to look at myself
in the mirror and I literally shed a tear.

“ I am so glad that we used waterproof make

up on you because, uzwene nokukhala
shame ”( you love crying ), everyone laughed
and I side eyed Boikanyo and she grinned. My
aunt and Vuyolwethu's mother let
themselves and their jaws dropped
immediately after laying their eyes on
Tshegofatso. “ NaNgwane, you look so
mesmerizing ”, MaShandu complimented
and, “ You forgot perfect ”, MaNdhlovu said.
They both gave her a quick hug and Amanda
and Boikanyo left and came back a while
later wearing black short jumpsuits with
black sandal blockheels. Trust me, I wasn't
behind the jumpsuits, it was all MaNdhlovu
and Jessica's plan. “ Yhuuuu, anisehot nje ”,
MaNdhlovu complimented the girls as they
walked in and, “ Umhle nawe ma ”, Kefentse
complimented MaNdhlovu back. Vuyolwethu
Ndhlovu. Seeing Tshegofatso walk down that
aisle was priceless. The smile she had
plastered on her face was breathtaking and
contagious at the same time. She looked so
beautiful in the wedding gown she had both
me and the guests in awe with every step she
took forward, as her hips swayed side to side
and the seam of her dress swishing as she
walked on the white carpet. She looked so
gorgeously moulded and, everything about
this just felt, UNREAL. “ I am handing over my
daughter to you, wamphula inhliziyo I will kill
you ”(... if you dare break her heart...),
MaShandu murmured at me and I nodded in
response before, “ Noted. ” MaShandu went
to sit down and I took Tshegofatso's hand,
and we walked over to the pulpit and stood
in front of the pastor. He greeted everyone
and asked if there was anyone against me
and Tshegofatso getting married and, no one
stood up so he continued with the service. He
opened a verse and then asked us to make
our vows after that, with Tshegofatso going
first.

“ Ndhlovu... ”

“ Junior ! ”, my father yelled and everyone

laughed.
“ Yes, Ndhlovu Junior ”, Tshegofatso
corrected herself and chuckled slightly, “ we
have been through a lot of things in just such
a short space of time. We have fought a lot,
separated from each other only to find each
other at each other's arms again. A lot of
people think I am in love with you because
you were my Knight in shining armour,
because you saved me from an abusive
relationship but, we don't really owe them
any explanation. See, I've always thought I
would find someone who would genuinely
love me and complete me but you came
along and washed all my insecurities away
and for that, I will cherish you for the rest of
our lives ”, she completed all her vows and all
this time I just fell in love with her more than I
already was. Hearing here say all those things
just felt amazing and... I just love her man.

“ I don't even know where to start, I have

never been a person of words ”, I looked
straight into her eyes and, “ I was never about
love, but you came into my life and showed
me the importance of it. I've been in and out
of relationships but they were never really
built on a foundation of love, it was a foreign
feeling to me. In just a short space of time,
you loved me and gave me the greatest gift of
all, an heir. I promise to love you at all times,
be a good husband to you and a good father
to our children ”, the pastor handed over our
rings and I slid the elegant handpiece onto
her find and she did the same with the
diamond engraved band.

“ With the power vested in me, I pronounce

you Mr and Mrs Ndhlovu. You may now kiss
your bride ”, I grinned at the now Mrs
Ndhlovu when the pastor mentioned a kiss. I
slid my hands on her waist and brought her
closer and slowly kissed her passionately. We
broke the kiss and I smiled at her as she
looked down trying to hide her blush, with
people cheering for us. Third person
narration. Tshegofatso and Vuyolwethu
headed out hand in hand as the people
scattered rose petals their way. They had a
photoshoot with the bridesmaids and
groomsmens, signed their marriage
certificate and then they headed to their
suites. “ Mrs Ndhlovu ”, Boikanyo cheered
Tshegofatso on and, “ Yes darling? ” “ Yhuu,
ishori girl. ” Tshegofatso changed into a royal
blue evening gown and black block heels and
then headed to the reception area. She along
with her friends found Vuyolwethu and the
groomsmen and he had also changed, he was
now wearing a pair of black denim jeans,
white turtleneck and a royal blue blazer
jacket with royal blue and white Alexander
McQueen sneakers. He was a definite sight
for sore eyes. Vuyolwethu and Tshegofatso
choreographed their way inside and the
guests cheered as they danced their way to
the main table.

After eating, speeches were made, advices

were given and some of them were funny and
some were really meaningful. Finally,
Tshegofatso and Vuyolwethu had their first
dance as a married couple, a waltz.

A few hours later, it was time for the couple

to head to their honeymoon destination,
which was a surprise for Tshegofatso. The
guests started leaving while Vuyolwethu and
Tshegofatso went to their suites to fetch their
luggage and they met just at the reception
area and they said their goodbyes to their
family and friends, and then they headed to
OR Tambo international airport. They
boarded the jet and Vuyolwethu strapped
Tshegofatso in the safety belts and she
strapped off when they were safely off land.

“ So, what is our destination? ”

“ Canada, Paris and Maldives ”, Vuyolwethu

replied and she immediately jumped onto his
lap and gave him the tightest hug followed by
the most passionate kiss. It has always been
Tshegofatso's dreams to someday visit these
places and finally, her dreams were going to
come to life. “ I love you ”, she said looking
straight into Vuyolwethu's eyes and, “ I love
you too, from the depth of my heart. ”
The end, for now.