AZANI

A-BORNMARRI
ED

PROLOGUE

Il
ookmy selfint hemi rr
orandIcan’ thelp
smiling,Ididit,I’m graduati
ngt oday ,Ican’t
beli
ev ethatIdi di t.Aft
erfouryear sofhar d
work, Ifi
nal l
ydidi t,Idepri
vedmy selfofthe
coll
egel i
f efort his,educati
onisar eall
y
I’
mpor tantt hi
ngonemusthav e,Icanl i
teral
ly
l
ackany thingbutnoteducat ion.Atj ust21,I
achievedmybi ggestgoal ever.
“Baby,comebef oreyougetlate”that
’smy
mother,Patri
cia,‘
Yeah,I’
m comingmom”It ake
onelastlookatmy selfonthemi r
ror,
“youdi
dit
fi
fi
,youdiditgirl
”Itakemygownandhatand
walkout,Ifi
ndmypar ent
swaitingformeatthe
door,mydadembr acesmei nahugandwe
walkout,all
threeofus.
Wegeti nt hecaranddr iveof ftoschool ,my
apar tmenti sjustf i
fteenmi nutesawayf rom
school sowemadei tjusti nti
me.Wewentt o
theaudi t
or ium, whiletheyt ookt heirseat s,I
walkedupt otheot hergr aduates, Ifindaseat
andev eryoneget squiet ,Iseesomeofour
l
ect ur esanddeansappr oachingt hepodi um,
every oneseat sdown, onechai rleft.“ l
adiesand
gent leman, apologiesbuti tseemsl ikeour
guesti sr unni ngl at
e”t hel adyont hemi csays,
“withoutf ur therado, pleasewel comet hedean
ofthest udent s,Mr ..Mi chael Adze”ev erybody
appl audsashet akest hest age, Mr ..Adzei sa
veryy ummyman.He’ sCaucasi an, hasav ery
nicelyshav enbear dwi thabol dhead, he’sa
buffguyv eryappeal i
ngt ot heey es.
“t
hanky ou,
thanky ou,ast hedeanofst
udents,
I
”Izoneoutf r
om ev eryt
hingthathesays
becausesuddenlyIbecamehungr y,
Iwastoo
nervoustoeatbreakfast,Idon’
tnormal
lyeatit
,
butnowI
’
m superhungr
y.

“Anz omawel a,cum l aude”ev erybodyappl auds,

“katlegomphel a”…nowI ’
m get t
ingscared
becauseI ’
m upnext ,“Remof i
lweAzani a
Nkoana”Iwal kup, “
cum l aude”Iseemymot her
standi ngupandcl appi nghands, nowI ’
m al l
smi les,Igethandedmydegr ee.
“congr atul
ati
ons”Mr .
.Adzesay swhenIshake
hishand.“ Thanky ou, sir”thenextper songet s
calledandwecont i
nue.Oncet heceremonyi s
fi
nished, Iwalkupt omypar entsandhugt hem,
mymot herhastearsi nherey es,myf ather,he
hasont hebiggestsmi leev er.“I
’m soproudof
youmybaby ”I’
vealway sbeendads’ li
tt
le
princess, i
tdoesn’tmat t
erhowol dIget,Iguess
i
t’sbecauseI ’mt heironl ychild.
Wegoandt akepict
ures,af
terthat
,myf at
her
deci
destotakeusoutforlunch,healr
eady
madereser
v at
ionsatarestaur
ant,t
alkabouta
manwhoknowswhathewant s.Onceushered
t
oourtabl
e,If
eel
thehungercominginful
l
f
orce.

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wantedtoseei
fFacebookwil
lworkkaf
reedom
anddolol
o,meani
ngthestr
ugglef
ordat
a
begi
ns.
Any
way
..
.Seey
all
ont
he2ndofAugust
.

Let
sseehowt
hispostmakesi
t
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
01(
fort
he3kpagel
i
kes)

I
mmedi
atel
ywhenIgothomeonmygr
aduat
ion
day,Igotanemai lfr
om Zungu. inc,
my
appli
cationhadbeenaccept edanddateof
i
ntervi
ewset ,t
hatwast woweeksback, I
’m
happyt oannouncet hatyo-gir
lgotthej
ob.
Alt
houghi twasn’twhatIf ull
yappli
edfor
,itwas
somet hi
ng,at-
leastIhadaj obImean.
Socurrent
ly,I
'm packingmyst uffandmov i
ng
i
ntomynewapar t
ment ,t
hisonei smucht o
work,
it’
sjusttwobl ocksawaysoIcanwal kto
andfr
om wor k.Abi gplusisthatt heyhav ea
di
nerjustnextdoorwhi chserv est hebest
bur
gersIev ert
asted,andt here’sSt ar
bucks
al
so.IwouldsafelysayI ’
mi nthebest
nei
ghborhoodev er,every
thingi sjustadistance
away.
“Your eal
l
yareleavi
ng?
”Ilookupandmy
motherhasacof feemugonherhandsand
she’
sst andi
ngbymybedr oom door
.“Yesma.
It
’sclosetowork”shesighsandwalkfurt
herin
myr oom andtakesaseatonmybed.“ I’
mr eal
l
y
goingt omi ssyoumybaby ”herey esar e
gli
stering.“mom yougoi ngtomakemecr yal so,
pleasest op”shesmi l
esatmeandpat sthe
spacenextt oher,“
sitdownher emybaby ,you
know, wheny ouwerebor n,youhadt hemost
beaut i
fulsmileever,i
t’
slikeyouwer ehappyt o
bebor n,we, werehappyy ouwer ebor n,your
fatherandIpr ayedsomucht ohaveachi l
d,but
neitheroneofourki dsev ermadei t,i
fthey
survived,theydidstaylongenough, omphoy a
ronangwanake”( youareourgi ftmychi ld)I
don’tknowhowmanyt i
mesI ’veheardt hest ory,
andev er
yt i
meshet ell
sit,shealway shast ear s
i
nherey es.
Iguesslosi
ngsevenki dsi
snoteasy ,
may be
that’
swhydoev eryt
hingforme,Ineverlacked,
I
am oneluckygir
linthiswhol
eent i
reworld.
“Pleasemakeuspr oudbabygir
l,okay?”how
canInot,Ial
wayswantt omaket hem proud.
“Alwaysmom, al
way s”sheopensherar msand
l
ikeali
tt
lekitten,Isnuggl
ein.t
hiswomanr i
ght
herei
smyi dol ,
shehasbeent hroughthemost
andyetshe’sstil
lstrongandstanding,
andmy
fat
herneverleftherside.

“Al
ri
ghty out wo, comeoutI ’
m hungr y”mydad
shoutsfrom thedi ningr oom, welaughandwal k
outbehindeachot hert ogof eedmymot hers’
husband, Iadmi rethei rl
ov e,
ifonedayIget
l
ucky,Iwantal ov ejustl i
ketheir
s, sopure, r
aw
andhonest ,butGodf orbidIhaveki ds,nothing
agai
nstt hem, Ijustdon’ twantany .Mymot her
s’
pastexper i
encescar edme.

*
**
“Homesweethome”It hrowmykey sandphone
onthecounterandsigh.Thisplaceisl
it
eral
l
y
empty,butat
-l
eastIhav eabedandacouch,
plust
v.Ihavetodosomegr oceryshoppi
ng
beforeIcanstartmyweek, itsFr
idaytodaysoI
sti
llhavetwomor eday stogetmyapar tmentin
order.I
t’
saonebedr oom andbat hroom
apartment,anopenkitchenthatconnectstothe
l
ounge, i
tssmallandintimate.
Thenextmor ning, Iwakeupandt extAnzot o
goshopwi t
hme, weliveinthesamebui l
ding,
alt
houghhe’ sdownst air
s,hehasbeenst ay i
ng
heresi
ncev ar sityyears,hisfat
herownst he
wholebuildi
ngssot heperksofi t
,Ihad
nowheret ostaysohehel pedmef i
ndthispl ace.
Anzoisnoty ourt ypi
calfuckboy ,he’
sthat
nerdyfuckboy ,he’sarichkidbutdoesn’ tlethis
famil
yrichesgeti ntohishead,hedoesn’ t
spendmoneyr ecklessly,
he’sonef ocusedguyI
know.
-r
ightoutside,
her esponsetomyt ext
,Iputon
myshoesandt iemybr aidsandwalkoutside,I
meethimj ustashe’ sabouttogetoutofthe
el
ev at
or.“Sup,dude”Igreethim,henodshi s
headandpressesGont heel evator
,hehasa
carsohecomesi nhandy .“
Wher etof irst?
”I
bit
emynai l
s, “Idon’tr
eallyknow, Ij
ustwantt o
getafewappl iancesbecauseI ’
m onbudget ,
j
ustsomet hingst ogetmet hrought hemont h,
andaf ewgrocer i
es”hel ooksatmeandnods
hi
shead.“we’ l
l gopassedt hemal lthen. ”He
dri
vesoutandput sonamapi anomusi c,Iwould
neverunder
st andwhati nterestpeopl ewi t
hthis
ki
ndofmusi c, butthentoeachhi sown.
Wegett opi cknpayandhet akesthet r
oll
ey,we
walkt otheappl iancesect i
on,Idon’tneedalot
ofthings,hehel psmel ooksost uf
ft hatmight
beessent i
al ,nextwegot othedetergent
sectiontot akeaf ewt hingsthenthengr ocer
y.
Het ootakesaf ewt hi
ngshereandt here,when
wegett ot het i
ll
,insteadofpay i
ngf orhisthi
ngs
only,hepay sf ormi netoo.
IpromisedIwi
ll
buyhim pizzaonceIgetmy
fi
rstpayandhejustl
aughedatme, whenwe
gott
oourbui
ldi
ng,hegotacal
l,buthehel
ped
meintomyapar
tmentfi
rstbef
oregoing
wher
everhewascall
edto.

Andj
ustl
iket
hat
,ther
estofmyweekendpass
i
nablur
.

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Welcomet obook3ofthepai
nandpl
easur
e
ser
ies.
..Hopeweallhaveasmoot
hsai
l
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
02

Bef
oreIknewit
,twomont
hshadpassedandI
wasenj
oyingev
erybi
toft
hingIwasdoi
ngat
wor k,alotofwor kitwas, butitwasal lwor
thit,
mysal arywasqui teImpr essiv
e, Icouldpayfor
theapar tment ,buyplentyofgr ocery,andstil
l
hav equiteani mpr essiv
echange.Imanagedt o
buyaf ewt hingst omaket hepl acelookand
feelmor ewel comi ng,Ihadacar petandaf ew
couchesandchai rs,oneday ,mypar ents
knockedonmydoorunannouncedandsai d
theywant edt ocheckuponme, Iwasshocked
toseet hem her ebutwhatIwasmostscar ed
aboutwast hatAnzowascomi ngov er,
throughoutourent ir
emeal thi
ngswer e
awkwar dunt ilheleft.
“Idon’
tl i
kehim”mydadsai d,whatthefuck!
Okay,heandIar enotdatingbuttheguyis
l
iter
all
yev eryparentdream boyfr
iend,he’
sfr
om
awel l
-offfamil
y,he’
sv erysmartandhasgood
manner s,whowoul dn’tli
kehim?Wel l…mydad
doesn’t.Itr
iedtoexplaintohimthatwear enot
dati
ngbuthecutmeshot ,t
oldmet hathe
doesn’twantmeany wherenearhi m andt hem
hetookmymoms’ handandt heyleft,j
ustlike
that
.Iwasl eftshocked,aboutthef actthathe
doesn’twantmehangi ngwithAnzomor ethan
anythi
ng, mydadwasnev erthatkindofper son,
henev erdictatedformewhatIshoul dor
shouldn’tdo,whot oseeornot ,sothef actthat
hejustdidt hat,l
eftmegob- smacked.

Someofmycol l
eagueshav einvi
tedmet oa
happyhouratt hebardownt heroad.I ’
m not
reall
yapeopl es’personbutt hi
siswor ksoI’m
forcedtoknowev er
yoneIwor kclosel ywit
h,I
hav eapresentationthatIneedt ofinishso
whenev eryonescat tersandleavesbecausei t
’s
knock-offt
ime, Iquicklypackmybagandsneak
outt ot
heboar droom.Onceev erythingisclear,
I
openmyey esandbr eathoutasi gh,well…
happyornot ,thiswor kwon’tfini
shitself.
“Youshoul dprobabl yheadhome, it
’sgetti
ng
l
ate”Igetst art
led,amani satt hedoor ,
no!thi
s
onei snotaman, he’sat otaldemigodwi th
honeybr owney es, Igettonguet i
ed,“theoffi
ce
i
scl osingsoon”agai n,Igettonguet iedand
don’trespond,hel ooksatmeandchuckl es
beforehet urnsaroundandwal kway .
“damnit”Ihitmyf oreheadwi thmypal m, “
what
j
usthappened? ”Ihav enev ergottentongueti
ed
before,hell
,Inev erseenamanl i
kethatinmy
l
ife,heisther eal defi
niti
onoft al
ldarkand
handsome.Lor dohmer cy.Icheckthetimeand
i
t’salmostt en,“oohGod”Anzohasl eftalr
eady
andIcan’ tcallhimt ocomef etchme, IknowI
l
iveonlyaf ewbl ocksawaybuthomegi rl
scaredtowal khome, Ipulloutmyphoneand
requestanuber .
Myuberarr
ivesinexact
lyfi
veminutes,
Ican
seether
earesti
llpeopl
eatthebar,
butI’
mtoo
ti
redandIl
ostthemoodt obearoundpeopl
e.
Theuberdr opsmeof fatthegat e,Iorderpizza
andwal ktomyapar tment .WhenIgeti nside,I
closethedoorwi t
hmyl egandheadst rai
ghtto
theshower ,iti
sex actlywhatIneedaf terall
, I
getcalledtogetmypi zzabysecur i
tysoIgr ab
myownandsl ippersandgodownst airs,Isee
Anzowal kinginwi thapet i
tey el
lowbone, fr
om
wor kexactlyhistype,oohwel l
.Ipayf ormy
pizzaandheadupst airs;Itakethest air
st o
preventgettingintothesameel evatorast hem.
Ihav emyf ri
dgest ockedwi thwi nebot tl
es
becauseI ’
m usedt olivingof fpi
zza,wi neanda
goodNet fl
ix.

*
**

Thi
sweekIhadnot i
met omysel
f,Ikeptgoi
ng
toworkearl
yandknocki
ngof
flat
e, mom call
ed
butIcoul
dn’
tevenpi
ckuphercal
l,Itol
dmy sel
f
thatIwoul dretur
nitonceIgethomebut
i
mmedi atelywhenIgethome, Igetknockedout
i
fI’ml ucky ,Iwakeupont hebed,butsof ar
,I
makei ttot hecouch.Idon’tevenknowwhen
wast hel asttimeIgotapr opermeal,Ibumped
i
ntoMr .honey -br
owney edcreat
ureagain,he
madear emar konhowI ’m al
waysatwor kaft
er
hoursasi fIhadnopl acetostay.
ThistimeIonl ymanagedt ogiv easmi le
becausef orsomest rangereasont heguy
rendersmesi lent.Ast i
redanddr ainedasIam,
Isti
llhavemor ewor ktodo, wehav et opi tch
i
deasont ot heboar donapr ojecttheydeci ded
totake, t
heyl ookingi nt
obringingadi ff
er ent
“department ”f orwantofabet terwor d,intothe
companyt ot acklethesocio-economi cissues,
sotheywantust opresentouri deast ot hem,
wewor ki
ngi nagr oupoff i
ve,thegr oupt hatI’m
workingwi thi s…okayIguess, yes,they
dedicatedbutt heystereotyped,nott hinkingout
ofthebox.So,Ihavebeendoi
ngmyown
resear
chonmyownt hat’
swhythel
ateni
ght
s
andearlymorning.
“Worki ngonaSat ur
day ?”t
hehoney -browney ed
creaturei shereagain,Iwonderwhatheact uall
y
does, Ilookupathi m andl aughalit
tle,“ah!
Todayi t
’syourlaughter,whatwil
l i
tbe
tomor row? ”Istopandl ookathim beforeI
actuallylaughandshr ugmyshoul ders,he
winksatmebef oreIstepoutoft heel evator
andleav ehimthere,hehasasmi leonhi sf ace
whenIt urntolookathi m.

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Honey
-br
owney
es?
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED
CHAPTER:
03

“heyLona, doy ouhav eami nute”Iruntocat ch

uptomysuper visor“ surewhati sit?”shelooks
upatmeandsmi l
esbef oreshegoesbackt o
checkingherphone.“ t
hetaskwewer egiven,
areindi vi
dual sal lowedt opitch?”shest ops
walkingandl ooksatme, “ah,Iwaswonder i
ng
therebel li
onwi llst art”
.“sorry?”sheignoresme
andcont inuest ot alk.“wesai dyoumustwor k
i
ngr oups, Iexpecty out oactuall
ywor kin
groups, ify ouf eel likeyouwantt opitch
somet hingt henIex pectyout otalktoyour
groupandsor titoutokay ”Inodmehead
“okay”t henIt urnandwal kaway ,IspotMr .
honey -browney edcr eatur
eheadi ngt othe
elevator.
It
’spresentat
iondayandI ’
m notf
eeli
nguptoit,
Ihavenot hi
ngagainstthetopi
cgiv
entous,but
Ifeel
t heynotthi
nkingahead.Si
nceit
’sFr
iday
wewearsmar tcasual ,butthen, i
t’
s
present at
iondaysoIhav etolookmybest ,
I
hadmyhai randnai lsdoney esterdayandal so
gotanout fi
tpr epar ed.Aknocksoundsf rom t
he
door, Igoat tendt oi twhi
leIwearmyshoes.I
fi
ndAnzol ooki nglikeasnacki nbl ackDemi n
tr
ouser sandabl ackshi r
tandsui tj acket,he
hadanewcutandmani sthisguygor geous.
“youl ookpr etty”Ilethimi n“thanky ou,you
l
ooki nggoodt oo”heshr ugshi sshoul derand
goesandmakesacupofcof fee,Igobackt o
myr oom andgetmybagandspr aysome
perfume.
I
’minawhi tejeanandmust ardformalshir
tand
mustardheels.HestandsupassoonasIwal k
outofmybedr oom, heheadstot heki
tchenand
ri
nsehiscup.Igrabmyphoneandkey sandwe
walkouttogether;
he’sleadi
ngint hef
rontand
I
’m attheback.“areyouscared”hechuckles
“no,I
’
m prett
yconf i
dentinmyt eam”well,t
hat’
s
nicetohear.“ar
eyouscar ed?
”Ishrugmy
shoulder
s.“I’
m nottoosure,I
’m abitskept
ical
aboutthetopicgiv
en,itl
it
eral
lyhasnomany
way stogoaboutit”helooksatmeandopens
thebackseatsoIcanputmyst uff
.“whatdo
youmean”hecl osesthedoorandgoest ohis
seat.
Iopenmydoorandputonmyseat belt“Imean
i
t’sei t
heroneoftwoway s,thereisno
alternati
ngaroundi
t,Ij
ust…arg,itfr
ustrates
me”heshakeshi sheadandl aughsatme
“you’vealwaysbeenli
kethis,youdon’tjustlet
thingsbe, butI
’
m sureyouwi l
lwor kout”Isigh
andr estmyheadbyt hewindow.

*
**

Weareatt her
oyalacademyhotel
,al
lmember
s
ofZungu.
incarepr
esent,ev
enthebigboss
himself.I’m sweat ing,Ikeepdrinki
ngwat er
hopingt hati twouldcool medownbutIonl yget
pressed, “okayy ouupnext ”Lonacallsusin,
nowI ’
m ev enmor epr essed.“daisycany ou
coverforme?Ineedt her estr
oom? ”
.“yeahsure
gir
l,bequi ck”Iquicklyrushtothebat hroom, I
havenev erbeent hisner vousbefore,the
presentat i
onshav ebeengoi ngonsi nceearlyin
themor ni ng,it
’salmostt hreeandt herearetwo
mor egroupsaf terus.

Iwalkbackandt heyhavealreadysetev er
ythi
ng
up,theywer ejustwai ti
ngforme.Iseeabout
fi
ft
eenpeopl ei nsuits,manandwoman, but
onlyonest andsout ,thehoney-browney es,he
remainsst oicanddoesn’ tevensmi l
e,now
mor ethanev er.Izoneoutunt i
l I
’
m
embar rassinglysnappedoutofmyt r
ance
becausei t’
smyt urntopresent.“ggh,myname
i
s…f uck,nosor ryImean”dai sypokesme, “
I
Uhm…t
ranspor
tyes,
wel
ltr
anspor
tisv
ery
…”
“i
fwebr ingtranspor ttot hepeople,wegi ve
them mor ethanjustat hingthattheywant ,they
will
beabl eto”Icanf eel t
earsthreateni
ngt o
comeout ,
Ihav enev erbeent hisembar rassed.
Nowmor ethanev erIwantnot hi
ngbutt ogo
backhomeandsl eep, forgetthatthi
sdayhas
everhappenedorj usthi demy selfunderar ock
andnev ercomeback, wi t
houtthinki
ngtwi ce,I
runoutside.
Istr
ollaroundt hehot eltocalm my sel
fdown,
i
nsteadoft hener vousnessIwasf eeli
ngearl
ier
nowIr egretwal kingout,Iprobablylookli
kean
i
ncompet entidi
ot .Wayt ogof i
fi
,wayt ogo.
“f
if
i”Il
ookandi t’sAnzo, “whathappened”
i
nsteadofanswer ing,If
eeltearsburnmyey es
andblurmyv isi
on.“ ImessedupAnzo, I
messedupbi gt ime”
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED
CHAPTER:
04

Iam soembar r
assedt oevengot owor ktoday.
Idon’
tknowwhatI ’
m goi ngtosayt omyt eam
member s,
Ithoughtt hattheweekendwoul d
hel
pmegetov ertheembar rassme, Iev enwent
homebutIam st il
lthesameaswhenIwent ,
nothi
nghaschangedatal l
.Knock, knock,Istay
i
nmybedandcov ermyhead, Iknowt hatit
’s
Anzobutquitefrankly,I’
m notr eadytogot o
work,hekeepsknocki ngandcal l
ingbutI ’
m
att
endingtoneit
her, unti
lhef i
nallygivesup.
Sot hat’
showIspentmyMonday ,stuf
fing
my selfwit
hfoodandbei ngacouchpot at
o.I
needt hi
sday,Iignoredcall
sfr
om workand
everyonefrom work.IknowIcan’
twallowupin
self-
pity
,butIj
ustneedt odayonl
y.Suddenlya
hardknocksoundsf rom thedoor
,Icheckthe
ti
meandi t
’salmostluncht ime, Anzocan’tbe
backthisearly
,ormay bei t’
slunch, Idust
my sel
fandwearmysl ipper sandgoopent he
door,Iregr
etnotlookingt hrought hepeephole.
Li
keal ways,whenhe’sar ound, Igettonguetied,
soinsteadofsay i
ngany thing,Istandont he
doorandwai tforhimt osaywhat everhecame
heretosay .
Afterami nuteofsi l
encest ares,hepushes
passedmeandi nvit
eshi msel fi
nside,helooks
aroundandhi seyeslandont hepl ateofchipsI
sawsnacki ngon, helooksatmeandt akesin
myat t i
re.“ sawubonant okazi”okay ,t
hat’
sthe
l
astt hingIexpect edt ohear .So,Inodmyhead
yesandf ollowhimi nside,hel ooksatmeand
smi l
es, “stillwon’tspeakup? ”Isi
ghandsi t
down.Hef oll
owsmyl eadandsi tsdown,
remov i
ngt hefleeceoutoft heway .“sorr
y”Isay
andr emov ethef l
eece,“ukahl ekodwa? ”with
onef inal sigh,Ili
ftmyl egsupandt ugthem
undermybutt
,“Iwi
llbe”hedoesn’
tsay
anyt
hingel
sebutconti
nuetolookatme.

Thi r
tymi nut espassedandhewasst i
llsil
ent,I
tri
edt oof ferhim somet hi
ngt odr i
nkbuthe
turnedt hem al ldown.Hei smaki ngt hings
superwei rdf orme.Idon’ tev enknowwhatt o
sayt ohi m any mor e,hehasbeensi tt
ingher e
l
ooki ngatt hespor tschannel whichhesetf or
himsel fwi thoutaski ngformyper mission.Af ter
somet ime, hel ooksathi swat chandbr ushes
hist highs, “Ishoul dgetgoi ng”thenhest ands
up.Hel ooksatmesi t
ti
ngdownandr aiseshi s
oneey ebr ow“ what ?”Iask“ walkmeout ?”I
raisemyey ebrowt oobutst andupnonet heless,
Itaket hef l
eeceandcov ermy sel
fwithi t
,Isee
him smi lingal itt
le.Wewal koutt oget herunt i
l
wer eacht hedoor ,hestandsout si
dewhi leI
stayi nsi de, hest opswal kingandl ooksatme,
“i
twasni cebei ngwi thyou,Ihopet oseey ouat
worktomor r
owmor ni
ng”hetipsmychi nupand
pl
aceaki ssonthecorner
sofmymout h.Then
hestandsstrai
ghtandwalksawayasi fnothi
ng
happened,IcanseeAnzosteppingoutofthe
el
evatorandlooki
ngat-whatinthewor l
dishis
name?
soIjustsharedkisswit
hat otalst
ranger
,wel
l…
i
t’snotakissandneitheri
sheast rangerbut
then…well,IguessIwil
lneverknowwhohei s
ri
ght.

*
**

Thenextmor ni
ng, Iwokeupbrightandearly,
I
preparedtogetthereear
li
erthanusual,Iputon
apotofcof f
eeandwentbackt ogetti
ngready.
WhatIl ov
ethemostaboutZungu. i
ncisthat
therei
snohasslei nwhatyouwear ,especi
alin
thecreati
vedepartmentwhichI’m cur
rentl
y
doingri
ghtnow, everyonceinawhile,t
hey
placeusindi ffer
entdepartmenttoseewhere
ourstr
engt hlies.Ifel
tli
kedoli
ngmy sel
fupsoI
putonsomemakeup, apinkdressandblack
blockheels,thenIputonabl ackblazerfort
hat
corpor
ateny anal ook.Iti
edmybr ai
dsupand
tookmyl aptopbagandhandbag.
Ipouredmycof f
eei nato-gomugand, beforeI
couldf i
nishwr appingup,aknocksoundedat
thedoor ,wel l
…t hatmustbeAnzo, Igrabmy
mugandhi sandheadt othedoor,“ hey ,Iwil
l
helpyouwi t
ht hat ”hegrabsmynagandmugs
all
owingmet ol ockup.“ t
hankyou”Isayand
grabmymugandhandbag.“ whathappenedon
Friday”Ilookathi m andchuckleabi t,Ifeelso
stupidrightnow, Ishouldn’thav
er eact edt he
wayt hatIdi d,“Ifreakedoutandr anoutoft he
presentationr oom” .“noway ”helooksand
soundsshocked, “yeah”Inodmyheadand
l
augh, nowt hatIf eelsomehowokay ,Ifeel
real
lyst
upidforwhatIdi
d,ormay
bethehoney
-
browney edcr
eati
onwastheonewhocaught
meof fguard,
Idon’
tknow.

Wecont inuetot hecarmaki ngsmal l

conver sati
onsher eandt here,AnzoandIwer e
somewhatf riends, ifyouaskmehowwemet ,I
don’trememberbutIknowsi ncethen,he
alway shadmybackl ikeIhadhis,aromant i
c
rel
ationshipissomet hingwenev erhad,Ihada
crushonhi mf orthel ongestoftimebut
unfortunatelynot hingev erhappened.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
__

Letmeoff
ici
all
ywelcomeyout
othe
#Pai
n&pl
easurebookser
iessmoot
hri
dingy
'al
l
ri
ghtnowweonbook3
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
05

“wher ethehell wer ey ou,Ihopey ouhav ea

doctor’snotebecauseIwi llnott oleratewhat
youdi d,Fri
day?ha!Iwi l
lletthatonesl i
desl it
tl
e
l
ady ”fir
stofal l
, she’smay bet hreeorf oury ears
olderthanme, Iknowshe’ smysuper vi
sorsoI
willj
ustkeepqui et.“Idonothav ei t”Istand
nextt oherlikeaner rantchild, don’ tknowmy
nextmov e.Shel ooksatmeandsi ghs“ goget
yourwar ningfr om Mr ..Zungus’ of fi
ce”mywhat ?
“Lonacomeon, itwasaonceof ft hing,i
twon’ t
happenagai nIpr omi se”shel ooksatmeand
continuewal king“ unfortunat elyit’soutofmy
hands, wedonotappr eciatesuchbehav i
orher e,
wor kbeforeall elseisourmot orandy ouneed
togiveity ourone- hundr edper cent ,goon, he’s
expect
ingy
ou”
.

Istandr ootedtomyspotunt i
lIfinal lydeci det o
got othebi gbosses’offi
cet ogetmywar ni ng
l
et t
er.Istepoutoft heelev atoront het went iet h
fl
oor.Itisav eryquietfl
oorwi thonl yt heCEO
offi
ceandt heboardroom, it’swher eIusedt o
comet ogetal l
myr esearchdone, i
t’sv eryqui et
andhasv erygoodWi -Fisignal .Iwal kal l
ov ert o
therecept i
onistandsheal lowsmei n, Istand
closetot hedoorandt akedeepbr eat hst rying
tocalm myner vesdown.Bef oreIcanknockt he
doorf l
iesopenandl i
kethet housandt imesmy
breathhitchandI ’mrender edsi lent .Iam met
butcoldhoney -
browney edcr eatur e, “geti n” ,he
commands“ Laylaholdmycal l
”Iwal kf urtheri n
andst andint hemiddleoft heof fice.
“si
tdown”hesoundssoseri
ous,
insteadof
doingwhatI
’mtol
dIconti
nuetostand“Remo,I
sai
dsitdown”t
hesoundofmynamecomi ng
from hismout hpushesmet ositdown, he
strai
ghtenshi ssuitoutandwal ksov ertohi s
chair
, hetakesoutabr ownenv elopeandhands
i
tt ome“ yourwarning”Ibitmyt onguet ost op
thetearst hatareburningmyey esfrom fall
ing,I
nodmyheadcount l
esstimesandat temptt o
standup, “wher eareyougoing? ”ishef orreal?
“backt owor k?”hesighsandst andsupwal ki
ng
tomysi de,heholdsmebyt hewai standl eads
met ot hecouch, heunbut t
onshi ssuitjacket
andt akest heenvelopefrom myhandsand
putsitont hecof f
eet abl
enextt othecouch.
Hesitsandlooksatme, no!staresatme, fora
goodt hi
rt
ysecondsbef orehecomposes
himselfandclearshisthroat.Hetakesoutt he
warningandshr edsiti
ntopieces, shocki
s
writ
tenallov
ermyf ace,“
thiswillstaybet
ween
thetwoofusononecondi ti
on”hel ooksatme
asifwaiti
ngformet oaskaquest i
on,buthow
canIwhenhenev erceaset orendermesi lent
,
asifacceptingdefeat,hesi
ghsandturnsso
he’slooki
ngst rai
ghtatme,“pi
tchyour
presentat
ion,theoney ouwereworki
ngont he
pastfewweeks”nowhowt hehell
didhelearn
aboutthat.
Hel
ooksatme,asi
fwait
ingformetosayy es,
i
nst
eadIshakemyheadno.Ihearhi
m chuckle.
"okay…howcanIf orget
,younotawomanof
toomanywor ds,youcango"heshowsmethe
door.Heiski
ckingmeoutr i
ght?Li
ker
eal
ly
wantsmeoutoft hedoor.
Istandupthesamet i
meashi m, heplaceshi s
handsatthebackofmywai standwal ksmet o
thedoor.Icanfeel butt
erfli
esinmyst omach, I
haveneverfeltl
iket hi
sbef ore,hedoessome
thi
ngstomeIcan' tbegint oImagi ne.Iwalkout
andstepfurtherawayf rom hi mtot heel evat
or,
whenIlookback, hisstil
l atthedoorl ookingat
me.Hehast hi
sintensel ookl i
kehe'st ry
ingto
readmeorsomet hing.
*
**

Ther estofmydaygoesbyunev entf ul,

andso
doest hemont h,beforeIknewi t
, ithasbeensi x
mont hswor ki
ngf orZungus.I ncandIwas
fi
nallypl acedi nthecr eativedepar tment .
Lit
erall
yadr eam comet rue.Thebr own- eyed
creaturehasbeenhav ingoutoft hecount r
y
meet i
ngbutwhenev erhewasi nt own, hemade
sureIf elthim.Onet imeher ockedupatt hebar
downt her oaddur ingourusual Fr i
dayr ushhour.
i
mmedi atelywhenhest eppedit,ther oom went
sil
ent.Hel ookedar oundandf inallyhi seyes
restedonme, hemai ntainedthatst oi clookof
hisandwal kedov ertot hebarandt henwal ked
outacoupl eofsecondsl ater.

Idon'
tknowi
fI'
m bei
ngpar
anoi
dorwhatbutI
somehowsawhi m ev erywher eIwent .The
othertimeIwasatt hemal l,hecamest r
aightto
meatt het ill
,paidformyst uffandt hent ook
mehomei ncompet esi l
ence, whenwegott o
myapar tment ,hesett hegr ocer yont heki t
chen
i
sland,madehi mselfcomf ortablei nmycouch
withabot t
leofhunt ersdr y, myhunt ersdr yand
somespor tsChanel .Noonesai dany thing.I
madesomesl apsandwi chandhei ndul ged
hi
msel f,afteranotherr oundofmybeer s, he
stoodup, l
ookedatmeexpect edlyandIwal ked
hi
mt ot heel evator,stil
lincompl etesi lence, thi
s
ti
met hough, whenwegott ot heelev at or,he
pull
edmecl osertohi m bymywai st.Sendi ng
el
ectricshockwav esal l
ov erme.Hel ookedat
mest raightint heey es,Ithoughthewoul dki ss
mesoIl ookedathi m expect edly,
hedi ppedhi s
headdown, Ii
nchedcl oser ,justwhenhewas
supposedt o,heplacesal inger i
ngki ssonmy
cheek,sendi ngmov eshockwav esdownbel ow.
Hest eppedback, l
ookedathi m witht hat
i
nt enselookhel i
kestogi ve,noddedhishead
andt hencalledtheelevatorup.Wecont i
nued
towat cheachot heruntilt
hedoor sopened,he
steppedi nandr i
ghtbeforet hedoorcoul
dclose.
Fort hefi
rsttimeev er
,hesmi l
edandshookhis
head.Iwentt omyapar tmentconf usedyet
giggy ,
Idon'tknowwhatgamehewaspl ayi
ng,
butIknowi twoul dbet oodanger oustohandl
e
butI '
m sti
ll
upf orthechallenge.

_
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___
___
___
___
_

HAVEYOURSELVESAPRODUCTI
VEDAY
AHEAD .
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
06
Ipromisedmypar ent
sthatIwill
v i
sitt
hem,so
heream I,carr
yingmybagi nmyhandswi th
onewal ki
nghomebecauseIj ustgotofft
het axi
soI'm wal
kinghome, theyknowt hatIwil
lvi
sit
them butIdidn'
tsayexactl
ywhensoIwi l
ljust
rockupont hem.
IpasssomeofmyKasi mat essitti
ngout si
de
smoki ngzol o, andgost rai
ghthome, thankfull
y
thegat eisnotl ockedsoIl etmy selfi
n.Ican
seemymom busyont hest ovefrom the
kitchenwindowbecauset heblindsar enot
closedy et.Iknockandmyf at
hercomest o
open, i
mmedi atel
ywhenheopenst hedoor ,he
embr acesmei nahugwhi lepattingmyback,
wel l
…Mor el ikehi t
ting,t
hat'showmyf at
her
showsaf f
ect ion.Hepl acesaki ssonmycheek
whi l
emymot herwi pesher sel
fandcomest o
greetme.
"
dumelang"IsayafterIwentt
oputmybagsi n
myroom andfinal
l
yset t
leonthecouch.I
nst
ead,
theyl
ookatmeandcont i
nuesmili
ng.Youcan'
t
missthel
oveandaffect
ioni
ntheireyesandI
knowforsur
e,Iam t
heappleoftheireyes.
"Hawuf ifi,
gorengosaBuagor ewatla,nkabo
kegol ati
le"mydadt hough."Aowapapa, I
want edtosur pri
seyouguy s"wecont i
nuedt o
tal
kwhi lemymot hergoesont odishout .It
's
nothingfancy ,i
t'
samasi and'Sotho'pap.Weal l
knowwecooki tdiff
erent
ly.Andno,wear enot
poornorar ewer i
ch,yes,mymot herisa
domest icwor kerbutmydadwor ksatan
engineeringcompanyasaqual it
ycont rol
super vi
sorsoheear nsenought omakesur ewe
setforlif
ei fIcansayso, butbot
tom lineis,we
aregood.

Whi l
ewebusywat chi
nguzaloweallknow
that'
sari
tual
,towatchtheshowImean, Igeta
textfr
om AnzotowatchENCA, "
papakekopa
gochangerchannelgannyanef
ela"
"Othomile"hesaysstil
lhandi
ngmet heremote.
Icli
ckoni tandimmedi at
elyIf
eelmyheart
racing,
it'
sMr .honeybrowneyedcreat
ureina
pressconf er
ence,tal
ki
ngaboutthenewpr oj
ect
from Zungu.Inc
It’
snotunt ilIf
inall
ypayat t
entionthatIsee
what '
swr i
ttenunder neaththatmyhear tski
ps
l
iteral
lystop.Qui nton.M.Zungu- CEOofZungu.
Inc.Icanf eelmyhear tr
aci
ng, noit'
snolonger
ar aceit
'samar athonor…Or ,fuck!Idon'
tknow.
Whydi dn’tIseeal lthi
s,howcomeIdi dn'
teven
stopand- ?
"Iadmirethi
syoungman, hemanagedt o
accompl i
shalotatsuchay oungage"It
urnto
l
ookandi t'
smydadt alki
ng,withhi
sarms
foldedandspectacl
esont hebri
dgeofhisnose.
"Youknowhim-?"Ihol
dingmybr
eat
hin,
please
sayno,pl
easesayno.
"
Of-
cour
seIdo,
he'
sal
way
sont
henewswi
th
somenewy out
hdevelopmentstrat
egieshehas
goi
ngon,he'
sgoingfarItel
lyou”Phew.Atleast
hedoesn'
tknowhim personal
ly
.
"he'
smyboss"nowbot hmyparentstur
nt o
l
ookatmeandIpr etendli
keIdon'tfeelboth
theireyespierci
ngmyhead.Thenf i
nall
ythey
turntheirheadsaroundandcont i
nuewat chi
ng
TV.I '
ml ooki
ngattheTVbutnotwat chi
ngi t
,my
mindi selsewhere.Hisint
erv
iewendssoI
changet hechannel backtoSABC1.

*
**

I'
minmyr oom l
osti
nat r
ainoft
houghtswhen
suddenl
ymyphonev i
brat
esfrom under
neat
h
mypill
ow,Igr
abitandanswerwit
houtchecki
ng.
"hel
lo?
"thepersonontheendoftheli
negoes
quit
e.Iremoveitf
rom myearandcheckt he
call
erI
D, i
t'
sanunknownnumber."hel
lo"Ical
l
agai
n.
"wherearey ou?"IthinkIstoppedbreathi
ng,
I
knowt hatvoice,Icant el
li
tapartfr
om any
othereveninmysl eep.IhearditontheTVa
fewhour sback.
"
Quint
on?
"Ical
lout."
yesit
'sme"westayqui
te
f
orsometimeunt
ilhespeaksagai
n.
"
Icamebyandy
ounother
e"
"I
'
m home"hekeepsqui
te."
yourspar
ent
s
house?
"Heasksaft
eraheartbeat
.
"
yes"
"
okay"andthenhecl
i
ckst
hecal
l
.Whatt
hef
uck
j
usthappened.
Ikeeptossi
ngandt urni
ng,why?BecauseIcan't
sl
eep.Whycan' tIsl
eepyouwantt oknow?It'
s
becausethecallisst
il
latt
hebackofmymi nd,I
can'
tgetitout,
it'
sbeenhourssinceandyetI
can'
tgetitoutsoIdot heonl
ythingIfi
nd
l
ogicalandpickupmyphoneandcal
l hi
m back,
i
t'
saquar tert
ot hr
eei
nthemorni
ng,
I'
m surehe
wil
lpickup,Imeanpeoplear
eupbythisti
me,
notsleepi
ngright?
Butbeforelogi
ccansl ipinhepi cksupand
keepsquite.Well…Ididn'texpectforhi
mt opi
ck
upsoI '
mr enderedsi
lent."Remo"t hesoundof
mynamef rom hismout his…No, Iknowwhatit
i
s, noonehasev ercall
edmeRemosi ncemy
grandmothersdeath,i
twasherni cknamefor
me.
"
whatareyoudoi
ngsti
l
lupthist
ime?
"Heask
whenhehearsmesaynot
hing.
"
notsleepy"Il
i
e,wel
l
…Notr
eal
l
ysi
ncei
t'
shal
f
t
hetruth.
"
why
?"Hesoundsconcer
ned.
"becausey ounevertol
dwhyy oucal
led"he
chuckles,Icanpict
urehim smil
i
ng,I
'venever
seenhi m smil
e,butIcandefi
nit
elyi
maginehow
handsomeitwoul
dlookonhi
m,t
hatIev
enf
ind
myselfsmi
l
ingli
keafool
.
"i
twasnot
hing,
youshouldgobackt
osl
eep"I
shakemyheadasifhecanseeme.
"t
ell
mewhyy ounotsleeping"Icanhearhi
m
si
ghf r
om t
heendoftheline.
"
Ijustwant
edt
oseey
out
hat
'sal
l
"
"
why
?"
"
shoul
dIhav
ear
eason?
"Hecount
ersback.
"noyoudon'
t,
butIwoul
dst
il
ll
iket
oknow"he
chuckl
esandstopsf
orami
nute.
"I
'
llseey
outomor
rowma’
Nkoanaomuhl
e"t
hen
hehangsup.

I'
mlef
twi
thast upi
dasssmi
lepl
ast
eredonmy
f
aceandi
tisexactl
yhowIwokeup.
_
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___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Someoneaskedi fIcoul
dposttwochapt
ersa
day,Icandothatprovi
dedthatwer
eacha
cert
ainnumberoflikesandcommentsoneach
post.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
07

If
oundmymot hercl
eani
ngthey
ard,
myf ather
onhiscampi
ngchairwat
chi
ngmymot herclean.
Thi
sguy .
"hawupapa,Gaothusemamakhante?
"He
l
ooksatmeanddoest he'
Mxm't
hinghel
ikesto
do,Ichuckl
eandsitdownont
hestoopnextto
him.
"
wenawhyont
sef
atshe?Emel
l
aot
husa"
"eh,
nnakemoeng"mymot herl
ooksatus
banterbackandf
ort
handchuckl
es.
"t
samonti
rel
atee"mymom cal
l
s,Il
ookather
andst
andup.
"papawaebatl
a?"Heshakeshi
sheadnoand
asksforcol
ddr
inki
nst
ead.
Iheadinsidet
hesameti
memyphonest ar
ts
ri
nging,t
hecall
erI
Diswri
tt
en-
Q.That
'showI
savedit
.
"Remo"hesay
sthemomentIanswert
hecal
l
,
givi
ngmenochancet
osayahello.
"Qui
nton"hest
ayssi
l
entbef
orehespeaks
agai
n.
"Iwantyout
ogowi
thmesomewher
e,I
'
llcome
pickyouup"
"youdoknowI '
m atmypar ent
shouseright
,you
can'tj
ustrockupinherelikethat
"fi
rstofal
l,
whydidn'tIsayno,becausemyanswer
t
echni
cal
l
yisay
es.
"soIwil
lseey
our
ight
"itsoundsl
i
keaquest
ion,
butit
'snot
.
"
okay
"
"
Good,
I'
ll
seey
out
hen"
Istandstari
ngatmyphonel i
kewhatjust
happened?Di dIj
ustagr
eegoingoutwithmy
boss?What ?No…whatt hehel
lam Igoingto
tel
lmypar ents?Maybei
fIsaythatI
'm goingto-
"
yey
iiwena,
teay
akaekae?
"mamal
eEna.
Ifil
lthekat tl
ewi thwat erandt akeouteggsand
baconf rom thefridge.Istartwhi ppi ngtheeggs
whileIdot hebaconont heot herhand.Once
I'
m donewi thev erythi
ngel se,Ipl atethem and
placet hem ont het ray,mom i st heonl yone
whol ov estea,shecandr i
nki ttwel veo'cl
ock
witht heDecembersunscot chi nghotandshe
won'tev ensayi t'shotorwai tfori ttocool
down, mygr annywasl ikethatt oo.SoIguess
i
t'
sher
edi
tar
y.I
'
mjustgl
adI
'
m notl
i
ket
hat
.

*
**

I'
mi nmyr oom enjoyi
ngmynapwhenIheara
thi
rdvoice,avoicethatIknowall
toowell
.The
voicehauntsmei nmydr eams.SoIcantel
l
exactl
ywhoi ti
swi thoutgoi
ngoutsi
de.
It
akeoutmyphoneandsendhi
m at
ext
._what
ar
eyoudoingher
e?
Hedoesn'
trespond,Isendanot
heroneandst
il
l
hedoesn'
trespond.
"mxm"It hrowmyf leeseandstompoutofmy
room towher etheyare,i
fhethi
nkshe'sthe
kingofthej ungl
ehehasanotherthi
ngcomi ng,
hecan'tjustshowupi nherel
ikesome" arg"I
roufl
ypushmydooropenandI mmediatelyall
eyesturntome.Ist opdeadonmyt rackswhen
Iseehim.But
!It
'snotmyhoneybr
owney
ed
creat
ure.
"
dumel
ang"Igr
eet
.
"
sawubona"hegr
eet
sme.
"
sobaba,li
keIwassay i
ng,t
hispaper
sarejusta
f
ormal
it
yonl y
,Iwantedtobetheonetogiv
e
t
hem t
oy oupersonal
ly
"
"thankyouver
ymuchMahlangu,Iappr
eciat
eit
.
Byt heway,
thi
sismydaughter
,Remofil
we,fi
fi
,
thisismyboss,Kagi
soMahl
angu"
"hel
lo"heextendshishandf orahandshake.I
feelmyheatbeat i
ngfastbecauseofhowmuch
ali
ketheylook.Exceptforthehoneybrowneyes.
Theyhav ethesamephy sicalappear
ance,
exceptQuintonisabitl
ighterincomplexi
on.
"
myhandpl
ease"
"oohsorr
y"mypar
entsl
aughwhil
ehejust
brushesi
toffl
i
kei
t'
snothi
ng,
Ifeelf
air
ly
embarrassed.Asi
ftosav
emy ,myphoneri
ngs.
Q.It
'swr i
tt
en,al
loft
hem hav
ethei
reyesonme
soIexcusemy sel
fandgooutsi
det
oanswerit.
"MaNkoana,
what'sgoi
ngon"likei
t'
shishabi
t,
hedoesn'
tgreetl
etal
onegiv
emeachancet o
sayhal
lowhenIanswer.I
nsteadofansweri
ng,I
l
aughinst
ead.
"f
unnyt
hing,
Ithoughty
ouwer eher
e,want
edt
o
gi
veyouapieceofmymi nd"
Hest
aysqui
te,
"whywoul
dyout
hinkIwas
t
her
e?"
"becauseIthoughtIhear
dy ourvoi
ce,but
turnedouti
twasn'tanyone,itwasfat
hersboss
Ithink,
butIswearIthoughtIheardyourvoi
ce"

"
mmmh,
any
way
,ar
ewest
il
lon?
"
"
yeahsur
e,whatt
ime?
"
"
ber
eadybyt
hree"
Thenhedropst
hecall,someoneneedst ot each
thi
sguysomemanner s,howt hehel
ldoy ou
hanguponapersonwheny oudon'twhet her
theyar
edoneornot.Akeganehecal ledbut
somemannersnyanawon' thurtany
one,really.

_
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___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Doubl
epostsar
edependentonhowprevi
ous
chapt
ersar
edoing,
justnott
odayt
hough.

SooooooooooooooooooooKagi
soneh?
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
08

Li
keal
i
ttl
echi
l
d,Idoexact
lywhatI
'
mtol
dtodo,
her eIam, sitti
nginf rontoft hemi r
rort r
ying
clotheson.Idontev enknowwher ewear e
going, nort heki ndofcl othesI'm supposedt o
wear ,butt hen, youcannev ergowr ongwi tha
dress, sot hat '
sex actl
ywhatIwear , aflower
printeddr essIboughtf rom legitsomet i
me
backandabl ockheel , Itiemybr aidsandput
myphone, andsomenosepowderi nsidemy
clutch.Ihav en'tevent oldmypar entsany thing
yetbutI '
mr eadyt ogo.Hee!Wei t
sebo
Remof il
webona.Ispr aymy selfandt akeone
l
astl ookatmy sel
font hemi rr
or.I'mI mpr essed.
Hebet terbeI mpressedt oobecauseIact ually
putsomeef fortsonmyl ooks.
Iwalkoutandmymot her'
sey esImmedi atel
y
l
andonme.Shel ooksatmeandsmi l
es.Igosit
nexttodadandhookmyar msar oundhisand
restmyfaceonhi m,Idon'tsayany t
hingbut
readwhateverhe'
sreading, he'sont hesports
secti
onofthenewspaper ,that '
swhatIwasabl e
tosee.I'
m notabigfanofr eading,
butIcant r
y
alotbutsport
s.Sorrynocando.Ij ustdon'
t
underst
andat hi
ngabouti t
.Myphonev i
brates
fr
om mycl ut
ch,ItakeitoutandIseeQont he
screen,
asmewhatIsav edhi m asthat
?Idon't
know.IcouldhavechosenMr .Zunguorrather
hisful
lname,butIjusthadt ochoosealetter.
Iturnmyphoneov
erandl
ookatmymom,
"papa"
"mmmh"hesti
l
lhashi
sfocusont
he
newspaper
.
"
kopagoyasomewhere,
I'
ll
bebackt
oni
ght
t
hough,
akit
sewhatti
me"
Hestopsreadi
ngandlooksatme.Adjust
inghis
gl
assestogetabett
erlookatme.Il
ookathi m
back,
aft
ersometimehepushesthem further
upandgoesbacktohisnewspaper.
"mama"I'
m scar
edmydad'sanswermightbea
no.Iwantt
ogo,I'
m af
rai
difhesaysno,Iwi
ll
sneakoutorsomet
hing.
"
Remofi
lwe,
omogolo"mymom say
s.What
's
t
hatev
ensupposedt
omean.
"papa"mymi ndmighthavekindofgivenme
permission,butweallknowf ather
shavet
he
l
astwor k.Hel ooksatmeandgoesbackt ohis
newspaper .Myphonev ibr
atesagain;
Icanfeel
tearsthr
eateningtocomeout .
"Remof i
lwe! "mymom shout s.Ilookatherand
stayquitewai tingf orhertofinish."TsaLona"I
l
ookatdadonel astt i
mebef oreIst andupand
walkout .immedi atelywhenIgett othedoor ,I
seemyf atherput tinghisnewspaperdownand
l
ookingatmom, Ipuf foutasighandwal k
outsi
de.i mmedi atelywhenIst epout sidet he
gate,Iseeabl ackAudi A8par kedout side.I'm
toointomyemot i
onst oev enthinkstraightsoI
goov ertoi tandheadt ot hepassengersi de.
i
mmedi atelywhenIgeti n,Ir
estmyheadont he
seatheadr estandsi gh.Mydadcanbedi fficult
att
imes,Iknowhe'sscar
edt
oloseme,
butI
'
m
abi
ggirl
Icant akecar
eofmysel
f.
"ar
eyouokay?"Heasksl
ooki
ngatme.Inodmy
headyes.I
nst
eadofstar
ti
ngthecar
,he
conti
nuest
olookatme.
"i
fyoudon'
twantt
ocomei
t'
stot
all
ycool
you
know"
"no,
it'
snott
hat
"Iexpecthi
mtol
eti
tgo,
buthe
questi
onsmefurt
her.
"whati
sitt
hen"Il
ookathi
m andshakemy
headno.
"youknow,itwoulddousahugef avori
fyou
comef ort
hwithinfor
mationi
nst
eadofmaki ng
meext r
actitf
rom you,wenotmov i
nghereunti
l
youtel
l mewhat'sbother
ingy
ou"
Il
ookathim andchuckl
e"y
ouwoulddot hat
"
i
nsteadhelooksatmeandrai
sehiseyebrowas
i
ftosay'dareme'
.Withafi
nal
sigh,It
ell
him.
"i
t’
smydad,Idon'
tthi
nkhewant
smet
ogo
anywher
e"
"
dowanttogoback?Iwon'
tmi
ndr
eal
l
y"Ishake
myheadandchuckl
e.
"actual
ly,
I'
m scaredbecauseIdon'twantt ogo
back, i
fIgoinnow, Imi
ghtpr obabl
ycallyou
l
ateronandt hensneakout "Ilaughatmyself,
buthedoesn't.Helooksatmel i
keIlostmy
mi nd."
what?"it
'str
ue.

*
**

Hepressesthegateanditsl
idesopen.He
dri
vesi
nandpar ksandav al
etcomesand
opensmydoor ,
hehandsoneoft hem thekeys,
andwalksovertomyside,handonmyback, he
l
eadsmei nsi
de.Itl
ooksl
ikeapr i
vat
egolfclub.
"
wher
ear
ewe?
"Hel
ooksatmeandsmi
l
es.
"
Kot
zepr
ivat
ecl
ub"
"Oooh"IScanaroundwhilehel
eadsmeoutsi
de.
Whenwegett here,Icanseeagroupofmani
n
golfuni
for
m.
"
heyman"oneoft
hem comest owar
dshi
m and
t
heydosomemanlyhandshake.
"supman"Qui
ntongr
eet
shim back,
hisother
handst
il
lonmyback.Af
tert
heshake,thelooks
atmeandsmiles.
"
mil
ady
,I'
m Leo,
youmustbe?
"
Ismi
l
eandext
endmyhand."
Azani
a"
"beauti
ful
"hetakesmyhandandki
ssi
t.Ican'
t
helptheblushcreepi
ngby
.
"al
ri
ghtpl
ayer
,cuti
tout
.”hel
eadsmefur
ther
unti
lweonthetabl
ewatchi
ngpeopl
epl
aygolf
.
Hehandsmeagl assofchampagneandcli
nks
ourgl
assest
ogether
.Ismil
eandt akeasi
p,al
l
thi
sti
me,he'
slooki
ngatme, notsmil
eorhavi
ng
anyr
eact
ion.
Aftersomet i
me, wearejoinedonthetabl
eby
thegolfer
sandt hei
rwives.Wear eser
vedfood
andwi ne;t
heytalkaboutthechari
tygalat
hat
tookplaceafewweeksago.
"arey ouokay?"Helooksatme.Ismi l
eandnod
myhead, hechucklesandgoesbackt ohis
meal .Leoengageshi minaconv ersati
onand
somarhi sfocusisonhi m.I'm notcompl aini
ng
though, "
hey…Ar eyouher ewithhim? "thegir
l
nextt omeask, Iturntoherbuthav easi pofmy
dri
nkbef oreInodmyheady es,shesmi lesand
extendsherhand." I'
m Susan,Tay l
or'swife"I
j
ustsmi l
ebecauseIdon' tknowwhoshe' s
refer
ringto.
"
comelet'
sgohav esomecocktail
overt
her
e,
t
heygoi
ngt odiscussbusi
nessandtr
ustme,
y
ouwon'tenjoyitonebit
"
It
urnt
omysi
de,
andi
ndeedQui
ntoni
sso
engrossedinhisconver
sat
ions,
hewon' tev
en
noti
ceme, soInodmyheadandst andup,Q
tur
nshisheadandl ooksatmewi t
ha
questi
oninglook.
"I
'
llbeovert
herewit
ht heladi
es"hel
ooksatme
andoverwherethe'
ladies'ar
eat.
"ooh,okaythen,buty
ouknowy oudon'
thaveto
ri
ght?"Ijustsmil
eathim andthenwalkaway,I
feelhi
ml ookingatme,andindeedwhenut ur
n,
heislookingatme.

Ihavenot hi
ngagai nstthoseladies, butatsome
point,apersonl i
kemy selfwasboundt oget
bored.Talkingaboutf ashionandt hel atest
Gucci backwoul dt ir
eme, soIstepawaywhi l
e
theywer estil
ltalki
ngbutQui ntongott omeand
l
edmebackt ot het ablewher etheywer e
discussingbusiness, Ididn'tmindt hatbecause
theyhadsuchani ntenset opi
ct hatIfound
my
sel
fsoengr
ossedbyi
t.
Sometimedur i
ngtheconv o,
Aki nKot
zecame
wit
hhiswi f
ePhelokaziKotze,theownerof
I
ll
uminateHub, I
'm notasocialmediaper
son,
butIcantell
yousomet hing,t
hiswomanr i
ght
herei
sar ol
emodel t
oy ounggirl
s,
hercompanyi saboutyouthrepr
esent
ati
on,
most l
yfemalesbutshemadeanamef or
hersel
f,she'
sinhermiddletwenti
esandalr
eady
madeanamef orher
sel
f.
Theysatdownandev
ery
one'
sat
tent
ionwason
them.
"
heyPhel
o,how'
sitgoi
ng"Leosai
d.
"y
ouknow"Phel oanswered,everyonechuckled,
maybeit'
saninsidejokeIdon'tknow.Afteran
hourorsoofbusinesstal
k,Qst oodupandt ook
mewi t
hhim,wewal kedaroundt hegolfcourt.
I
t'
salmostsevensot hesunsetlookednice
fr
om outher
e,justcl
oset othelake,t
herewasa
benchsowesatdownt
her
eandwat
chedt
he
sunsett
ing.
"
whatdi
dyouthi
nk?
"Iraisedmyeyebr
ow.
"
aboutt
henewvent
ure,whatdi
dyouthink?
"
I
sheaski
ngmeaboutbusi
nessmat
ter
s?
"
wel
l
…Idon'
tknow"
"
yesy
oudo"hecount
ered.
"Idon'
tknowreal
ly
,theymader eal
lypr
essing
mat t
ers,
thesol
arenergypr
ojectseemsnice,
butisn'
tZungual
laboutyout
hempl oymentand
allt
hat?"
"
yesi
tis"
"wellthendi
ssit,It
hinkyoucandomaj orwork
withIl
luminancehub, t
hetwocompani es
basicall
yhavethesamev i
sions,andfrom the
wayIhav ebeenf ol
lowingit,useitasyour
recrui
tment,havepeoplefrom thereandt hen
givethem proj
ectstowor kon"
Hekeptquietandlookedatmewhi l
eIspoke.
Henoddedwhenheneededt oandgavethe
r
ightr
eacti
onwhi chledmeintodivi
ngmuch
moreint
othepr oj
ectIwasworkingon.Unt
il
-
"
oohmyGod!
"Icl
appedmyhandonmymout
h.
"what
,whatisi
t?"Helookedaroundtry
ingt
o
seewhatIwaslookingat,butmyfocuswason
him."
what?"heaskedagain.
"
youj
usthadmetal
kaboutmypr
ojectdi
dn'
t
y
ou"Ihi
thi
m ont
heshoulder
.
"
we'l
l
,atsomepoi nty
ouhadt odi
dn'tyou,i
t
wasaprettygoodonemightIadd,also.It
ook
t
heli
bertyoftal
ki
ngtoPheloaboutitandshe'
s
I
mpressed"
"
whatt
hef
uck!
"

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_
Let
ssayt
hisi
sFri
day
schapt
erandIwi
l
lsee
y'
al
lonMonday

Anyway
..
.Iam l
ovi
ngy
ourcomment
s,Ican'
t
st
opchecki
ngthem
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
09

Idon'tknowhowIf eelaboutwhathedi d,It

hink
IoverreactbutIhadt heri
ghttori
ght?Itwasmy
proj
ectaf t
erall,hehadnor i
ghtgoingand
ravi
ngabouti t,andtheli
tt
lestunthepulled,
I'
m
mad, I'
m pissed.
Ihadhim dr
ivemehomeandont hewayback
noonesaidanythi
ng,hedidn'
teventryt
osay
sorr
yoranythi
ng,hedroppedmeof fatmygat
e
Iwait
edforhimtosaysomet hi
ng,buthedi
dn'
t,
Il
efthi
scarfeeli
ngmorepissedthanIdi
dwhen
Igoti
n.Idi
dn'tevengr
eetmypar ent
s,Ij
ust
wenthomeandsl eptI
mmedi at
ely.
Thefollowingday , Ispenti
tcooki ngwithmom,
shedidn'taskany t9andIdidn'tsayanything
eit
her,Ididn'tknowi fIwasov er r
eacti
ngor
what,butoncewewer eseateddownt hey
askedme, Ihadnor easontohi deitsoIt ol
d
them everything."whatifhewant stogrowy ou,
andbel uckyhedi dn'tst
ealitandmakei this
work"mydadsai d.
Isti
ll
wasn'tsur
ehowIf el
tbutIguessmay be
theywereri
ght,maybeIdi
dov err
eactalit
tl
ebit.
Soheream I,Mondaymorning,starr
ingatthe
Zungusignoutsi
dethebuil
dingdreadinggoing
i
n.Anz ocamebymysi dewithcof f
eeanda
doughnut.
"shallwe?"Il
ookedupathim andrel
uctant
ly
noddedmyheady es.I'
m notr
eadytofacehim
yet,andjustmyluck,hewasintoday,
ormay be
mydi smaybecausesuddenl yI'
mf eeli
ngsad
thathe'
snotin.Fort hepastmonthst hatI
’
ve
beenherefor,hepitchesineveryoncei na
whilesoIshouldnotbesadr ight?ImeanIwas
try
ingtoavoidhim but…sigh.Idon'tknowwhat
Iwantreal
ly.Idonot .

*
**

"Azani
acanIpleaseseey ouinmyof f
ice?
"it'
s
him,he'
shere,nowI '
m ner
vous,
het ur
nsaround
andwalksaway ,Ihadexpect
edhimt owaitfor
mebut …IguessIcan'thavei
tallnowcanI ?
Iclearmydeskandf oll
owhim, hecall
sthe
elevator
,“I
’mr eall
ysorr
yaboutmybehav i
or
ov ert
heweekend”Ibl urtoutI
mmedi atel
ywhen
wegeti nsidetheelevat
or.Hecasthisey es
downonme, clear
shisthoughtandpretends
l
ikehedi dn’thearme.
“
Qui
”
“Iheardy ou.
”Hesay s,andthenkeepsqui te,
alri
ghtthen.Ift
hat’
showhewant sthi
ngst obe
l
ike,finebyme.Istepawayf r
om him andf ocus
ont heelevat
or,It
otall
ydon’tmi ndsil
ence.The
elevatordooropensandhest epsoutfir
st.He
won’ teventr
ytobeagent l
eman.
Histwoassi
stancear
eonopposi
teendsoft
he
room,heopensthedoorandwal
ksi
n,Ist
epin
andstandbythedoor.
“cl
osethedoorplease”hei
ronsoutthef
rontof
hissui
teandsit
sdown, andgest
urestome.
“pl
ease,hav
easit”
Iobli
geanddoasI’
mt ol
d.Heclear
shisthr
oat,
“yousti
l
lhav
en’
tchangedyourmindaboutthe
proj
ect?”
Isi
ghandcorrectmypost
urebefor
eIanswer
.“I
haveact
uall
y.I
twasquit
estupi
dofmet o
behavel
ikeI
”
“
languagepl
ease”hei
nter
rupt
s.
“ooh”Iclearmythroat.“I
’
m sorry,asIwas
saying.Iwasn’tt
hinki
ngandIl etmyemot i
ons
cloudmyj udgement ,
so..
.Ithoughtabouti
t,i
t’
s
agr eatchancetodosomet hingthatI’
m
passionateaboutsoI ’
l
lbehonor ed.
Heshiftsinhi
sseat.“great
, becauseMrs.Kot
ze
i
slookingforwardtotheproj ect
,andit
’s
benefi
cialt
oallpart
ies,I
’m gladyouonboard,I
wouldreall
yhateiti
fy ouwer enot,i
t’
stoogood
anoppor t
unit
ytopass”
“so…yousaying,
y ouwoul dhavegoneahead
withi
thadInotagr ee?’Iask,hepul
ls
somethi
ngfrom thet abl
edr awer
s,notl
ooki
ng
atme,heanswers.“ sadly
”.
I
’
m shockedt
osayt
hel
east
.Howcoul
dhe.
“here”hehandsmethefi
l
e.“thi
sisjusta
standardcontr
act
,myoff
iceisopenfor
anything,
ify
ouwantanyinf
oorsomet hi
ng,
feel
f
reetocomeher
eany
timeandsear
chf
ort
he
i
nfo.
”

“thanky ou.”Isay
.Hel ooksatmeasi fhehas
somet hingmor etosay ,
butdecidesother
wise.
“anothert hi
ng…”Iwaitforhi
mt osaywhati ti
s,
butnot hing,soIstandupandwal kout.He
doesn’tcal lmebackorany t
hing,soIguess
therereallyisnot
hingtosay.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Pleaseguy s,IsaidIwil
lkeepy oupost ed
regardingshadowsoft hepast ,Ican'thave
peoplet exti
ngmeandaski ngforthepdf ,f
ir
st
ofall
, Iwill
notbedi st
ri
butinganybooki npdf,
I
wattpadandv i
sionarywri
tingsaret heplat
form
wherey ouwill
getmywor k,wit
ht hatsaid,I
wouldl iketopushthedayoft her eleasi
ngofS.
O.T.PIhadhopet hatmylapt opwoul
dbefi
xed,
butit
'ssti
llnotandSchoolalsoneedmy
att
ention,
there'
sanotofwor kandli
tt
let
imeto
doitsoIaskf oryourpat
ience
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
10

I’
veacceptedthatthingsareastheyare,he
neverreal
lyacknowledgedmyapol ogysoIleft
thi
ngs,Idon’treal
lyknowwhatwasgoi ngon,
butIknowt hatithasstopped,
allthatwetalk
aboutiswor kandnot hi
ngmore.
It
’saFri
dayandasperwor ktr
adit
ion,wegoi
ng
out,
Anzosentmeat extsayi
ngthattheyar
e
l
eavingal
ready
,weindiff
erentdepart
ments
so…
Any
way
,Ipackupmyt
hingsandmeetwi
thhi
m
att
herecepti
on,hegr
eet
smewi
thahug,
“you
comingwit
hright?
”
“y
eahtotal
l
y.Ineedadr
ink,
I’
mti
redand
drai
ned”
“I
’m sur
eyouare”wewaitf
orafewmor
e
coll
eaguesbef
oreheadi
ngoff
.
I
’
mf eel
i
ngalit
tl
edi
zzysinceIbarel
yateduri
ng
l
unchsoIor
deraburgerandaglassofwine.
“t
hat’
snotally
ouhav i
ngr i
ght?”Phenyoasks,
she’
sonethegirlswesatwi t
h,wef ourintot
al,
me,Anzo,Phenyoandthey el
lowboneIonce
sawAnzowi t
hwhobyt heway ,Ij
ustlearnher
nameisVisage,col
oredandboyi ssheal lover
Anzo,i
t’
suncomf or
tabl
e.
“no,ofcoursenot,Iwil
lhaveagl assofwat er
afterthi
s”Ilookatthem toanaly
zet hei
rfaces
untilt
heylookedatmel ikeI’
m crazy.
Toobadtheydon’
tunder
standmysenseof
humor.Weconti
nuetohaveourf
oodand
dri
nks,
cur
tseyofZungu.
inc.Iwonderi
fhe
comesheresometimes.Or…no!Ineedtost
op
thi
nki
ngabouthi
m.Ireal
lydo.

*
**

Igett
extwhi
l
eI’
m st
il
latt
hebar
,fr
om Qui
nton.
CanIseeyou.Il
ookatitandcontempl
atei
fI
shoul
dansweritwhenanotheronecomes
thr
ough.
Please.HowdoIev enrespondt osuch,but
thenagain,l
ogi
cescapesmesoIst andup,
“guys…I’
llbeback”It
akecashf r
om mywal let
tocovermyt abandwalkout .Theydon’tsay
anythi
ngandI ’
m gl
ad.Iwalkt hedist
ancefrom
bartothesideofZungubuilding.
HisAudi
pull
supr i
ghti
nfrontofmeandhe
asksmein,
afterafewminutesofsi
l
encei
nthe
carIf
inal
l
yaskhi
m.
“so…what’
sgoi
ngon?
”hel
ooksatme,
andt
hen
backatt
heroad.
“
Iwant
edtoseeyou,
ist
hatwrong?
”Iexhal
e.
Hei
soneconfusi
ngmanthi
sone.
“no,t
hereisnot
hingwrongwitht
hat
,butI
thought…nevermind”Ir
estmyheadonthecar
headrestandl
ookoutthewindow.
“no,pl
easet
ellme,whati si
t”heplaceshi
s
handinmine,ever
ytimehe’snearme, Imy
headgetsmessedup, nowhi shandonme, my
stomachisdoingbackfl
ipsri
ghtnow.
Sigh.“
Ijust,Ifel
tli
keIdon’tknow,l
ikey ouwer e
madatmeorsomet hing,
Itri
edapologizingand
youjustblewmeof f,soIthough…Idon’ tknow,
thatmay bey oudon’twanttoseeme
anymore? ”nowIdi dnotexpecttobesohonest ,
andinsteadofanswer i
ngmeoracknowl edging
whatIjustsai d,
hesay s,“
ooh?”andt hen
r
emov eshi
shandandcontinuest
odr
ive,
i
gnori
ngmel i
keIdi
dn’
tjustopenupt
ohimli
ke
t
hat.
Irel
easeanothersi
gh,Iser
iousl
yfeel
li
keafool
,
howdoIopent oapersonli
kethi
sandhe
doesn’
tevensayany t
hing,
notevenan‘I
’m
sorr
y?’l
ikehow.
Wer emainquitefort
her
estoftheway ,
he
parksandlooksatme.“wehere”Il
ooksoutside
andwei nfrontofmyapar
tmentbuil
ding,Il
et
outasoftchuckle.
“soyoubroughtmehome? ”heshrugshis
shoulder
s.“
doy ouwantt
ocomeup? ”herest
s
hisheadonthesteer
ingwheelandlooksatme.
“Ican’tI
’m sor
ry”Inodmyheadandopent he
dooronlytof i
nditlocked.I
’
m sl
owl
ylosi
ngmy
patiencewiththi
sman.
“
canyoupl
easeopenthedoor
?”Icanfeel
the
t
ear
sbuil
dingup.Heopenshi
sdoorandcomes
t
omysi de.Heopensitandgivesmehishand
t
ogetmeout ,Igrabmybagandst epaway
f
rom hi
m.Hel ocksthecarandwalksmeupto
myfl
at.
Allt
hewayintheelev
ator,noonesaysany t
hing,
thedoor
sopenandhel eadsmeout ,aspissed
asIam,hishandonmef eelssogood,Ifeelmy
headbuzzi
ng.wegettomydoor ,Iopenupand
att
empttostepin.
“I
’m sorry”Iexhaleandst op,nott
urningtolook
athim.“ pl
easel ookatme”i fhedoesn’tstop,
I’
m afraidIwi l
lcry,
hewr apshisarmsar ound
mineandhugsmef rom theback,“
Ihadani ce
ti
me, thanky ou”Inodmyhead, st
il
linthat
positi
on.Ifeel hi
m sighbeforeheturnsme
around.
“
canIcal
lyoul
ater
?”
“
yeahsur
e”Inodmyhead.
“
alr
ightt
hen”hecupsmeneckandpl
acesa
l
inger i
ngkissonthecornerofmymout hbef ore
hest epsawayandwal kst otheel evator.I
watchhi m walkawayuntilhedi sappear sinside,
Istepintomyapar tmentandr estmyheadon
thedoor ,
I’
m ov er
whelmed, Ireallydon’tknow
whatt omakeoutofhi sact i
ons, Idon’tknowi f
he’sinter
estedinmeornot ,i
t’sallsoconf using.
Plus,consider
ingthatIhavenev erdone
anythingli
kethiseverbefore,soIr eal
lydon’ t
knowwhatt oexpect.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Honest
ly.
..Qui
ntoni
smessi
ngwi
thmyhead
t
oo
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
11
Truetohi sword, hecal l
ed,l
it
erall
yanhouraf ter
heleft,I’
mi nmypaj amas, eati
ngpopcor nsand
watchingNet f
li
x.Thenagai n,I
’mreallynot
payingat t
enti
ont othet vbecauseit’
sonmut e
andI ’
m busyplay i
ngwi ththepopcor ns.Why ?
I’
m allsmi l
esli
keahi ghschoolwithacr ush.
May bet hi
sissomel ateadolescentstage
becauseInev erreallydiddatewhenIwasi n
highschool .I
thasal way sbeenschool ,school,
school andnothingel se.
“so…Iwil
lseeyoutomor r
ow?
”he’
snotaski
ng,
butthenIdon’
tneedforhimt
oaskbecauseI
dowanttoseehim again.
“Ihaveameeti
ngwi
thPhel
okazi
,may
beaf
ter
?”
Ihearhi
m si
gh.
“
okay
,I’
l
lpi
cky
ouupt
hen?
”
“okay”wecont
inuet
otal
kunt
ilIact
ual
l
ysayI
’
m
offtobed.
Thenextmor ning,Iwokeupbri
ghtandear l
y.I
haveabr eakf
astmeet i
ngwit
hMr s.KotzesoI
hadt obepreparedandIwokeupandpr epar
ed
allmydocument s.Wewer emeeti
ngata
restaur
antsoIhadt olookpr
esentabl
e.
Qui
ntoncalledtowishmegoodl uckwithmy
meeti
ngast hiswouldbeourfi
rsteveroff
ici
al
meeti
ng,wehav ebeentalki
ngviaemailsbut
t
hat’
sasf araswewent ,maybeacalloncebut
t
hen,thatwasi t
.
It
’ssunnyoutside,Iwantt owearsomethi
ng
casualbutpresentabl
easwel l
.Af
ter
rummagingmycl oset,Istoodonmybedinjust
mypant i
esandbr a.Ifellbackonthebedwith
mybackandpl acedmyhandsov ermyface.I
musthav edozedof fbecauseIwaswokenby
myphoner ingi
ng.
Iqui
ckl
yroseont
omyf
eetandanswer
ed.
“
hel
l
o”
I’
m greet
edbyachuckl
e,“
arey
our
eady
”asmi
l
e
automati
cal
lyf
orms.
“
Ithi
nkIdozedof
f”hechuckl
es.
“well
,getr
eady ”thenhehangsup.Ican’tkeep
thesmileoffmyf ace,Iendupweari
nga
summerdr essandsandal s,
Iletmyhairoffand
walkedoutside,call
i
ngacab.

*
**

Igett otherestaurantandI’
m usheredtothe
tabl
e, Pheloi
snother eyetsoIsetupi nthe
meanwhi le.Wear eoutsi
deont hebalcony,
it’
s
neit
herhotnorcol d,butthere’
sabitofwindso
Idecideagainstthepaper s.
“
canIgetyouanythi
ngint
hemeanti
memam?”
t
heladyt
hatjustshowedmemytabl
easksme.
“
uuhm!Agl
assofl
emonwat
erpl
ease”
“
okaymam”shel
eav
esandIat
tendt
omyt
ask.
“ooh,sorr
yI’
ml at
e,t
hispregnancyhasme
crazy
.Youwoul dswearit
’smyf i
rst”t
he
beautif
ulchubbyMrs.Aki
nJR.Kot zewal
ksi
n.
“i
t’snotaproblem, Iwasjustsett
ingup”she
smi l
esandtakesoutherl aptop.I
’m notbi
gofa
socialmediaperson,butshe’sonegi r
lIl
oveto
foll
ow.Shehasbeennot hingbutaninspir
ati
on
tome.Ilikehowshenev ergaveuponher
dreams,start
edof fbysell
ingherbranded
clothest
oact ual
lyowningherv eryown
companywhennoonebel ievedinher.
“al
ri
ghtthen,wewait
ingf
orjustonemore…”
shelooksaround“
ooh,he’
shere”Ilookt
othe
dir
ecti
onofthedoorandIalmostchokeonmy
sali
va.
I
nablackf
it
tedsui
tandashir
t,af
reshl
ycut
hai
randani
cefadewalksi
nQuint
on.Thisguy
i
sanepi tomeofbeaut y,l
et’
snotf orgetthe
honeybr owneyes,hewalksal lt
hewayt owar
ds
usandwhenher eachesourt abl
e, hegoesby
Phelos’sideandki
ssheront hecheek.“ Looki
ng
l
ovelyMr s.K”sheblushes,“
oohy ouf lat
terme
Quinton”.

“
ma’Nkoana”henodshishead,
Inodmi
net
oo,
f
eel
i
ngsomehow, Idon’
tknowwhy.
“
wellt
hen,
nowthatweal
lher
e,shal
lwe?
”he
l
ooksatmeexpect
edl
y.
“uuhm, y
es.”NowIhavenochoicebuttotake
t
hedocument sout
,“I
’
m sorr
y,Ionl
yprepared
fortwo,butyoucanhavethi
sone”Ihanded
Quintonmyf ol
der.
“
areyousureyouwon’
tneedt
hatone,
heisan
i
ntr
uderaf
terall
”Ismi
l
eandshakemyheadno.
“
It
sfi
neMr
s.K”
“al
ri
ghtt
hen,gorightahead”IlookatQ,forgod
knowswhat,butheisn’tpayi
ngattent
ion,he’
s
focusi
sonthefolderthatIgavehim.
Iopenadocumentonmylaptoptouseitas
ref
erenceandpl
acei
tinf
rontofusall
.The
wait
ercomesbackwit
hmywat er.
“thank”Isay ,Itakeasi pbeforeIplaceitnex tto
me.“ okay…soIdi dsomeext ensivemar ket
researchonAl umi nancehub, soyouar e
basicall
yabouty outhempl oyment ,sodoes
Zungu. i
nc,buti nabr oaderver si
on.Thet wo
compani esbasi callyhaveal otincommoni f
notsimi l
ar,Alumi nancefocusesont hear t
ist
ic
sidemost ly
, buthav ey outhoughtaboutmusi c,
becausey out ackleal lar
ti
stexceptmusi ci
an.”

“ar
ey outr
yingtosay,Zungushouldgoi nto
music?"Hel ooksatmest ar
ingi
nt heey e.
Everyti
meIl ookint
ohiseye,Ij
ustgetlostbut
t
hisi
sser
ious,
Ineedt
obeont
opoft
hings.

"no…I'm saying,lookatpaget hr
ee"theyturn
thepage,"yourconst r
ucti
oncandomor egood,
employpeopl efrom thatpart
icul
arareatobuild
studi
osmay be,andthenAl uminancecanuse
thosestudios,fi
llupnecessaryequipment’s
andrentsoutt heplace,Iknowmostpeopl e
wouldbet hril
l
edt ohavesuch"

Theyl
ookingateachot
her
,probabl
y
consi
der
ingwhatIsai
d?Idon'
tknow…Ihopeso.

"t
hat'salottoconsider,Ihaveadoctors
appointmentandAki nwi l
lbehereanymi nut
e
fr
om….Ooh, speakoft hedevil
.Ineedt
ocutt he
meet i
ngshot .Canyoucomebymyof f
icewhen
youf r
ee,Iwouldliketodiscusssomething
withoutyourbossher e"shethrowsalookat
Qui
nton.

"al
ri
ghtmadam.I t
'sti
met ogo"theev er
charmingAkinKotzewalksupt ohiswife,wi
th
thei
rsoninhisarmswi thSpider
mant oyonhim.
He'sprobabl
ythr
eey earsoldmay be."Zungu…"
heshakeshishand" miss…"heextendshis
handtowardsme." Azaniapl
ease"Ishakehis
hand.

"l
ovel
y…wamelet'
sgopl
ease"Phel
orol
l
sher
eyesandst
andsup.

"heybuddy …Didyoumi ssmommy ?"sheti

ckles
him.Hehi desunderhisfat
herbutasmalllaugh
erupt
ing,Ican'
thelpbutadorethem.Theyarea
l
ov el
ysetofcouples.Theywalksoutsmil
ingat
eachother,iwat
chthem until
theydi
sappearto-
"
youl
ookbeauti
ful
today "I
'm caughtof
fguar
d.I
l
ookathi
m andhe'
sal r
eadylookingatme.It
's
t
hefi
rstt
imehe'
sev ercomplement edme.I
l
ookawayandmumbl eat hanks.

"shal
lwego?
"Hestandsupandext
endshi
s
hand.It
akei
tandst
andup.

"l
etmeclearall
thi
s"hehel
psmepackmystuf
f
andhetakesthem.Leav
ingmet
ojusthol
dmy
handbag.

"wherearewegoi
ng?"Hel
ooksatmeandbi
ts
hisbott
om l
ip,
conceal
i
ngasmil
e.

"
myhouse"heopensthebackdoorandputs
myst
ufft
hereandthenthepassengerdoor
,I
hasi
tant
lyst
epi
n,heshut
sthedoorandwal
ks
tohi
sside.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Isuckatkeepi
ngschedul
e,Iknow .
From nowonIcancel
the8-10schedule,
Iwil
l
postanyti
meoftheday.Remember ,
there
chapt
ersaweek.
Enj
oy
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
12

wouldyouli
keany t
hingtodr
ink?"Hecomesout,
i
njustsweatpantsandashir
t,hewentinsi
det
o
changeoutofhissuit.Wesi
tti
ngonacouch
outsi
deonhisbulcony.Hehasareall
ybeaut
if
ul
glasshouse,t
hebalconyov
erl
ookingthe
sandtonstr
eets.

Hehastwogl assesofwineandabot tl
ealso.
"
yeahsure"Ianswer,healreadyboughti
tmoss.
Whyask."youhav eareal
lynicehome"

"Thankyou"hesi
tsnexttome, hi
sbodyf acing
meandwebot hl
ookoutt hest
reets,
enjoying
thecasualbr
eezethatsuddenl
ystart
ed.He
pourswineandhandsmeone.

"t
hanks"Itakeasipandcont i
nuelooki
ngout.
Myheartisracingami leaminut
e,Idon'
tknow
whatwillhappen,butthen,
Iwantsomethi
ngto
happen,gorewhat ?Idon'
tknow.
"youshoul dr elaxyourf eet
,theshoeswi l
lhur t
them"hepl aceshi swi neglassont het abl
eand
l
iftsmyl eftlegup, wemai ntaineyecont act,
neitheroneofuswi lli
ngtobackout ,hesof t
ly
caressesmyl egbef oreuntyingmysandal e,he
caressmyf ootandt henmor esontot heot her
one.Icanf eel myhear tbeatingfast,
I'
m
antici
patinghi snex tmov e,
hepl acesbot hmy
l
egsonhi sandbr usht hem.

"t
ell
meabouty our
sel
f"het
akeshiswineand
si
ps.I'
m ali
tt
ledumbf
oundedsoittakesmea
minutetocomebacktomysenses.

"
whatdoy
ouwantt
oknow?
"Isay
.

"
any
thi
ngy
ouwi
l
li
ngt
oshar
e"Ismi
l
e.
"wel
l.
..
whatcanIsay ?Mynamei fRemofi
lwe
Azani
aNkoana, daught
erofPatr
ici
aandPaul
Nkoana.I'
m anonlychi
ldandI'
l
lbet went
yone"
hesmilesandshakeshishead.

"
whyt
hosenames"Il
ookpasthi
m.

"mymot herhadsev enmiscar

ri
ages,Iwasthe
eight
hchild,apparent
lyI
'
m ami racl
echi
ld,
God
answeredt hei
rprayer
sandgav emet ot
hem,
henceAzani a.
"

"
that'
sverytouchi
ng,
I'
m sur
eyout
heappl
eof
t
heireyes"

"
youbet
,whatabouty
ou?
"
"
whataboutme?
"Hecount
ersback.

"t
ell
meabouty our
sel
f,whoar
eyouandwhat
areyouabout
"

"
wel
l…RightnowallIknowisthatIwanttoki
ss
y
ou"Ist
opmygl assmi dwayandlookathi
m.

"
w..What
?"nowIf
eel
mybodyheat
ingup.

"
canI
?"i
s…I
sHeaski
ngi
fhecanki
ssme?
.

"okay"Isweart
oGodandmyancestorsIdidn'
t
planonsay i
ngthat
.Heput
shi
sdrinkdownand
takesmi net
oo,gul
psi
tandpl
acestheglass
down.
Heshi
ftandpl
acesbot
hmyl egsaroundhi
m
andi
ncheshi
sfacecl
osert
omi ne.

"areyousure"Icanfeelhi
sbr eathmi xedwith
winehitt
ingmyf ace.Ii
nvolunt aryclosemy
eyesandnodmyheady es."lookatmet hen"I
slowlyopenmyey esandr aiset hem tolookat
himthesamemomenthepl aceshi slipsonmy ,
myey escloseagainasIsav ourhi m.Hedoesn' t
mov eordoany thi
ng.Hisli
psar ejustonmi ne.

Then…Thenhet akesmybot tom li

pandst art
s
mov i
ng, Idon'tknowwhatI '
m doing,butI'
m
goingwi ththef l
ow.Hepul lsmef urtheronto
thecouchsohe' scompl etelyontopofme.He
hikesmydr essfurtherupandcar essmyt hi
gh.
I
'mt ransportedintoadi f
ferentreal
m, aplaceI
neverknewexi sted.
*
**

"Ienj
oyed,t
hankyou"het
akesmyhandand
placeakissoni
t.

"Idi
dtoo"hecomest
omysi
deandopensmy
door.

"l
etmewal ky oui
n"het
akesmybagsfrom the
backandwal ksmein.Weri
detheel
evatori
n
sil
ence,whenwegettomyapartment
,hetakes
thekeysfrom meandopensup.

Itakemybagst othebedr oom andchangeint

o
mor econfor
tabl
eclothes.WhenIwal kout
,I
fi
ndhimi nfr
ontoftheTVeat i
ngmysnacks.
"
Ihopey
oudon'
tmi
nd"hegest
urest
othem.

"
no,Idon'
t"Igot
othef
ri
dgeandgr
abbot
tl
eof
wat
er.

"comesitov
erher
e,y
oul
ookcut
eint
hose
clot
hes"

Ican'thel
pbutbl ush" t
hanky ou"Isett
leonthe
couchnextt ohim, hewr apshisarm overmy
shoulderandbr i
ngsmecl osertohim.Weset t
le
l
ikethatandwat chTV.Imusthav edozedoff
becausewhenIwokeup, Iwasinmybed, I
wokeupt ochecki fhewasher e,butnothi
ng,an
unfamili
arfeeli
ngcr eptinsi
deme, Iwishhe
couldhavest ayed.Ireall
yli
kebeingwi t
hhim,
may beImightbej umpi ngthegun, butIt
hinkhe
l
ikesmet oo.
Thenextmor ni
ngitwasaSunday ,Idi
dnothing
butlazear
oundt hehouse.Anzocamebywi th
pi
zzaandwi neandwel l,
youknowhowi tgoes,
watchmov i
esunt i
lsunset.

IwakeupandAnzoisnextt
ome,sleepi
ng.I
unt
angl
emy sel
ffr
om hi
m andcl
eareveryt
hing
bef
oreIwakehim.I
t'
salmostmi
dnight.

"dude,
wakeup.I
t'
slat
e"her
ubssl
eepof
fhi
s
eyes.

"
what'
swr ong?"Hel
ooksar
oundl
ooki
ngl
i
kea
l
i
ttl
elostkid.

"
it
'sal
mostmi
dni
ght
"
"oohshit
"heshoot
supstandi
ngandweari
ng
hisshoes."di
dwefal
lasl
eep?"Inodmyhead
yes.

"fuck!"hecusses.
"Ipromisedv eeIwouldcall
her.Dammi t"
herunsouttakinghiskeysalong
andgoesoutt hedoor.Whichbyt heway,
l
ookedsl i
ghtl
yopened.Ishrugmyshoul ders
andlockthedoorandgost raighttomybed.

Tomorrowi
sMonday ,
nor mall
yIwoul
ddreadi
t,
butnow…NowI '
ml ookingforwar
dtoit
,or
shoul
dIsay
,lookforwar dtoseei
ngsomeone?

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Iam f
eel
i
nggener
oust
oday
.Ti
l
lFr
iday
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
13

Lef
tal
ready-A

Si
gh.Iknowwor ki
st woblocksaway ,
butIwas
sousedt ogoi ngwithAnzo,I'
mf eel
inglazyto
walk.Plus,Itr
iedcall
ingQuintonthi
smor ning
butnothing,Isawhismi ssedcallsandnowhe' s
notanswer i
ngme.IknowIshoul dmake
nothi
ngoutofi t
,butIcan'
thelpit.

Winterisslowlydr
awingin,Ineedtobuywi nter
wearf orwork,Iwassousedt obeingast udent
t
hatev eninthepastmont hsthatIspent
working,Ihavenotprepar
edf orwint
er.Ineed
t
omaket imethisweekendandgoshoppi ng.
Imakemy selfacupofcoff
ee,t
akemybagand
housekeysandlockwhil
ewalki
ngout.Iguess
todayIwil
lhavetowalkt
owork,Icoul
duset he
walktothi
nkproperl
yanddosomel i
fe
i
ntrospect
ion.

Myhear tbeat
sfastwhenIseetheal lt
oo
famil
iarcarpul
lupnexttome.Igetal it
tl
e
excit
edwhenIseehi m,iremembert hekiss
thatweshared,Ican'
thel
pbutblushwhenIsee
him,Istopwalki
ngandwai tf
orhim sowecan
callt
heelevat
ortoget
her.

Hestepsoutandgiv
esthesecur
it
yguar
dhis
carkeystogopar
kitatt
hebasementpr
obabl
y,
onhim hehasonl
yhisphoneandhe'
sbusy
typi
ngonit,
hel
ooks,
pissedbutcal
minaway
,he'
sbusy
typingonhisphone,he'
swear
ingGreytwo
piecesuitwit
hnotie,Il
i
kehi
sfade,
itsuit
shi
m
verymuch.

Ismi l
ewhenheappr oachesbutmyhear tdrops
downt omyf eetwhenhepassesmewi t
hout
anysor tofacknowl edgement .Hisper fumehi t
s
mynost ri
ls.Itrytouttersomet hi
ng, any t
hing
butnot hingcomes.If eelalumpf ormingonmy
throut.Iturnanddumpmycof f
eei nsi
det hebin
andwal kaway .WhenIt urnIseehi ml ookingat
me, he'swai ti
ngf ortheel ev
ator,Igotot henext
elevat
orandwai tforit
.Idon'tknowwhatIdi d,
butIcan' tkeepupwi thhismoods, it
st ooearly
forpeopl etomedr amatic.

Ihavealunchmeeti
ngwit
hPheloatherhouse
becauseoohwell
,shei
saKotzewife,pl
us
she'
smar r
iedt
oAkin,I
'
m sur
eIsaythatalot
butt
hatguyi
sasi
ghtt
osor
eey
esIswear
..

Igrabmythi
ngsandheadout si
de.WhenIget
totheel
evat
orIfi
ndAnzot here,Iwal
kin,and
guesswhoelsei
sher e,
Idon'tevenbother
l
ookingathi
m oranythi
ng,thereareafewother
peoplei
ntheel
evatorsoIstepclosert
oAnzo.

"hey
,sor
ryIlef
tyouthismor
ning"hesay
sas
soonasIstandnexttohi
m.

"
it
'snopr
obl
em.Whathappenedv
ele?
"He
l
ooksatmeandchuckl
es.

"ei
shman,Iwaswi t
hv ee,
y ouknowIwas
supposedtomeetwithherl astni
ghtandwe
passedout,man,
shewassomad"heput shis
handoverhismouth"butthenagain,sheknows
thatyoumyf r
iendandwel
l,Icoul
duseour
wineandpizzamov i
edayhey"henudgesme, I
onlyoff
erhi
m asmal lsmi
l
e,theel
evatordoor
s
openandpeopl est
epout.

"
I'
ll
seeyoul
ateokay"hest
epsout
.Weonthe
t
hir
dfl
oornow,onemorefl
oor
sandI'
l
lbeout
.

"
shar
p"Isay
.

Hest i
llhere,weonl yt
hreenowi ntheelevator
hisont heleftsideandlookingatme.It hrow
him alookandst ar
eatthedoor s.Idonthave
thi
skindoft i
me, hewon'tspeaktomeandnow
he'sl
ooki ngatme.Luckywer eacht hefi
rst
fl
oor,Istandst rai
ghtandattemptt owalkout
whenIf eel handsonmywai st
.
"st
ay"hesay s.IwanttoleaveGodknowsIwant
to,buthowthehel l
am Isuppostothink
str
aightwhenhe' stouchi
ngme?Whi leI'
m sti
l
l
contemplat
ingwhatt osay ,
thedoorcloseand
i
tsjustthetwoofusonl y
.

Withasigh,It
urnandat t
emptt olookathim
buthesupri
sesmewi t
haki ss.Theelevat
or
announcesourarr
ivalandhest epsback,
grabbi
ngmyhandi nhishel eadsmet owards
hi
scar.Noonehadsai danythi
ngt oanyoneyet
.
Myheadi ssti
l
lbuzzingfrom whatjust
happened.

Heopensthedoorformet ogeti nandstupid

fooli
shmedoesso.Hegoest ohissideafter
closi
ngmydoorandget sin,heputsthecarin
rever
seanddri
vesout,sti
llnotsayi
ngany t
hing.
Ifhewontsayanyt
hing,Iwon'teit
her,Iwon't
putmy
sel
font
hel
i
neagai
n.

**
*

Thef i
rstthinghedidwhenwegoti nsidehi
s
housewast oki
ssme, heclosesthedoorwith
hisfootandcupsmyneck.Fuck.Het ilt
smy
headal it
tleupandpar tsmyl i
pswithhis
tonguebef oreIstar
tfeeli
ngbutterf
li
es
explodinginmyst omach.

"I
'
m sor r
y"hewhispers.Ican'
teventhi
nk
strai
ghtsomyr esponseisal owmoan.He
presseshisl
ipsevenf ur
therandpull
smyj acket
offbeforeheki
ssesmyneck.I ft
hisi
stheguy
I'
ml oosi
ngmyi nnocenceto,theGodIagree.

Hepi
cksmeupandwal
ksmet
ohi
sbedr
oom,
wellIthink,Heputsmeont hebedandtakes
offhisjacket.Hehasbloodshotey
esandLord
doeshel ooksexyri
ghtnow.

Nexthet akeshi sshirtoffandclimbsthebed

andwr apsmyl egov erhiswaistandkissesme.
HowIwi shhehadsomehai rt opull
because
whatI'
mf eel
ingr ightnowisoutoft heworld,
I'
m wearingadr ess,whichhepul l
edupand
nowhe' srubbinghi mselfOv ermypanties,
Ican
feel
from howhei sthatGodbl essedhi
m down
ther
e.

HepushesmydressofandI
'
ml ef
tinj
ustmy
pant
ies,
wetpant
iesandamatchi
ngbr
a.

"f
uck,y
oulooksosexyri
ghtnow"hesaysina
l
owv oi
ceIhum andpushmypelvi
stowards
hi
m.Heplantswetki
ssesovermyneckand
shoul
derwhi lemagical
lywor ki
ngonmybr aand
theni
t'soff,hecupsmyl eftbreastandki sses
theother,
Icanf eel
I'm st
arti
ngt obui l
d.Iknow
I'
m av i
rgi
nbutIknowt heset hings, Iwasa
bookwor m backinschool sopl easeandI
watchmov iesandreadbooks.

Hecomesbackt omylipswhil
epulli
ngmy
pant
iesoffatthesamet i
me,thi
st i
me,myheart
i
sbeatingfast
,I'
mr eal
l
ydoingthis?Iam r
eal
ly
.
Hepull
sbackt otakeofhispantsandJesus.
I
t'
scurvedupwar d.

Helooksatmeandsmi lesbeforecomingtome
andkissingmewhi lehisfingerpl
ayswithme.
Mybr eathi
ngratehaspi ckedup,Icanfeel
my
fi
rsteverorgasm butbeforeIcanreachmy
peak,hestopsandl ooksatme.
"
i-
I.
..I
venev
erdonet
hisbef
ore"Ist
utt
er.

"
Iknow"andbefor
eIcanaskhowheknowsI
f
eelani
ntensepai
ndownthere.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
14

"
hey …hey
..Ni
a"Isnapmyheadupandsee
Anzoinfr
ontofme,conf
usi
oncl
earl
ymaskmy
face.

"
huh?
"Isay
.

Hel
ooksatmeandchuckles"youzonedouton
me,
whatisit
?"Il
ookar
oundmeandI '
m st
il
li
n
t
heelev
ator
,whatI
shappening?What
happenedto-
?Ilookaroundandhe'
snowher
e
i
nsight.Whatthefuck?.

"I
'
m sorr
y"Isi
ncerel
yanswer.Helooksatmea
l
it
tlel
ongerandthankGodtheelevat
ordoors
openandhestepsout.Lor
dpleasedon'tt
ell
me
Iwasdaydreaming,whatt
hehell?

Ist
epoutwhenIgett otherecept
ionfloorand
cal
lacab, butafamili
araudipassby,hel ooks
atmeandsay snothi
ngbeforedri
vingoff, I
don'tknowwhy ,butIf
eltmyheartbreaking,li
ke
hejustlef
twithit.

Afewmi nutesl
ater
, myCabar r
ivesandtakes
met otheKot zemansion.AndI'm notbl
owing
thi
ngsoutofpr oporti
onI'
m seri
ous.Icansee
herstandinginfr
ontofthelargedoors,weari
ng
sweatshirtandpants,br
ushi
ngherbel l
y.
"I
'm sor
ryformaki
ngyoudri
veallt
hisway ,my
husbandisquit
eover
prot
ecti
ve"shesay s
tur
ningherheadandshout
ingoutloudtoher
husbandIassumewhoshouts'il
ov eyou'toher
.

Ismil
eandr eassureherthatit
'salr
ight."come
oninplease"sheleadsmei nsi
det heirfort
ress.
From outsi
deitl
ooksl i
kethosetypicalrich
houseswi t
hexperiencethi
ngs,couchesand
tabl
eswher eyoudon'tevensit,t
hatar ejust
meansf ordecorat
ing,butno.

Itfeelshomely,Iseeherhusbandandsun
playingont hef
loorthati
sli
tter
edwit
htoys
every one.

"
excuset
hemess,
thi
stwonev
ergett
ir
edof
pl
ayi
ng"Ismil
eandshakemyhead,
say
ingi
t'
s
notapr
oblem.

"
wouldy
oul
i
keacupofcof
fee?I
t'
sfr
eezi
ngout
t
her
e"

"yespl ease"shegoest hedir

ecti
onoft he
kitchen, Itakeaseatont hechairpl
acingmy
bagsont hemar bletops,t
hishousei
sAmaz ing,
shet akesoutt womugsandboi l
swat er,
we
hav elightconv ersat
ionwhileshe'
spreparing
ourcof f
ee, shegoesoutandt akesapeakat
thel oungeandcomesbackgi ggli
ng.

"shoul
dwegetdownt obusinessor-"she
doesn'
tgettofi
nishhersent
encewhenAki n
comesoutofnowher eandtakesthemugr i
ght
outofherhands.
"t
hankyouverymuch"hesay
s,ki
ssi
ngt
hesi
de
ofherhead.

"baby"shesulks,hechuckl
esandkissher
poutedlips.Theylookgoodtoget
her.

Timegoesbywi t
hushav ingalookatt hepaper
work,sheget sme, notsomet hi
ngev er yonedid,
butshedoes, andi tmakesev erythi
ngsoeasy .
Sheal soaddshert houghtshereandt here,and
I'
m gladgoret heyincrosspondenset owhatI '
m
presenti
ngt oher.Wehav ewr it
tenev erythi
ng
thatweneededandst il
lneedt ounpack, she
asksmet ostayov erf
orsupper ,God!?I '
vebeen
herethatlong?

I
tsmel
l
samazi
ngi
nher
e,f
rom somewher
e,
Akincomesbackwi
thgl
assesandabottl
eof
wine,whendi
dhehavet
imeforal
lthi
s?

"di
dy oupr
epar
eal
lthi
s?"Iasklooki
ngatAkin,
helooksatmeandthenTumi befor
eshaki
ng
hishead.

"mxm, baby."Tumi pount

s,andhechuckles
beforekissi
ngherl i
ps,heli
kesdoingt
hatIsee
"don'tmindhim, I
'
mt hepregnantonebuthe'
s
sufferi
ngfrom thehormones,Mthocamewi th
thefood"

Oooh.Befor
eIcanaskwhoi sthat,theev er
gorgeousQuint
onZunguwalksov erin
sweatpant
s,ahoodieandsneakers,Iclosemy
eyesforabri
efsecond,mythought salmost
str
ipi
eri
ngwhatIwast hi
nki
ngearlier,
Ihav e
neverhadsuchadream bef
ore,andmanhi s
weaponl
ookedmi
ght
yfi
ne,
Iwonderi
f-

"
Remo?"Isnapmyheadandseeev
ery
one
l
ooki
ngatmeexpect
edly
.

"
huh?
"Iask.Tr
yingt
oregai
nmycomposur
e.

"
arey
ouokay
,youzoomedoutonus"

If
lushofembarr
assmentwhenIthi
nkabout
whatIwasthi
nki
ngabout.Lor
dIhopenoone
ev
erfindsout
.

Li
keagent l
emanheev eri
s,heopensmyseat
andpoursmeagl assofwine,Isaythanky
ou
andfi
dlewithmythumbs,I'
venev erdi
nedwit
h
ri
chpeoplebef
ore,IhopetoGodIdon' t
embar
rassmy
sel
fher
e.

I
tssimplechickencur
rywit
hr i
ce,wel
l,at
least
i
t'
snotlobstersorany
thi
nglikethatt
hatwould
haveembarrassedme.

Throughoutthemeal,Aki
nandQuintonwere
theonlyoneconversi
ng,oncei
nawhi l
e.He
wouldshifthi
schairali
tt
lecl
osert
omi ne,t
ryt
o
takemyhandi nhis,maki
ngmeev enmor e
nervous.

Notnevoursbecausehe'stouchi
ngme, hehas
bef
ore,butatthefactt
hatthisguyhasbeen
i
gnori
ngmet hewholeday,now.He'shere
act
ingweird,Idon'
tgethi
m.

Whenhi
shandsgoesdownandst
art
sbr
ushi
ng
myt
high,
Ipani
candqui
ckl
yst
andup.

"I
..
.Ar
gmh..
.Ishouldgetgoi
ng,Ihav
eanearl
y
morni
ngtomorrow"Ili
ethr
oughmyt eet
h,
somethi
ngI
'm notusedto.

"
ooh,okaythen,
we'
ll
schedul
eanothermati
ng
t
hen,I
'm goi
ngtoenj
oyworki
ngwithyouIknow
f
orsure"Il
aughandgrabmythi
ngs.

"t
rustme, Ial
readyam"theyall
standuptowalk
met ot hedoorexceptforAkinbecausehe
quicklykissedhiswif
e'sli
psandheadedfort
he
stair
s.

Whenwegotoutside,
Itookoutmyphonet
o
r
equestanuberbutQtookmybagsandsai
dhe
wi
lldr
ivemehome.
Mymoodwentt ozeronow,Idon'
twanttobe
nexttohim,becauseIcan'
tgett
hought
sifhi
m
nakedoutofmyhead, andI'
m get
ti
nghot
fl
ashedjustthi
nki
ngaboutit.

****

Thewholedriv
ei sinsil
ence,
andi
t'
sget
tingt
o
me,heparksrightoutsi
demygateandcomes
overt
omysi det oopen.

"
doy
ouwantmet
owal
kyoui
n?"what
?

"no"Ir
espondandat
temptt
ost
epawayf
rom
him.
"I
..
.Iwantt
owal
kyoui
n"hesay
s,gr
abbi
ngmy
hand.

"
thenwhydi
dyoupar
kout
sidei
fyouwant
edt
o
walkmei
n?"

Helooksatmeandbi
teshi
sbot
tom l
i
p."
Didn'
t
wanttopushi
t"

Ifol
dmyarmsandl
ookathi
m "pushwhat
exact
ly"

Hesi
ghtsandopenst
hePasaangerdoor
,"geti
n,
i
t'
scol
douthere,
"

Heleavesmenochoi
ce.Wel
l
,notr
eall
y
becauseIknowhowf
ooli
shucangetwhen
he'snearme.Hegoesar oundtohi
ssideand
start
sthecar
,theyopent hegat
eforhi
m andhe
goesandparkatthefront.

"
Isawyoulastnight
"it'
sthef
ir
stt
hinghesay
s,I
l
ookathi
m expectedly
,heneedst
ogiveme
moret
hanjustthat.

Heseesmel ookingathim andhecont

inues."
i
camebyy ourapart
ment ,
Iwasexcit
edtosee
you,
especial
lyaft
erSaturday,
but
..
."

"buti
nsteady
oufoundmewi thAnzo?"If
ini
sh
forhi
m.Nowi tmakessense,butnott
oomuch
sense.Henodshi
sheady es.

"i
sthatwhyyouwereacti
ngweir
dthewhole
day?"embar
rassed,
helooksawayandnodshi
s
head.

"
Icoul
dunderst
andifhewasy ourboyf
ri
end,
y
oudidnthav
etolieabouti
t,i
t'
spainf
ulyesbut
I
'
m amanIcant akeit
"

"okay,
I'
m sorry
, Ishouldhavebeenhonestwi th
you.Iapol
ogies"t hel
ookonhi sf ace,
it'
s..
.
Forei
gn,I'
veneverseeni tbefore,butbeforeI
feelmysel
fshut terevr
nmor e,Iionethecardoo
andtakemyt hingsf r
om thebackandt henwalk
tomyapar tment.

IknowIshoul
dn'thavesaidthat,
it'
svague,i
t
doesn'
tevenputhim atease,I
'
m stupidIknow.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_
Daydr
eami
ngcanbeadanger
oust
hingy
oh

forthosewhoar ewait
ingonshadowsofthe
past,Iwon'tbeablet
or el
easeitont
he25,butI
will
keepy oupostedwithregar
dstoit
.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
15

QUI
NTON

“
Iam sor
ry,
Ishoul
dhav
etol
dyou”
“
Iam sor
ry,
Ishoul
dhav
etol
dyou”
“
Iam sor
ry…”
“
I-”
“Fuck”It
ossmycov ersandgot othekitchen.
Fuck!Ican’tsl
eep,everyti
meIclosemyey es,
mymi ndreplaystodaysevents,
orbettery et,
herwords.Thegi r
lwhomanagedt oturnmy
worldupsidedowni njusttwominutesof
knowingher .
Ipourmy selfaglassofwhiskyandgul pitdown
i
nal li
nonego.Myhandsar efidgety,
Iwantt o
throwsomet hingbutIcan’
t,soinst
ead, Igo
downst ai
rsandt omygy mroom, Ipullonmy
boxingglovesandst ar
tpunchingit
,I’
magi ni
ng
i
t’sthatboy,theboywhohast hegirlIwant .
“f
uck!”whenIcheckthetime, i
t’
sj ustaf
tert
wo
i
nt hemor ni
ng,
Iwanttocall her,Ihaveanit
ch.
Butwhatifshe’
swithhim, t
het houghtalone
dri
vesmenut ssoIlashoutont hepunching
bag.Ineedtoknowev ery
thingIcanaboutt hat
ki
d, butf
ir
stthi
ngsfi
rst.
Whenmor ningcomes, orshouldIsaytimet o
gotowor k,Ithr
owmybl anketsandgot akea
shower,Itrybyallmeanst onotthinkabouther,
whenIgetdownst ai
rs,Imakeaqui ckshake
andtakeasnackbarbef oregoingtomygar age
anddriv
et owor k.Onmyway ,I’
m busylist
ening
ki
ssandsaygoodby ebyt hemanhat tans,for
somest r
anger easonIhav eitonrepeat,not
str
angereason, butyes,i
t’
sonr epeat.

WhileI’
m stil
ldri
vi
ng,Igetatextfrom Leo
askingthatwemeetf ordri
nkslateron.Maybe
thatwil
lhelpmet akemymi ndof fthi
sgir
lwho
suddenlyresi
dinginmymi ndlately.
WhenIgett ot hebar,Ifi
ndtheguysalr
eady
there,
Immedi atel
ywhent heyseeme,thebust
outlaughi
ng,andwhenIspotAki ncomingto
thebooth,Iknowt hereasonwhy ,t
hismoron
probablyt
oldt hem aboutAzania.
“Mxm, whatiswrongwithyou?”Isayhi
tt
ing
him att
hebackofhi shead,causehi
mto
al
mostspi l
lthedri
nks,mxm.
“Oh,comeonman, cuthim someslack,
Isawit
comingtoo,Imean,dude!Youinv
itedhi
mt o
theestat
e”
Yeah,
wel
lokay
,pr
obabl
y.
Itakeasipfr
om thedri
nkIassumei smine
becauseAkinpl
aceditinfr
ontofme.“ Manje
wenauf unai
nil
ana?”IsaytoAkin;
dudei s
al
way sinamoodwhenPhel oisnotaround,I
’m
surpri
sedhe’
southerewithus.
“Hadaf i
ghtwithTumi”hesay s,before
fr
ustrati
ontakesoverandclickshistongue.
Yeahwel l
,seewhyIdon’twantmar r
iage?
Relati
onshi
psarecompl i
catedont heirown,
nowI ’
maginebeingmar r
ied,plusthi
sone
mar r
iedahardnuttocrack.Irememberwhen
hewoul dcomplainaboutPhelonotwant i
ngto
beopenwithhim,itwoul
ddri
vehim nut
s,bei
ng
apsychol
ogist
,hethoughtwoul
dbeeasy
readi
ngher,
butniggergotadeadend.

“Zeki
eiscomingthisweekend”wekeepqui et
andlookatAkin,
outoft hethr
eebr ot
hers,
Akin
andZekieweretheclosest,maybeit’
sbecause
theygrewuptogetherorsomething.Ezeki
eli
s
a…he’sasoresubjectifIcansaythat.

Hei stheeldestamongstusal l,
themost
quietest,
heleftafewy ear
sagooncehehel ped
AkinsetupKot zeinv esti
gators,he’sal
wayson
theroadantt r
avel
ling, wetri
edt al
kingtohim,
aus’keaandmal um’ Akinhavet r
iedbeingther
e
forhim butnothi
ng.Theonl yper sonhe’sever
openwi thisAkinandt hisli
ttl
eshi tnev
ertel
ls
usany thi
ng.
Onmywayhome, Ireali
zedIl ef
tmyhomekey s
attheoffice,Iam abi tt
ipsy,butIgetbehindthe
wheel ei
therway ,all
thewayt otheoffi
ce,Idr
ive
withcaution,Idon’twantt ocauseorhav ean
accident
, Ihaven’
tev enreachedt hi
rt
yyet.
WhenIgettot
heoffi
ce,
Iseeafewpeopl
e
l
eave,t
heywer
eprobabl
yworki
nglat
e,Ir
eal
l
y
admir
emyempl oy
eeshardwor
k,
Justastheelevatordoorsopen,Iseet
wo
peopl
ef i
xtheircl
othes,t
hereisano
fr
ater
nizi
ngwi themployeesinmycompany ,
nowtheset woarebusymaki ngoutinthe
el
evator,
theyquicklyst
epoutoft heel
evat
or
wit
htheirheadsboweddown, ki
dsneh,but-
“
wai
t”Icalloutt
othem bef
oret
heycoul
dgof
ar,
“
whati
sy ourname?”
“
sir
,wearesor
ry,i
twont-“Istopthem bef
ore
t
heycoul
dli
e,i
tisprobablygoingtohappen,
mostdef
ini
tel
ywhent
heygetoutofher
e.

“
rel
ax,younoti
nanytr
ouble,
wena!Whati s
y
ourname? ”Iaskt
hefoureyedcheeseboyin
f
rontofme.
“
Anz
o-AnzoMawel
a”mmh.Okay.
“whatisyourr
elat
ionshi
pwithRemo? ”IknowI
probabl
yshouldn’
tbeaskingthi
s,buthey-
Iseet
hegi
rlr
oll
herey
esbef
oreAnzocl
ear
shi
s
thr
oat
.
“
nothi
ngsi
r,wej
ustfri
ends,bestoff
ri
endsfor
t
hatmatt
er”het
urnedhisgazetothegir
lnext
t
oher.
“
okay
,youcango”
Andli
keli
ttl
ekidscaughtdoi
ngthingst
hey
werenotsupposedto,t
heyscur
riedoff
.
Whywoul
dshesaysomethi
ngl
i
kethat
?Why
woul
dshel
ie,
ori
shelyi
ng?but-
BeforeIcandriv
emy selfcrazy,t
heelevat
or
doorsopenandIgeti nside,butasthedoor
cl
oses,theydonothingtomyt hought
s,I’
m sti
l
l
askingmy sel
fquest
ionsIhav enoanswer sto.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

t
houghtIshoul
dgi
vehi
spov
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
16

Iam stupi
d,Iknowt hat,Idon’tknowwhyIsai d
whatIsaid,i
t’
saSat urdaymor ni
ngandI ’
m
i
nsidetheelevator
sgoi ngt oAnzos’place,I
havetwocupsofcof f
eewi thme, andIam
hoping,r
eal
lyhopingt hatheagr eestothis
madnessofmi ne,
Idon’ tknowwhatel setosay.
Iknockonthedoort
wicebef
oreVisagi
eopens
theandstandsoni
t,f
oldi
ngherar
ms.Oohboy!
“hy,
ishein?”t
hiscolor
edgir
lreal
l
yhast
he
energyt
hisearl
yinthemorni
ng.
“babe,whoisit?
”Anzoshoutsfr
om somewhere
i
nt heapart
ment .Myplanpr
obabl
ywontwor k,
“oohhey,Zee,whatareyoudoi
nghere?”Ishow
himthecoffeemugsandhegr i
nbeforehe
takesi
tandi nv
itesmein.
ThedoorbangsandAnzoj
ustsighs,
“tr
oubl
ein
par
adise?
”hechuckl
esandtakesasipofhi
s
cof
fee.
“
ift
hereeverwasapar
adi
se,
Icantser
iousl
y,I
l
oveher,
butIcan’
t”
“ooh,weonthelov
epartal
ready”weboth
chucklebef
oreweset
tl
eont hecouch.
“
shet
hinkssomet
hingi
sgoi
ngonbet
weenus,
I
don’
tunder
standwhymyfriendshi
pwi
thi
s
suddenl
yquesti
onedbyev
er y
one”
“
tel
lmeabouti
t”Isaysi
ncer
ely,Iknowhowour
f
ri
endshi
phasr
uinedthi
ngs,Iexperi
encedi
ttoo.
“t
hatremindsme,afewdaysago,Mr
.Zungu
askedmeabouty ou,
wel
l,heal
soquest
ioned
ourfr
iendshi
pify
oucansaythat
”
Icoul
dfeelmyheartbeat
ingfast,
“wh-
”Ichoke
onmydr i
nk“whatdidyoutel
lhim?”Ir
eal
ly–
“t
hatwejustf
ri
ends”l
ordj
esus,
justt
akeme
al
ready
.

AfterIwentbacktomypl ace,Idecidedtogoto
theoffi
ceandgetwor kdone, Ihaveseta
deadli
neformy sel
f,Ineedtof i
nishtheproj
ect
thi
smont hsothatwest artI
’mplement i
ngthe
next.
Iam i
nakneel
engt
hbootandadr
essandt
hen
ajacketontop,Ical
lmyuberwhil
ewalki
ngout,
noman.Ir eal
lyneedtogetmyl
icensest
ruu.

Iheadstr
aightt
ohi sofficewhenIgett her
e,he
didsayIcanuseitright.Itakemyshoesof f
andplaysomedobbi egr eywhi l
eIlay
every
thi
ngoutont hef l
oorbef oreIsi
tdown,
Igetcar r
iedawaylist
entomusi cwhiledoi
ng
everyt
hingthatIlov
e,myf atherl
ovesthi
skind
ofmusi c,
anditkindofgrewonme, especi
all
y
whenIwasi nschoolandmi ssedhome,Iwould
l
istentoitandsomehowf eelcont
ent.
Istr
etchmyl egsandarmsbef or
eIhave
crampsbecauseIhav ebeensitt
ingi
nthesame
posit
ionforal ongti
me.WhenIl ookup,I
almostgett heshockofmyl i
fewhenIsee
Quint
onl eaningbythedoorframe,wit
hhis
armsf ol
ded.
“
jesus,
youscar
edme”Isay
,pl
aci
ngahandon
mychest ,al
lhedoesi snodhisheadandstep
furt
herin,It
akeadeepbr eat
handcl osemy
eyesbeforeIconti
nuewi t
hwhatIwasdoi ng.
Whensecondsofsi lencetur
nintominutes,
it
becomescl eart
hathewontspeakt ome, soI
alsodecidetokeepmymout hshut.

Myphoneringsfrom somewher ear

oundallmy
mess,j
ustwhenIf i
ndit,
itstopsri
ngi
ng.But
bef
orel
ong, i
tri
ngsagain,andmymot hers
namefl
ashesont hescreen.
“mama”Ianswer ,pl
aci
ngi tbet
weenmy
shoulderandearandusingmyot herhandt
o
standupandst r
etchmyl egsabit
.

“ahmama,no.kesalebusynyana,marake
tl
otl
agaesoon”(Iam st
il
lbusy,butIwi
l
lcome
home)Il
aughwhenmymot hertell
smet hatI
don’
tcar
eaboutheranymor e,
thiswoman
l
it
eral
l
ycal
l
smeev
eryweek,
howcanInotmi
ss
her
?
ShehangsupandwhenIturn,If
indQui
ntons
eyesonme,Ishi
ftuncomf
ortabl
yandcastmy
eyesdown.
“
youhav
eav
erybeaut
if
ull
augh”
“
ooh?Thankyou”Ibi
temytonguewhenIwant
t
osaysomethingel
sebutdeci
deagai
nsti
t.
Isi
tbackdownandr esumemywor k,butIcant
seem t
of ocus,soinsteadIblurtoutwhatIhave
beenholding“Il
ied”Isay,hopingitcoul
dmake
thi
ngsalittl
eeasier
.
“
Iknow”he,shocksme,
maki
ngmest
andupon
myfeetagai
n.
“y
ou…y oudo?”hehangshi
sheaddownbefor
e
pl
acinghishandsontabl
eandpushi
nghi
schair
backandstandingup.
“
whydi
dyousayt
hat
?Doy
oul
i
kehi
m or
-“
“no!Iquickl
ydef end, Idon’
tknowwhyIsai d
that.Iwashur tIthink,you…”Ibrushmy
foreheadbef oretakingadeepbr eath,
“you
confusemeokay ,onemi nut
ey ouli
kethis,
the
otheryoul i
kethat, Ij
ust…Idon’tknowwhaty ou
wantokay ,andy -“

BeforeIcanrumbleevenmore,hehasmeinhi
s
arms,withhisot
herhandbehindmyneckand
ourli
pslocked,movi
nginsync.Ihat
ehowIam
melti
ngrightnow,whenhi
slipscomeoutto
pl
ay ,
If eelmylegsgettingwobbly,andf
eeli
ng
foreignthi
ngstravell
ingal
lovermybody ,
and
thedr eam Ihadabouthim comesouttoplay,I
grabhi sneckandpr essmybodyev enti
ghtert
o
his,whenhi shandgoesoutt ocupmyboob.
“f
uck!
”hecusses.“
doesthiscl
ari
fythings?
Fuck,
Iwantyousobad,sincet
hef i
rstdayIsaw
you,Iwantedyou,maybeImightnotshowit
,or
wentaboutitthewrongway,
butdamnwoman”
hesay st
helastpartt
aki
ngmyhandand
placi
ngitonthebulgeonhi
spants,“j
ustf
eel
thatwena”
Igi
ggleandbur
ymyf aceonhi
schest
.“we
shoul
dgettowork”Il
if
tmyheadupandlook
hi
mi ntheey
ebeforenoddi
ngmyheadyes.

Hesmil
esdownatmeandcaptur
esmyl i
psint
o
hi
sagai
n,andt
hist
ime,
desi
reburnst
hrough
mywholebody
.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Thestor
iesIwastal
kingaboutareri
ghthereon
thi
spage,scr
oll
downandy ouwi l
lfi
ndthem,
alt
houghsomechaptersaremissi
ngbecauseI
del
etedt
hem.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
17

I
t’
saMondayafter
noonandIam pr
epar
ingt
o
gohome,myphonepingswi
thansms,andI
l
ookati
t,i
t’
sfr
om Q.
Asmi l
eplaysonmysmi l
ebeforeIslideitopen
andreadhistext
,it
’san‘Imissy ougif’
Ismi l
e
andsendoneback, whenIthinkbackt othe
event
sofSat ur
day,Igetgoosebumpsal lover
mybody ,whenthekissgotintense,heledust o
thecouch,
Iwasconv i
ncedwewouldhavesexont he
couch,
buthewasagent l
emen.Heplacedme
onthecouchandwecontinuedtoki
sswi t
hmy
shoesoffandmydressbunchedup,whi
lehe
groundedonme, sendi
ngmeshockofpleasur
e
andhav i
ngmei napuddle,hest
art
edonmy
neck,l
eavingt
rail
sandkissesal
lover
,maki
ng
mesqui r
m underhim.
Hehelpedmeoutofmydr ess,
andbra,cupped
my32Bsi zedboobsandplayedwit
hmyar eolas,
befor
etakingoneinhi
smout h,whi
speri
ng
sweetthi
ngstome, heal
ternat
edbetweenmy
l
eftandri
ghtboob,
Ij
ustthankGodt
hatnoonewasont hesame
fl
oorasus,andi
fther
ewas,Iam v
erysorr
y
becauseIknowf
orsureIwasnotqui
te.
Hecont i
nuedkissingmeunt i
lhewentdown,he
star
tedfrom myt oes,bot
hlegsallt
heway
downt omyv agina,l
et’sj
ustsay
,thelor
dismy
Shepard.

Whenknockoffti
mecame, Icl
ear
edmydesk
andheadedt
ot heel
evat
or,
heisworki
ngl
ate
toni
ght,butali
ttl
ehell
owonthurtri
ght?WhenI
gettohisfl
oor,heisalr
eadygone,wi
thatai
l
betweenmyl egs,It
urnaroundandgotothe
elev
atoragain,si
gh.IhadhopedIwouldsee
himtoday.

Therestoftheweekcont inuesli
kethis,allwe
havebeendoi ngisexchangingtextthroughout
andthetwomi nutescal
l
swher ehej ustbreat
hs
andsaynothing, onewouldfinditweir
d, butI
don’
t.Iunderstandhim.
It
’saFr idaymor ning,Q.won’ tbei
nt heoff
ice
today,buthedi dpr omi setotakemeoutf or
dinner,andIcan’ twait.Itwouldbemyf ir
st
dinnerdat e,orr
at her,myfirstdat
eev er
,Iwil
lbe
knockingof fearlybecauseIwantt ogetmyhair
andnai l
sdonet oday ,
Iknowmybr aidsarenot
thatold, buthey
.Igi rlgottodowhatt hegirl
got
todot ol ookgoodr i
ght?
Il
ockmydoorandcal lmyselfacab, af
terthe
dramaf rom Qui
ntonandVee, AnzoandI
decidedit’
sbett
erwemaket hem comfortabl
e,
orrather,wemakeVeeconf ortabl
e,asmuchas
hethingshe’sdonewithhercol or
edARSE, heis
wayy yy
,farfr
om it
.

Ther estoftheaf t
ernoonpassi nablur,and
beforeIknowi t,Iam headingoutoftheof f
ice
tothesal onjustdownt heroad.WhenIget
there,Ifi
ndaqueue, t
hankGodIsatan
appointmentf orthreethi
rt
yandIam j ust10
minut esearl
y,evenbef or
emyt i
mecomes, they
comeandat tendt ome, t
heirservi
ceisoutof
thi
swor l
d.
ber
eadybysev
en-
Q
Thetextl
eavesmeblushing,
thatIdon’
tev
en
hearthehai
rdr
essert
alki
ngtome.
“
aski
es?
”
“
Iasked,
whatwoul
dyoul
i
ket
odo?
”
“uhm.Str
aightupseshar
pIthink”andall
she
says,i
sokay,bef
oreshestar
tsunplai
ti
ngmy
hair
.
Thr
eehour
slat
er,
Iam done,
bot
hnai
l
sandhai
r.
Ihador der
edadr essonli
neandi
twas
deli
veredjustyest
erday,
Ican’
twai
ttobeini
t,
thesil
kmat eri
alofitj
usthasmeexci
ted.
Ical
lthecabtogobackt
omyapartment
.When
Iarr
ive,
Iqui
cklyr
ushtot
heshowert
ogetready
,
ifIwanttolookamazing,Iam goi
ngtoneedto
putonsomeef fortonmylook,atwominutes
showerandIam out ,
wrappedinatowel
,Isit
downonmymakeupt abl
eandgetready,
Ihave
thr
eeminutesleftwhenIam done.
Gosh,myphone,whereismyphone,hopef
ull
y
hedidn’
ttr
ytocall
whenIwasbusywi thmy
makeup,Ihav
eonanat urall
ook,
Iam ali
tt
lebi
t
l
ight
erincomplexi
on,
sot henudecol
or
compl
i
ment
smej
ustni
ce.
Ifi
ndmyphonei nsidemybagandr ushbackto
theroom tofi
nishup, thankGodIdon’thave
anymi ssedcal
ls,exceptf r
om mymot her
s’text
aski
ngmehowf arIam, Iam supposedtogo
seethem tomorrow, normallyIl
eaveonFri
day s
butIhav eadateaker ebathobesho(mypeople)
Iquickl
yloti
onupandputonsomeper f
ume
andmygol dhoopear r
ingsandbracelet.My
dressisredincol or
,si
lkandkneel engt
hwitha
sl
itont heside,Iwearmybl ackheelsandtake
mybl ackclutch.IhopeIlookasgoodasIf eel
.
Okay,Iam f
eel
i
ngner
vous,
butIl
ookgoodr
ight?
IhopeIdo.

One,t
wot hr
ee,four
,fourhour
sandthi
rt
y
minut
es,t
hat’showlongIhavebeenwait
ingf
or
hi
mt oappear,It
ri
ed,Itr
iedmaki
ngexcusesf
or
him butIranout,ther
eisonlyonelef
t,hebail
ed
outonme, Iam onebottl
eofwinedown, Iam
tr
yingnott ocr
y,Idon’twanttocr
y,Iam abig
gir
l,peoplegetstoodupallthet
ime,Iam no
exception,
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
18

Istepoutofmyshoesandt akemyear ri
ngsoff,
slowlypeeli
ngmydr essof f,
Iwentagainstmy
wor dandher eam Iwi pi
ngmyt ear
soff.Befor
eI
couldgot othebat hroom andwi pemymakeup
off,t
hedoor bell
rings.It
’salmosttwelve,who
coulditbe.Iwearmydr essbackonand
sleepersandheadt othedoor .WhenIcheckon
thepeephole,mydat eisthere,wai
t!Doeshe
deservethet i
tt
leofdat esincehestoodmeup?
“
Iam so,
sor
ry,
Ireal
l
yam”t
hat
’st
hef
ir
stt
hing
hesay
swhenIopent
hedoor
.
“Ihadanemer gencymeet
ingt
hatIhadto
attend,
Iam sorry
,Idi
dn’
tmeantostandyouup,
Ipromise”
“Yeahokay”Istepawayf
rom t
hedoorandhead
towardsmyr oom.Heist
ail
i
ngme,andIam
exhausted.
“Ipr
omise,y
oubaby ,y
oucanevencal
lAki
n,we
hadtohelphim out
,evenLeowast
hereand…”
Di
dhejustcal
lmebaby?Iknowthati
snot
I
’mpor
tant
,butwhyam Ismil
i
ng?Now.
“Whathappened?”Iopenmybedr oom doorand
si
tdownonmybed, pl
aci
ngonel egundermy
bum, hescansaroundmybedr oom, i
t’
shi
sfir
st
ti
meher e,myroom isnottoogir
ly.Hasali
tt
le
pickhereandthere,
butit
’snice,
ifIdosayso
my sel
f?
Hetakeshi
sjacketoffandsi
tsdownnextt
o
me.“Mybrot
herisfacingsomethi
ngs,
sowe
j
usthelpinghi
m outher
eandt here,i
tishecti
c
now,butsoonthingswi
llfal
li
ntoplace,Ihave
beenincapetownsincelastni
ghtandIj ust
l
andedlikeanhourago,camest r
aighthereto
apol
ogize”
Howsweet
.“Iam sor
ry”Ipoutmyli
psbecause
i
twasst
upi
dofmet othi
nkthathewoul
ddo
meli
ket
hat.
“Youdon’
thavetobe”heki
ssesmypout edl
ips
andrel
easesanexhaust
edsigh.Shame.He
real
l
ymustbet i
red.
“
Woul
dyouli
kesomethi
ngtoeat
?”hel
ooksat
mewi
tht
ir
edeyesandtakesmyhandi
nhis.
“Iwish,
butIneedt
obebacki
ncapet
own
beforesi
xinthemorni
ng”
“Ooh?okay,
andbesides,
Ididn’
tevencook
anythi
ngso”Ishr
ugmyshoul ders,
hechuckl
es
andpullsmetohim,makingmest randl
ehi
m,
hebitesmyexposedshoulder
s,causingmeto
shi
ver
.
“Iam sotir
ed”heni
ppl
esmyear
lobe,
andI
chuckle.
“Theny
ouneedtorest
”Isay,
capt
uri
nghisl
ips
i
ntomine,
Iundothebutt
onsofhi
sshir
tand
gri
ndagai
nsthi
m.Fuck!
“Iwi
ll
,assoonasIam doneher e”hefli
psme
overandtakesmydressoff,
leavingmei nj
ust
mypanties.“Youl
ooksofuckenper f
ectri
ght
now”
Inst
eadofanswer i
ng,Imoaninpleasure.He
conti
nuest ogrindonme, shi
ft
ingmypant iest
o
theside,heinsert
soneofhi sf
ingers,
Igasp.
“Fuck!yousowetr ightnow”
Mywordsgetcaughtuponmyt
hroatandshut
myey
es.
“cometocapet
ownwi
thme”myey
esshot
open.
“
w-what
?”hei
nser
tedanot
herhand.
“Isai
d,cometocapet ownwit
hme”hesays,
i
ncreasinghi
space,Iblowoutabr
eat
hbecause
Idon’
twanttoscream.
“
leti
toutbaby
,leti
tal
lout
”
Ibitmyli
psandshakemyheadno; hechuckl
es
andquickenshispaceevenmore.Hecomest o
myl i
psandkissesme, Iwr
apmyar msaround
hi
sneckanddev ourhi
sli
ps,mytongues
playi
ngaround.
Inaswi ftmot i
on, hei
sstandinginfrontofme,
starknaked, andindeedthelordismyshar ped,
Lordnev erf ail
s,hismemberi sjustasI
I’
magi ned, hugeandcur ved,alt
houghhi sl
ength
i
sj ustani nchl ongerthanII’
magined.Jesus
knowsev erygi rl
deserveagood- l
ookingdick,
andhopef ull
y ,
hisgamei sjustasgoodashi s
member .
“
Tur
nar
ound”huh?
“
shoul
dn’
twedoi
tli
ke-
“
“Baby,
turnar ound,okay?”hesay s, chuckli
ng, I
doastold,hesepar atesmyl egsf urtherand
bendsmeal itt
lewhilerubbinghi sshaf t,wit
h
pre-
cum drippingfrom it
.Thesi ghtt ur
nsmeon
evenmor e.Hebendsdownsl ightlybeforeIf eel
hiswarmt ongueonmysl i
t.Gr abt heshitsby
bothhands, withmymout hwi deopen, hestar t
s
l
icki
ngandsucki ng,Ibecomeunabl etocont ain
mymoans.
“Comeon, l
etitalloutbaby,letmehearyou
okay?”Ibit
eont hepil
l
owandt r
ydoingbreat
h
i
ns.Hechuckl esandIf eelhi
m standi
ngup,and
rubbi
nghisshaf tonme, thefeel
ingis
sensat
ionalandov erwhelming.
“
oohGod”Iexcl
aim.Ikeept
ryi
ngtomai nt
ain
mybreat
hsbuti
tsprovi
ngdif
fi
cul
t,especi
all
y
whenhekeepsr
ubbingli
ket
hat.
“
standst
il
lbaby
,thi
sisgoi
ngt
ohur
tal
i
ttl
e
okay
?”
Inodmyheady esandlaymyheadflatonthe
covers,
hekeepsteasi
ngmyopeningunti
lhe
fi
nall
ypushesinandIscr
eam out
.
“f
uck,thi
sisgoingtohav etobequi
ckbaby,
pl
easeokay ”hekissesmybackbeforehe
star
tsmov i
ng,Icanf eel
thebedmovingwit
hus,
hepull
smesl ightl
yupandbi t
esmyshoulder
,
andthenkissit.
“
fuck!
”
hehissesandt
henmov eshi sonehanddown
beforei
tcomesincontactwi thmycli
tandhe
start
srubbi
ngi
t,Ikeeptryingtonotmoanout
l
oudbutI ’
mfai
l
ing,thi
sf eelssogood,
“l
etitoutbaby,I
’m closeal
so”her ubsmea
coupleofti
me, onetwot hr
eet hrustandI
scream outl
oudi npleasur
e,hekeepsgoi ng
until
webot hcoll
apseont hebed, tr
yingt
o
catchourbreat
hs, butnotbeforehecusses
anot
herf
uck.y
eahno,
fucki
ndeed.
Ifsomeonehadt oldmet hisfeeli
ngislikethi
s,I
woul dn’thavewaitedthislong,butIam al so
gladIdi dbecausemyf i
rsttimet urnedouttobe
spect acular
,Ihavereadt oomanyst ori
eswher e
peopl ecompl ai
naboutnothav inganor gasm
ont heirfi
rstti
me,whileot herhadt hei
ry ear
s
l
at er,well
.Am Inotal uckystar?

Afewmi nut
eslat
er,
hestandsupandgoest o
thebat
hroom,hecomesbackwi t
hawett owel
anddri
esmeup, bef
orehepicksmeup,butt
nakedandwalkswit
hmet othekit
chen.

_
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___
___
___
___
___
___
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___
_

IHADFORGOTTENTHATI
T'SFRI
DAYTODAY.
..
ANYWAY.
..IMI
GHTORMI
GHTNOTBEABLE
TOPOSTONMONDAY
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
19

IfQui
ntonisgoi ngtousesex, t
ogetmet odo
whateverhewant s,thenIallowit.Afterhetook
met othekitchen,hemadeuscof f
eewi th
breadwhilehekeptaski ngmet ogowi t
hhimto
capetown.It ol
dhim Ihadt oseemypar ent
s
butafewt ouchesf rom him andalreadyhehad
mescr eamingy es,Idon’tknowexact lyyesto
what,t
hough.

Heisbusyplay
ingwi
thmyhands, hasbeen
si
nceweleftmyapar
tment,andno.Iam no
compl
aini
ng.Whenwelanded,heonlyletgof
or
ashor
twhilewhenhewascheckingand
maki
ngsuret
hatourl
uggagei
scheckedi
nand
al
li
sready
.

Rightnow, weonourwayt owher everwewi ll

bestaying,i
tsalmostsunr
ise,andwear eboth
ti
red,pr
obablyhim morethanme, Iam sti
ll
excit
edf r
om lastni
ght,
orrather,
thismor ni
ngs’
events.
Whenwegettothehot
el,hedoesn’
teventhi
nk
t
wicebef
orepul
l
ingmet obed,anddozingof
f
I
mmediatel
y.

WhenIwakeup, Iam allaloneinbed,Iam not

complaining,hedidsayt hattheyarehav ing
i
ssuest hatneedst hem handson, iti
snotl i
ke
wecameher ef
orsomev acati
onorany thing.
JustasIst andupf rom thebed, t
hereisa
knockatt hedoor ,
Isleptwi t
hmycl otheson, so
Iwalktowar dsthedoor ,
r ubbi
ngthesl eepof f
myf
ace.
I
tisroom ser
vice,
Iopent hedoorwiderfor
t
hem togetin,andtel
lthem t
oleaveitri
ght
t
here.Ithasanoteonit.
~sor
ryIl
eftear
ly,
hav
eagoodmor
ning
I
t’
saf ullEnglishbreakfast
,toast
edbr ead,
bacon,cheese, tomatoandal lt
hoset hi
ngsIam
notusedt o.Nextt oit
,ther
ei saglassofor ange
j
uice.Icanf eelmyhear tdoingpetterpatt
ers.
It
akemyphoneandshoothi
m at
ext
.
~thankyoufort
hebr
eakf
ast
,hav
eapr
oduct
ive
dayahead.

Ihaveneverhadaboyfr
iendbefor
e,soi
fthi
sis
howrelat
ionshi
pswork,Idon’
tknowwhy
peopl
ecompl ai
nbecauseIknowIam not,

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Qui
nton

Not hi
ngi sgoi ngaspl anned,wehav ebeenher e
sinceei ghti nthemor ningandwest il
lhav enot
foundasol uti
on,Zekieisslowlylosinghi s
patience, Icanunder standhim, Iam also.Akin
hadt oleav ehalf
wayi ntothemeet i
ngbecause
hecoul dn’ tstandeveryone,achar acterthatone,
theirpregnancyi sdeal i
ngwi t
hhi m hard, heis
moodyandsnappyal mostallthet i
me, theonly
ti
mey ouf indhi mlaughing,orslightl
ycloset o
beingt heol dAkin,iswhenhei swi t
hhi sson
andwoman.

“Doyout
hinkweshoul
dinf
orm gr
anddad?
”I
ask.
“Fuckno!hesentmeheretosolveallt
his,
I
should,Ir
iskedal
ottocomehere,Ineedtoget
i
tov eranddonewit
h”hesays,st
andingupand
walkingovertot
hewindows.
“Al
ri
ghtman.Iheary ou”Ipourmyselfagl
ass
ofscot
chanddowni tinonego.“Whenareyou
goi
ngback?”heturnsar oundandlooksatme
wit
hacockedey ebrow.
“Eagerf
ormetoleav
eal
ready
?”Isi
ghand
shakemyhead.
“
YouknowIdon’ tmeani tli
ket
hatman.Ijust
…
weallknowthisplacehol dsalotofbad
memor i
esforyou,y ouareneverthesamewhen
youcomeher e”Iclari
fy.
“It
’snotthatbad”hesaysbeforeturni
ngaround.
Icannev erwinwiththi
sone,Iunderst
andwhy
though,IjusthopeIam notconvi
ctedforal
lmy
father
s’sins.
It
urnar
oundandgr
abmyj
acketbef
ore
di
sappeari
ngbehindthedoor
,butt
henagain,
I
fi
ndmy sel
ftur
ningbackandgoi
ngtohi
m, Ifi
nd
hi
m wit
hhisheadhungl ow.
“Ineverr
eallyunderstoodwhaty ourproblem
withmeis, Iam notmyf ather,Iam farfrom i
t.
Donotper secutemef orit.Ihav eneverknown
thatmanandhav enoi ntent i
onsofdoi ngso, I
knowwhaty oudid,butInev erjudgedy oufori
t,
affor
dmet hesamecur tesypl ease”
Ihaveal wayslookedathim asmyol derbrot
her,
hisbrothersaremybr others,Jesus!Theyar e
theonlyf amil
yIeverhad, mymot herleftmefor
thatmanhei sbusyjudgingmef orwhat ?,t
he
manr uinbothifnotallourliv
es, Iprobablyhate
him mor ethanallofthem,butt henagai n,
sij
ezelaizonozabazali.

WhenIgett
othehot
elroom,If
indRemolyi
ng
ont
hecouchwit
hafleeceonher,
Itakeadeep
si
ghbef or
epickingherupandtaki
nghertothe
bed.IknowIt ol
dherthatIwi
l
lbeworkingthi
s
wholeti
me, but…
Iheadt
othebathr
oom t
otakeashower,but
notbef
orepi
cki
ngmyphoneandsendingatext
tosomeone.
Iopentheshowerdoor
sandopenthewat er
,I
gooverthemirr
orandl
ookatmyself
,slowly
,I
takemyshir
toffandst
areatmybarerefl
ecti
on.
Aft
ersometi
me, Ir
eleaseasi
ghandst
ri
pdown
nakedandgotakeashower.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
20

Hehasbeenintheshowerf orqui
tesometi
me
now,Ihear
dhi
m whenhepi ckedmeupt ot
he
bed,
shortl
yaf
terhedisappearedtothe
bat
hroom,Iwokeup,
andIhav
ebeensi
nce,
it’
s
al
mosteightnow.
Ist
ret
chmyar msandst and-upsametimehe
opensthebathroom door,andhetakesa
doubl
ebeforestandi
ngst i
ll.
“I
’m sor
ry”Isay,chuckl
i
ng.Heshakeshi
shead
andwalksfurtherin.
“Whendidyouwakeup?
”hesi
tsdownont
he
bed,pul
l
ingmetohim.
“Wheny ouwal kedin”Iwr apmyar msar ound
hisneck, hehasav erybeautiful
body,just
seeinghim halfnakedlikethismakesmet hi
nk
ofthingsIam suremypar entswillbe
disappointedi
ftheyknewof .“Howwasy our
day?”Ibitemybot tom l
ipwhenhi shands
brushedmybel l
y.
“Awf
ul”hesmirks.“ButIcanthi
nkofsomethi
ng
tomakeitspectacular
”hepull
smedownon
himi
naswi ftmot i
on,mybreathget
scaughton
myt
hroat
.
“Reall
y?”myarmscar esshisshoulders;
he
real
lyisasightt
osoreey es.Formyf i
rst
boyfri
end,Godreal
lyblessedme, heisyour
ShonaFergusontype,baldhair,
andbear d.
“Isthatachallenget
hatIhearMa’ Nkoana?”he
doesn’twaitformetor espondbef orehest ar
ts
kissingt
hesideofmyneck, IguessthatIsmy
weakspot ,becauseIcan’tspotpant i
ng.He
grabsholdofmybut t,andgr indsmeonhi m.I
throwmyheadbackandr eleaseamoan
“I
sthatachall
engebaby ?”Ishakemyheadno,
sti
ll
panti
ng.Hechucklesandf li
psusoverso
I’
m underneat
h.“Iam goingtomakey oucum
sohard”inaswiftmotion,mypantsand
panti
esareonthef l
oor.
Her unshisnoseov ermysli
tandsighs.“
Your
smel li
sint
oxicat
ing,Il
oveit
”thenherunshi
s
tonguenext.Iwrapmyl egsoverhi
sheadand
t
hrowmyheadback.
Hekeepsl icki
ngandsucking,Ist
andmyupper
bodyupandr unmyhandov ermyhairbecause
thepleasureistoomuch,hehasmyl egsin
place,notall
owingmetomov eanyfurther
.
“Fuck,Quint
on,
keepgoingbaby,
GOD!”bef
oreI
canreachmypeek,hecommandsmet ot
urn
around,Idosoandstandonall
four
s.
“Youlooksof uckensexybaby ”t
henhesl aps
mybut tcheek.Maki ngmey el
p.Hisfi
ngers
comei ncontactwithmycl i
tandIbitemyl i
p.
Hepullsmeupandbr ingshisfacetowards
mikeinasl oppykiss,hepushes, onefi
nger,
thentwo.Hegoesf asterandmymout h
remai
nshungopen, Ihaveseent hi
saloton
pornsites,Ij
ustnevert houghtIwouldbeone
ontheot hersi
de.
Hekeepspumpi
ngi
sfi
nger
sunt
ilIconv
ulse.
Hepul
l
shi
sfi
nger
soutandl
aughsatmewhenI
slumpont hebed,wit
hmyl egsshaki
ng.He
bringshisfi
nger
sthatwereinsi
demej ustnow
towar dshi
sli
psandputthem insi
dehi
smout h
andt henmoanout.
Helickshisli
pswhenheseesmyey esareon
hi
m, andIam br eathingfast.Hecr
awlsont op
ofthebed,withhist hingstandi
ngfi
rm,hecups
mybr eastandswal lowsmymoans.Hi shands
gotot hedrawerandcomeswi t
hapacketof
condomsandt earsitinonego.
“
Wanttohelpmeputiton?
”heasks, gi
vi
ngitt
o
me,Ist
andandputi
nonhist i
p,bef
orerol
li
ngit
t
othebott
om.Heisbiti
nghisli
pshard.
Heholdsmebymyneckbef orebr
ingi
ngour
l
ipstoget
hertomov ei
nsy
nc.Hemov eswit
h
medownwhi l
eIopenmylegs,
andinasl
ow
pace,hepushesi
n.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

l
ikehepr omisedSat
urdaynight,
hefuckedme,
hard!Icoul
dn’tf
eelmyl egswhenhewasdone,
andno.Iam notcompl aini
ng.
Ri
ghtnow, weareont hewayfrom O.RTambo
Ai
rport
,heisdriv
inghiscar,wi
thonehandon
myleg.iti
salmostsixinthemorning,Iam
pr
ettysurebytheti
mewegett oJoburg,wewi
l
l
bealit
tl
elatetotheoffi
ce.
I
ndeed,whenhepul
l
edup,
itwasal
mostei
ght
,
Jobur
gtraf
fi
cisnoChi
l
ds’
play
.
Hepul
lsupatt
hepar
kingl
otandl
ooksatme
f
orsometime.
“
Imissy
oualr
eady
”Isul
k,hechuckl
esandki
ss
mypout
edl
ips.
“Iknowwhatyoumeanbaby”hepull
smyface
closerandsmoochesme.“
don’
tfor
getwhatwe
spokeaboutokay
”
Inodmyheadaf tersighi
ng.Iknowwehaveto
beprofessi
onal
;Idon’thaveaprobl
em wit
hthat
,
Ihavereadenoughbookst oknowthe
consequencesofscruti
nizi
ngwithy
oursuper
ior
.
Iopenmydoor ,st
epoutf
irst
,andwal ktowards
theelevat
ors,
whenIgeti
nside,Ishoothima
textandgobackt oev
ent
soft hi
sweekend, and
hopeful
ytheywill
getmethroughthisbl
ue
Monday .

_
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___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Howwasi
t?
Honest
ly!
!!I
'
mti
redofwr
it
ingsexscenesMi
na
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
21

Li
fehasbeenamazi ng,Quint
onandIhav ebeen
doingourt hi
ngf orquit
esomet i
menow, we
sti
l
l doitoutsidetheofficesbecause,well
…
companypol icies,am goinghomef orthe
weekend, Quintonsulkedwhenheaskedt hatI
vi
sitfortheweekendandIsai dIam goi ng
home.
Heev enseducedmewi thsex,aft
erasteamy
sessi
onIst i
ll
stoodmygr oundandsaidno,no
matterhowgoodhi ssexgamei s,Iam my
fat
hers’daughter
,Ihadt
ocomeseet hem.
Rightnow,heishelpingmecarrymybagst o
thecar,st
il
lsul
king,Ichuckl
ewhenIseethis
andheadt othepassengerseat.Iswit
cht
he
radi
oonwhi lehestartsthecar
,todayhei
s
dr
ivi
ngar
anger
over
.
Throughoutthewholecarride,
hekeptmaking
sil
lyj
okesthathadmecr ackingup,
notbecause
theywerefunny,butbecausehesoundsso
stupi
dsayingthem.
“
Wheny oucomeback, youspendi
ngthewhol e
weekwithme”Ilookathim andopenmymout h
t
osaysomet hi
ngbuthet al
ksoverme“ i
tisnot
aquest
ion,Iwantedt
ospendt heweekendwith
you,
nowy ouareleav
ingme”
Ichuckl
eandshakemyhead.“ don’
tbeababy
Q,Iam notl
eavi
ngyou,Iam comingback
Sundayhawu”Ishakemyheadandputsome
musicon.
“
Buty
oucal
lmeev
eryt
imewehav
esex”
Gasp!No,
hedi
dnot
.
Hecr
acksupl
aughi
ngwhenheseesmyf
ace.
“
Youshoul
dseey
ourf
acer
ightnowbabe”my
hear
tfl
utt
erbyt
henamehej
ustcal
l
edme.
“Il
i
keitwhenyoucal
lmethat
”Isay
,looki
ngat
himtoseehowhereact
s.
Hesmil
es,l
ooksatmeandthenbackatthe
r
oad.“
Iknow”hesayswi
thasmileonhisface.
“
Howdoyounow?”hegri
nsandt
akesmyhand
i
nhi
sandki
ssest
hebackofi
t.
“BecauseIl
i
keitwheny
oucal
lmethatalso”I
cannotcont
aint
hesmil
eandbl
ushcreepi
ngup.
Hedoessomet hi
ngtothecarr adioandt hem
musi cplays,heispl
ayingUB40.Ican’ tkeepmy
smi l
eof f
.Can’thel
pfalli
ngi nloveispl ayi
ng.I
hopet hisishiminwardlytell
ingmet hatheis
fall
i
ngbecauseGodknowsIhav elongf al
lenfor
him.Pr obabl
ylongbeforet histhingbet weenus
start
ed.
Ikeepbobbi
ngmyheadupanddownbecause
alr
eadyheissett
ingmeint
hemoodforhome.
Het akesmyhandinhi
sandki
ssesi
t,ar
gman!
I
tist
hel
itt
let
hingst
hathedoest
hatmakeme
gocr
azy
.
Iti
sal mostsi xwhenheent er
sproteaGl en,ten
mor emi nutesandwewi ll
bepul l
ingupi nmy
kasi.Kidsar eoutsidepl
ayingmusi cvi
at heir
Bluetoothspeaker s,somear egetti
ngreadyt o
gopar ty,Imissedt hi
splacetobehonest ,I
missspendi ngt hewholedayout sidewithmy
kasimat esandj ustdoingnot hi
ng,now
everyonei sgrownanddoi ngt hi
ngsoft heirown.
Idon’tevenreali
zethathehaspull
edupalready
.
“Yeah,evenIdon’twantyougoingtoo”hesays
smili
ng,Iretur
nhissmi l
eandtakehishandin
mineandl ikehedoesmi ne,
Iki
sshispalm.
Hestepsoutofhi sside,samet i
meIdo, andhe
comesar oundwithmybag.Fr om t
hehouse, I
canhearmusi cplay
ing.Hel ooksatmeand
gri
ns.“NowIknowwhyy oulovesuchmusi c”he
saysfli
cki
ngmynose, Ichuckleandtakemy
bagfrom hishands.
“Iwil
lmissyou”Iwil
lmisshimtoo.Ipul
lhis
facedownandki sshi
m, whenhegrabsahold
ofmywai st
,Iknowtobreakitbef
oreIrequest
,
wegoback.
Heplaceshisf
oreheadonmineandtr
iesto
cat
chhisbreat
h,andthenpl
aceali
ngeri
ngkiss
onmyf or
ehead.LordIr
ecei
ve.
“
Iam pi
cki
ngyouwhatti
meSunday
?”nowIam
i
nhi
shands,env
elopedi
nahug.
“
Thr
eeo’
cl
ock”

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Qui
nton

Istartt
hecaranddr
iveof
f,andIi
mmedi
atel
y
feelempty
.
Insuchashortti
meshemanagedt obreak
downmywal lsandmakemedependentonher ,
IknewIstoodnochanceofeverbeingthe
samet hedaysheli
edaboutherandthatf
riend
ofhersAnzo,
thef
actthatshekeptmeupt hewholeni
ght,
makingmewonderal l
throughtheni
ght,
Iknew
Iwasint
oodeept oretur
n.
Iquicklyshootatextt
otheguy
saski
ngthatwe
meet .ZekieandIare,
well
…wegrewup
togetherthat’
sal
lIcansay,
Ijusthopethatitissel
f-
explanatory,
heisgoing
throughsomet hings.Hehasf all
enball
sdeep
i
nl oveandnowi tI
smessi ngwithhishead
becausehedi dsomet hi
ngwhenhewasy oung,
hecannotr ecoverfr
om, anditlooksli
kethe
pastiscatchingupt ohi
m andgr andpaisnot
heretobailhim outli
keusual.
WhenIgett
oRosebank,
Ifi
ndt
hem al
ready
watchi
ngsoccer,
Phel
oisnowher
etobeseen.
Sheisduetogiv
ebir
thsoon,
Iwonderwhatt
his
fooldi
dthi
sti
me.
“
Whatdidyoudo?”Iask,t
aki
ngabeerfr
om t
he
t
ableandopeni
ngitwit
hmyt eet
h.Ev
ery
one
l
aughs.
“WhydoIhavetodosomethi
ng?”thefactt
hat
heknowsexactl
ywhatIam t
alki
ngaboutis
exact
lywhyIsayhedi
dsomet hi
ng.
“Sheisspendi
ngtheweekendatNessa’s”we
allkeepqui
teandlookathim.Helooksatus
alsoandshrugshisshoul
dersandtakesa
swingathisdri
nk.Ij
ustwonderhowal l
thatwi
l
l
panout .
“
AndKeenan?
”thi
sti
mei
tsZeki
easki
ng.
“
Shelef
twithhim”Inodmyheadandf
ocuson
t
hesuperspotschannel
play
ing.
“
Yousuret
heydi
dn’tel
opeor–“
Leodoesn’
tget
t
ofi
nishhi
ssent
encebefor
eAki
nthr
owsa
r
emot
eathi
m.
“f
uckyouman”hest
andsupanddi
sappear
s
behi
ndthewal
ls.
“what?”heact sconfusedwhenwel ookathi m,
heknowswedonotj okeaboutt hat.IthinkAkin
i
sal r
eadyt hinkingthesamet hi ngthat ’
swhyhe
snapped.Ij ustprayandhopeshedi dnotl eave
becauseGodknowsAki nwillnotsur vivethi
s
ti
me, al
r eadyhei sli
v i
ngonat hr ead,henev er
reall
yrecov er edfrom thefi
rsttime, ithasbeen
threeyear sandst i
llheisnotheal edpr operl
y,
pluslatelytheyhav ebeenhav ingpr oblems, I
guesshi st hought saretherealso.
Wewatchthesoccerhi
ghl
i
ghtsinsil
ence,
no
onei
ssayi
nganything,
weareallwai
ti
ngfor
Aki
ntocomebackandhopefull
ynotmood.
“Dadcall
ed”-
Leo.Weallsi
tandwaitf
orhi
mt o
conti
nue.“t
heywanttohavethei
rweddi
ng
renewalher
einSA”that
’sashocker“
newyears
ev
e’”
“
Arethosethi
ngsnotsupposedtohappenon
y
ourweddinganni
versaryorsomet
hing?”It
ake
t
heremoteandmut ethetv.
“Thef
uckam Isupposedt
oknowal
lthat
?”
–Leo.
“Whatdoyouev erknow”Aki
nsayscomi
ng
back,weall
lookathim andhesi
ghsbef
ore
taki
ngasitnexttoLeo.
“howlonghasi
tbeen?
”Iaskthequesti
on
ever
yoneseemstobescaredtoask.
Herestshisheadonthecouchandreleases
anothersi
gh.“aweek”that
’sal
lhesays.Ido
notpressanyfur
therandlethi
m be.
“Mayai
shav i
ngamemor i
al f
orTumot hi
s
Wednesday
”t heynodthei
rheads,thatalonei
s
asignt
hattheywouldbet here,
forsolongIfel
t
unwant
ed,t
hatmymot herchoseourfatherand
mysist
eroverme, butwhenIf i
nal
lyspokeor
rat
herwhenshemadecont
act
,somehowt
he
hatr
edIhadsl
owlyv
ani
shed,
Iam j
ustgladthataft
erallt
hisyear
s,Ifi
nal
ly
havemysisterback,al
thoughIam hurtbythe
wayourmot herlef
ther,at
-l
eastIgottoknow
herali
tt
le,
Icannotsayt hesameabouther .
Justaswewer esett
li
ngandprepar
ingtostay
over,
thedooropenedandalit
tl
eKeenanran
i
nsidethel
oungescreamingandcall
inghi
s
fat
her.
Ihav
enev erseenAki
nleapofjoyl
ikeri
ghtnow,
hequickl
ystoodupandpickedhim up,
spinni
ng
hi
m around.
“car
eful,hej
ustat
e”thentheheav
il
ypregnant
Phelokaziwal
kedinholdi
ngherwaist
.
“
baby …y ouguysareback?”-
Akin,hiseyeswere
abitglassy,
Iwoul dunder
standhimt hough,
t
hiswomanr ighther
eishisli
fel
ine,hewould
l
oosehi m mindheshewer etoev erleavehi
m.
“of
-cour
sesil
ly,
goshIam soti
red”shewal
ked
uptohim andgavehi
m ababykiss,ofwhi
chhe
tur
nedintoaful
lbl
ownkiss.
“okay
,Iwi
ll
seey a”Leowast
hefi
rstonestand
upandbidthem goodby
efol
l
owedbyZekie.
Iwalkedupt oPhel
ot ogi
veherahug.“
don’
t
everdot hatt
ohim agai
n”shel
ookedatme
withglassyandshookherheadyes.
Ij
usthopet
hisi
sthel
ast
ime.

_
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___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Septemberisher
ebafeet
hu posti
ngand
wri
ti
ngmi ghtbeast
ruggl
ebutIpr
omiset
o
updatewhenIcant
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED
CHAPTER:
22

Whoev ersai
dl ovedoesnotexi
st,because
wawu!Lov el
iveshere,Iam l
oveandloveisme.
Ij
ustgotoffacal lwi
thQuint
onandIam
bl
ushi
ng, t
hereisnothingamazingthathetol
d
me,butjustt
alkingtohim nj
emakesmehappy ,
hemakesmehappy .
Ithi
nkIam readytotellhi
m howIfeel
now.Li
ke
usual,
mymot herisblasti
ngthev
olumeofthe
radi
olist
eni
ngt oMotswedingFM.
Iti
sday sli
kethi
sthatIdonotmisshomebeing
wokenupatsev eninthemorningbuyt
heradio
andcalledtocomedol aundr
yandwhatev
er
thatneedstobedone.
Dadwenttowor ktodaysoit
’sj
ustmamaandI
today
.“di
raporr
idgemoo”(makepor r
idge)she
saysassoonasIgetclosertoher
,mymot her
i
sawor kahol
ichonestl
y,MondaytoSundayshe
i
sbusyenabei
ngasuperwomanandnot
r
est
ing.
“
Thesourone?
”shenodsherheady
es.
Aroundnoon,mom saidIshoul
dprepar
ewear
e
goingtot
hemall,
ProteaGlenmall
isjusta
walki
ngdist
ancefr
om home.
Youknowpar entsandsav i
ngmoney ,mom took
ustoshopriteandl ikealway s,
shetookthe
necessarystuffs,wel l
…Iwor knowsoaf ter
l
oadingthetrolleyIwentpassedmcDonal dsto
grabourmeal st henor der
edanduberback, I
knowaR100meal mi ghtseem li
keIam playi
ng
withmymot her ,buthonestt oGodthiswoman
neverwantsust ospendmoneyon
unnecessarythings, herwordsnotmi ne.

*
***
***
***
Aspromised,whenIwentback,wewentto
Quint
ons’pl
ace,mymoodhasbeensomberbut
Itr
iednotdopassitontoQui
nton,It
hinkhe
noti
cedbuthehasn’tsai
danythi
ngaboutity
et.
Rightnowwet angl
edupinthesheets,hislegs
betweenmi neandmyheadonhi schest.“I
wouldl i
keyout omeetmysist
ertomor row, I
knowi twon’tbeonthebestci
rcumst ances,but
Iwou-“
Icuthi
m offbyakiss,
helooksatmeand
smil
es,“Iam ner
vousthat
’sal
l
”
Ichuckl
eandki
sshi
m agai
n.
“Iknow,andIwouldl oveto”Icaptur
ehisli
ps
againbeforeIst
raddlehi m andt
ipmyhead
backwhenhei sfull
yi n,Ipl
acemyhandsofi s
chestwhileheisholdingmywai stbefor
eIstar
t
rocki
ngbackandf orth,hismouthisopenedin
anO.
Hehol
dsmebymywai
standpul
l
smedown,
standingal i
tt
leonhislegsbefor
ehest ar
ts
poundi ngmef rom beneat
h,t
herawemot ionsI
feelwhenhewhi spersinmyearandtheonesI
feelbur st
ingthr
oughmear eenoughtosend
meof fedgebot hcumingandcryi
ng.Soon
enoughhi slegsshakeandhecal l
soutmy
namet oo.
Heholdsmei nhisar
mswhil
eIcry,hesays
not
hingbutplacesmall
andchast
ekisseson
myforehead.
“ar
ey ouokay ?
”heplaceonelastkissbefor
e
pull
i
ngmet ofacehim,Inodmyheady esand
hesmi l
es,probabl
ynotconvinced.Iwanttotel
l
him,GodknowsIwantt otel
lhim howmuchIl o
-
“Il
oveyou”–Quint
on, i
nst
eadofansweri
nghim
l
ikeIwantto,
tearsblurmyvi
sionandIsnuggl
e
ontohi
m evenmor e.
Mywor
ldi
scomi
ngt
oget
herandcr
umbl
i
ngat
thesamet i
me.Foragi
rlt
hatspendallherl
if
e
i
nashel l
,themomentIst
epoutandtrytohav e
alif
e,Ist
andachancetolosei
tall
,al
lbecause
ofwhat?

_
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___
_

areyouguysr
eadyforwhat
'scommingMara?
Braceyour
sel
ves.4kpagef
oll
ow..
.Thanky
ou
guys
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
23

Ishouldbehappyt hatIam meetinghi

ssist
er,I
real
lyshoul
d,al
thoughi ti
sundersad
condit
ions,
Isti
l
l shouldbe,butIhavebeenin
suchamood, Ican’tdampeni t
,almost
ev
er y
onewhowasnextt omecouldf
eel
it,
whichexpl
ainsQui
ntons’
suddent
ext
.
Isi
ghandpackmyt hi
ngsbeforeIstandupand
headtowardstheel
evators,
butdecideagai
nst
i
tandt aket
hestai
rs.Bythetime,Igett
ohis
fl
oorIam ti
redandfeell
ikecryi
ng.
Ireal
lyshouldgetmy sel
ftoget
herbefor
eIget
i
nhi soff
ice.WhenIgett her
e,Lay
laisnoton
herpost,Iseetheoffi
cedoorissli
ghtl
yopen.I
canseet hattheyar
ebusybutIgoahead
nonethel
ess.
Iknockonceandopent
hedoorandwai
tfor
himt ocal
lmein.
“Alr
ightLay l
a,cancelall
myappoi nt
mentsfor
today,andy oucanal soleave, Iwi
ll
seeyou
tomor row”withoutbeingwai tedtobetol
dtwice,
shest andsupf rom herseatandwal ksout
whilegr eet
ingmei nthepr ocess.
“
Arey
ougoi
ngt
ojustst
andt
her
eorcomei
n?”
heaskst
urni
ngonhi
schai
rwi
thopenar
ms.
Iwal
ktowardshim andset
tl
eonhi
slap,I
i
nvol
untar
il
yreleaseasi
ghthemomenthi
s
ar
mswr aparoundme.
“
Areyouthatt
ir
ed?Mmm?
”hepl
acesaki
sson
myfor
ehead.
“
Exhaust
ed”Isnuggl
einl
i
keababyki
tt
en.
Hesway
susal
i
ttl
eont
hechai
r.“
muhl
eza!
”-
Q
“
mmm?
”Imur
mur
“ukahl
e?Khul
umanami
phel
ant
okazi
emhlophe”
Iwantto,
Ireall
ywanttotel
lhi
m, soIopenmy
mouthtosaysomet hi
ng,
butinsteadoftel
li
ng
hi
mt hetr
uth,Iset
tl
efort
heot herver
sionofthe
tr
uth.
“
Ilov
eyou”Isay
, sl
owl
yasmil
efor
msonhis
l
i
psbefor
ehewr apsmeupinbot
harms.
“
ist
hatwhathasbeenbot
her
ingy
oual
lal
ong?
”
Inodmyheady es.“wer
eyouscaredthatI
wasn’
tfeel
ingthesamet hi
ng?”agai
n!Inodmy
headyes.Hechucklesandbri
ngsmyf ace
cl
osertohis.
“y
oushouldknowthatyouhadmeatfi
rst
gl
ance,andther
ewasnothi
ngIcoul
ddoabout
i
t,andIlov
eitli
ket
his”
Agai
n!Gl
assyey
es,IswearIneedt
ogetmy
emoti
onsi
ncheck.“
Ilov
ey oumyQuint
on”
“
andIl
ovey
out
ooma’
Zungu”
.Bl
ush…

*
***
***
*

Mymot hercall
edaski
ngtoseeme,shei
son
herwaytomyapar tment
,soQui
ntonandIar
e
fi
xi
ngourselves.
ImeanIshoul
dhaveexpectedthataf
terhe
cal
l
edmema’ ZunguIwouldgiv
ehi mthecooki
e,
Imeanhel
l
o.
“shoul
dIcomeov eraf
tert
hememor
ial
?”Il
ook
athim andbut
tonmyshirt
.
“no,
Iam prett
ysur
et hatshewil
lstayoveror
something,
butIwi
llcallyoubef
oreIsleep
okay?”
“okay”thenhegivesmeababykissanddoes
hislastbutt
ons.“
don’tfor
gett
hepi
ll
”hesays
handingmet hegiftbaghegotme.
“
Iwon’
t”

QUI
NTON

IpassbyAki ns’
placet
otakeaquickshower
beforewedr i
vetomidr
and.AsmuchasIdon’ t
wantt oseesomepeople,mysist
erandIjust
reconnectandIwanttobether
eforheras
muchasIcan.
“Iswear
,forsomeonewhoisgoi
ngtoa
memor i
alservi
ce,
Ilooksomuchhappy
”Il
augh
andshakemyhead.
“
ooh,
hei
sinl
ovebaby
,leav
ehi
m al
one”
-Phel
o.
“heban!Whosay
sthatIam i
nlov
e?”It
ryt
oact
seri
ous.
“Iknowt hesignsbr other”-
Akin.Okay ,
fairpoint.
“Zekiewantst hedi r
ecti
ons”Iam gl adt hatthey
areheret osuppor tme, Iknowi tsisnotreally
me, butIwill
beseei ngMay afort hefi
rsttime
everandIneedt hesuppor t,al
thought hereis
onepar t
icul
arper sonIam nott oothri
ll
edi n
seeing.
“her
e,f
orwardhi
mfr
om myphone”It
akemy
phoneoutandgi
vei
ttohi
m.
“babyl
ookatthis”bef
oreIcancomprehend
whatheistal
kingabout,
Pheloal
readyhasmy
phoneinherhands.
“
Azani
ahuh?
”Icanhearherst
if
ledl
augh.
“l
eavemealone”Icanthelpbutblush,Ihave
herpi
ctur
easmyscr eensaver,Icouldn’
thelpi
t.
“Il
oveher
”Ifi
ndmy selfsayi
ng.
“i
fyouar
ehappy
,soarewe, butImustsay…I
sawthi
sonecoming”
-Phel
o,yeahwhatever
.
“Iwantt
omar ryher
”Inotonlyshockthewhol
e
car,
Ievenshockedmy sel
f,buti
nsteadof
reel
i
ngintheshock,Ifi
ndmy sel
fsmi l
i
ngatt
he
i
dea.Icanjusti
magine.
Therestofthecardri
vecont inuesi nsil
ence,by
theti
met hegpssaysIhav ereachedmy
dest
inati
on,thet
houghtofmaki ngRemof i
lwe
mywi f
ehadbeenpl antedi nbothmyhear tand
mind.Theysaymar r
iagei sachoi ce,onethat
doesnottakeevenami nuteforamant omake,
myhearthaschoseni t
sbel ovedandmywhol e
bodyagrees.
Bytheti
mewepul l
upatwaterf
all
estate,I
cannothel
pbutadmir
ethehouse,i
tisnice,
ther
eisat
entpul
l
edupatt
hel
awnwi
thl
i
ght
s
on.
IcanseeZekiepull
ingupbehindme,butwhat
hasmepul l
ingmeey ebrowistheper
sononhi
s
passengerseat
.West epoutthesameti
mehe
doessowewai tforhimt ocat
chup.

_
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___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Ihopet
hischapt
ercl
ear
sQbat
hong.
Anyway .
..
.I'
m aski
ngthaty
ougrantmet
his
weekandnextof f,
Ihavealott
odoandjuggl
e
them andwr i
ti
ngatthesameti
me.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
24
QUI
NTON

Ihav
ewat chal otofmov i
eoffami
lydrama,I
j
ustneverthoughtthatIwoul
dexperi
encei
t,
whatintheworldisgoingon…
Apparentl
yMay aandKatl
egowereshari
ngt hi
s
Tumoguyandnowshe’ sher
edemandingt obe
par
toft hefuner
alandt
hepairdon’
tgetalong,
Kagi
sol ef
tassoonastheystar
tedaski
ngf or
hi
sinput,whataweakli
ng.
Ont hecount
rarythough,Phelowasr ushedto
thehospit
alduet olabourpainsandshegav e
bir
thtoabeaut i
fulbabygirl
,namedKhot hat
so,I
am happyforthem, canthelpbutthi
nkofmy
ownki dsi
nthef uture,
probablywit
hRemo.
So…ontheotherhand,Zeki
espassangerhasa
name,I
mamel engiswhattheycall
her
,quit
ea
ni
cenamet obehonest,sheisquit
eand
humbl
e,theyr
eallyl
ookgoodt oget
her
.I
wonderi
fhewi
l
lst
ayi
nSAt
hist
imear
ound,
I
hopeso.

WhenIdr i
veinit
salmostsunri
se,Iam t
ir
edand
drai
ned,Ij
ustwantt ot
akeashowerandr est
fort
hewhol eday,butt
hen.Busypeopl
eknow
norest.
Ifi
ndmywomansl eepingonmysi deoft hebed
whenIarri
veinj
ustmyt -
shi
rtonly
, Ii
nstantl
y
gethar
djustbyl
ookingatherli
fe,bafet
humi na
ngi
popil
eson.
Iundressandcrawlonbedbefor
eleavi
ngsmal
l
feather
ykissesf
rom herf
acetoherneck
beforehereyesfl
utt
erandshest
irsawake.
“youareback?
”Inodmyheady
esandcl
aim
herli
psinmine.
*
*
“ar
eyoufeel
inganybett
er?
”Ijustt
ooka
showerandshe’
ssti
lli
nbedlooki
ngatme.
“
no.
.I’
m goingt
othedoct
ort
oday
”thatpi
ques
myi
ntrest
.
“
ooh,
whatt
ime,
Icanmaket
imet
ogowi
thy
ou”
“NO!”huh?“no,
don’t
..
i-ar
gh.
.ImeanIdon’
t
wanttostressyououtyouknow,
Icoul
dbe
nothi
ng”mmh.
If
ini
shbut
toni
ngupmyshi
rtwhenIt
urnand
l
ookather
.
“nobaby,
itsnotabigdeal
…besi
des,
Iwantto
bether
eforyoumyl ove”t
henaki
sshernose,
makingherblush.
“alr
ightthen”t
henshecover
sherf
acewit
hthe
blankets,mypoorbaby
,shemustreal
l
ybe
exhaust ed.
Itakeonel
astgl
anceatherbef
oreIwal
kout
andheadtowork,Ineedt
omov eupafew
meeti
ngssothatIcanschedul
eher
appoi
ntmenti
n.

AZANI
A

God!HowdoIgetoutoft
hisone,
Iqui
ckly
makemywayi nt
othecof
feeshopandspothi
m
i
mmedi at
ely
.
“hi
,thanksforagreei
ngtomeetwithme”Iplace
mybagont hetableandimmediat
elyIcupof
coff
eei spl
acedrightinf
rontofme.
“Sur
e”hesay
ssoundi
ngandl
ooki
ngr
ather
down.
“Look…,Ican’tgoaheadwiththi
s,i
m sor
ry
okay”there’
snopointbeati
ngaroundthebush,
Imightaswel lsayi
toutloud
Helooksatmeandsi
ghsbef
oreher
eleasesa
sof
tchuckl
e.
“Ther
eisnogoi
ngaroundt
his”t
henhest
andup
andwalksoutt
hedoor.
“
Whowasthat?”Il
ookupandIswearmyl
i
fe
f
eel
sli
kei
tisgoingtof
all
apar
t.
“
Q…”

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

thanky ouguysf oryourpati

ence.
..Ireal
l
y
appr eci
ateit
,fortheti
mebei ngIam backand
willbedeliv
eringasusual ,
Octoberisgoingt
o
bear oughmont hsoI'm beggi
ngasofnow, if
I'
m unabl et
opost ,don'
tkill
mepl ease
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
25
Myparentshavebeencal l
ingmenonest op,
onewayoranot herIneedtoanswertheircal
l
s
butimjustnotready,I
t’
stheweekendandIst i
ll
haven’
twentbackt omypl aceandt
hankgod
Quint
onhasn’tsaidanythi
ngabouti
ty et
.
ReasonIdi dnotgoi st hatIknowt hatmy
parent
swoul dcomel ooki ngformet her e
becauseIhav enotanswer edtheircallsandI
am sonotr eadytof acet hem, thatdayIwent
home, If
oundmom al readywai ti
ngf orme.As
muchasIhadhopedt hatshewoul dt ellmet hat
dadwasl yinng,sheonl ycamet obegmet o
l
istentothem, tel
li
ngmeabouthowal lofthi
sis
formysaf etyandsecur i
tyandr ambl esabout
myf ut
ure,Idon'tcarewhatf utureitisifit'
snot
withQuinton.Callmecr azyIdonotcar e,bare
theheartwant swhati twant s,andmi nehas
chosenitsown.

TodayIwi
l
lbemeet
ingwi
thQ’
ssi
ster
,May
a..I
am soscar edandhappyatt hesamet ime,
scaredbecausewel l
…she’st hesister,happy
becausei tmeanst hatmyrelat i
onshipwi th
Quintonisprogressing.Al
thoughwi theach
passingdayIf eell
ikemysecr etwil
l beoutand
known, Iam parti
all
yliv
inginf ear,
Iknowone
wayoranot herIneedt otel
lhi m,but …Icannot,
notnowat l
east.
Qcomesoutoft heshowerandspanksmyass
beforegoingtotheclosett
ogetsomethi
ngto
wear ,
wewi l
lbehavinglunchwi
thMayaand
thereaft
ergoingtoseePheloandthei
rbabygi
rl
.
"baby…doyouthi
nkIshoul
dwearthi
s?"He
holdshi
sgolfshi
rtupandi
nspect
sit
.
"haiboQuinton…younev
erfussov
eryour
clothes,what'
sup?"Hel
ooksatmeand
scratcheshishead.
"
fi
rsti
mpressionmylove,
Ineedt
omakeagood
f
ir
stimpr
ession"bat
hongthi
sguy.Ishoul
dbe
t
heonetryi
ngtomaket
hef
ir
stgood
i
mpressi
onnothi
m.
Iwalkov ertohi
m andpullhishandi
nmi ne.
"baby…Ishouldbetheonet ofussoverabout
that,notyou…andbesides,she'
syoursister
,
she'sgoingtoloveyouregardl
essri
ght"he
rel
easesasi ghandkissmyhand.
"she'
sgonnaloveyouRemo.Don' tworr
yabout
i
t,shecan'
thelpbutto,IknowIdo"thenhe
pull
smeov ertohischestandkissmyforehead.
God!WhateverIhavedonei nmypastli
feto
deservet
hisman,Iam thankful
forit
.
Lookathi
m comf orti
ngmewhenhei stheone
try
ingt
oimpress.Ijusthopethatonedayhe
feel
scomfor
tableenought oopenupt omeand
tel
lmeall
he'snev ertol
danyone.

*
***
**
Wewal
kinhandi
nhandi
ntot
her
est
aur
antand
wal
kov
ertotheback,
whereourtabl
eis,
he
pul
l
sachai
rformetositandgoesovert
ohi
s.
"canIgetyouguy sany t
hing?"thewaiterask,
butwet el
lhim no.Wewai t
ingforsomeoneel se,
andasi foncue, ashortl
ightskinnedgirlwalks
overtouswi t
ht hebiggestandbr oadestsmi l
e
ever,Qstandsupi mmedi atel
ywhenshe
reachesusandt heyembr aceeachot her,they
arebothlaughi
ng, and…oohGod…Qwi peshis
tearsawayquickly,t
hisisreall
yemot i
onal to
l
ookat .
Aft
ersomet i
me.Theypul
lawayandheopensa
chai
rforhert
oseat.
"hi
…I'
m May
a,y
oumustbeRemof
il
we"she
saysgi
vi
ngmeherhand.
"
Azani
apl
ease"Isay
,shaki
ngherhand,
"al
ri
ghtAzani-
..
."
shestopsandlooksatme
beforer
aisi
nghereyebrowsandclear
ingher
thought
"Azania…ri
ght,youver
ybeauti
ful
"she
say
ssuddenl
y.
Ismil
eandsaythankyou,theysamet
ime
Quint
onsay
s'sheisisn'
tshe'
Weset tl
eov erinaconv ersationandImustsay .
Thist wolooksomuchal ike,youwoul dswear
theyar etwins,thelightski n,honey-browneyes,
speaki ngofey es,IrememberwhenIusedt o
referQuintonast hat ,
Idi dn'tknowhi sname
andhedr ovemecr azy,stil
l i
sev entoday…
l
ooki ngbacknowatwher eweat ,
I'
dsaywe
hav ecomeal ongway .Awayt hatIssoongoing
tober uinedbysel fi
shpeopl ewho-
"Remo-
"Isnapmyheadi
nhi
sdi
rect
ionandl
ook
athim.
"
arey
ouokay
?"Heasks,
hol
dingmyhand.
"
yeah,
sor
ry…Iam okay
,I'
mfi
ne"
"
okay "hesaysandthent
akesmyhandandki
ss
i
t,Ican'thel
pbutsmil
e.
Qui
nton.

Rightnowit'
sjustmeandMay aonl
y,Remolef
t
togocheckonPhel oandt hebaby ,
inawayI
am gladthatshedid,i
tgivesmeachancet o
tal
kwi t
hMay awithouthavingtofi
lt
erout
anythi
ng.Wecannowt alkfreel
yandopenl
y.
"soo…Azaniahuh?
"shesay
spagi
ngt
hrough
herdesser
tmenu.
Il
ookatherandchuckl
e."
Ithi
nkIwantt
omar r
y
her
"shechokesonhersal
ivaandcomposes
her
sel
f.
"
thenwhatar
eyouwai
ti
ngf
or?
"goodquest
ion…
"f
ortheri
ng,itwi
llbedel
iv
eredinafewdays
now"forsomepeopl ei
tmightbetoosoon,
but
whywaitsolongwheny oualr
eadyhave
someoney oulov
eandwantt ospendyourl
if
e
wi
th?Timeisoftheessence,
andt
imewai
sted
i
sneverregai
ned.
"
sotel
lme…wher
etof
rom her
e?"shel
ooksat
meandsi
ght
.
"Iam twomonthspregnantsoIneedt odowhat
i
sbestf ormeandmychi l
d.Nt ateThomashas
agreedtotakecareofTumos' grandmot herso
I'
m goingbacktotheUK, I
'
llcomebackonceI
givebir
thormaybey ear
slater, Iseri
ouslyneed
abr eat
herfr
om thi
splace.Plusy ourf
atheris
constantl
yonpeople'
snecks, Icannothonest l
y"
"
Ihearyou.Butpl
easedon'
tbeast
ranger
"she
l
ooksatmeandsmi les…
"
Iwon'
tIpr
omi
se"

"
so…uhm…howisuhm"Icl
earmyt
hought
.
"
howIsmum?"
Shest
opsandl
ooksatme."
whatdoy
ou
mean?
"
"
Imeanexact
lyt
hat
,howi
sshe?
"
Shel
ooksatmebaf
fl
edandcr
ossherar
ms.
"
Idon'
tknow,don'
tevenknowher
.Thought
maybeyoucouldt
ell
meabouther"
Whatdoesshemeanshedoesn'tknowher?
Mom lef
tmeandwenttol i
vehappi
lyev
eraft
er
wit
hheranddad,
evenafterever
ydadputher,
us!Thr
ough,
shesti
l
lchosehim overme.
"
whatdoy
oumeanbyt
hat
?"IaksbecauseIam
l
ost
.
"ImeanIdon'tknowourmot herQuinton,
apparent
lysheleftmeaf t
ergiv
ingbir
th
becausedadwoul dn'
ttakeherback.Soasa
payback.Shethrewmeandl eft
"
Shet ri
esnotto.ButIcanseehereyesget
ti
ng
glassy.Iknowmymot her
,shewouodneverdo
that,buti
nhonesty…doIr eal
l
yknowmy
mother,
shelef
twhenIwasy oungmysel
f,Ionl
y
hav
ememor iesofherfr
om pi
ctur
esandwhat
mkhuluhasbeentel
li
ngme.
"soy
ousayi
ngmom l
eftusall
?"Iask,
try
ingt
o
swal
lowt
helumponmyt hr
oat.
"brother…i
t'smeandy ouonlyi
nthisworld,soI
guessshedi dn'tcomebackt oyouthen,soI
hav ehatedyouf ornothi
ng"hear
inghersayt hat
shehat edme, breaksandconfort
smei naway
becauseIt oohav ehatedherandourfatherfor
takingourmot herawayf r
om me, di
dn'
tshel ove
usenought ocare?Didn'
thelovemeenought o
wantme?Wi l
lIeverbegoodenoughf oranyone?
WI LLIEVERBEASGOODANDWORTHY
ENOUGHASKAGI SO!?

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

soIguesswenowknowsomet
hingabout
Qui
ntonhuh?Thisi
soneoft
hechapt
erst
hat
wil
lgi
veyouinsi
ghtonwhoQui
ntoni
sandwhat
heisbat
tl
ing.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
26

IguessIcan'tescapemypat entsuntilfor
ever
becauseIjustgotcall
edtoreceptionandI
foundmymot herwait
ingf
ormet here.Iwantto
rol
lmyey es,butthi
sismymot herafteral
l.Wi
th
asigh,Il
eadherout si
detothechai r
sont he
dri
veway…
"
mama"If
inal
l
ysay
,af
termi
nut
esofsi
l
ence.
"eehKenna,Gaonaomongwe"(i
t'
sme,t
here'
s
nooneelse)bathong!Thi
swoman…shecan'
t
becockyonsucht i
mes.
"
forhowl
ongdoy
oupl
anonav
oidi
ngy
our
f
atherandme?Ngwanakewedoingallt
hisf
or
y
ou"shesays,
clut
chi
ngherhandbag.
"mamahowar eyoudoingal
lthi
sforme?
Marr
yingmeof ftosomeoneIbarelyev
enknow?
Howist hatf
ormyowngood? "Itrymyhar
dest
nott
or aisemyvoice.
"youwer egivent ousf orar easonmychi l
d"she
says,hereyesgl isteni
ng.Nott hisagai
n.Iknow
Iam aspeci alchildandal lthat,
butthatsti
l
l
doesn'texcuset hef actthattheywantto
mar r
yingmeof f
.

"whenIcoul
dn'tcarr
ytoter
m…y ourf
atherwas
hurt
,wesodesper at
elywant
edachi l
d,byall
meansnecessary,oneday.
.Hisbossfoundhim
cry
ing…askedhim whatwaswr ong"she
pausesandlooksouttothestr
eets.
"t
ocutthelongstor
yshor
t,youwer
egivent
ous
oncondit
ions,
thatwhenyoutur
n21,y
oumust
bemar r
iedtot
hechil
d,thehei
rtothethr
oneof
theMahlanguki
ngdom, backt
henthatwasa
smallpri
cetopayj
usttohearyoucryinmy
arms,weacceptbecausewhathar
m could
befal
lyou.
"
Whathar
m coul
dbef
all
me?
"whati
fIal
readymetsomeoneIwantt
ospend
myli
fewit
h?"
Shel
ooksatmewi
thsy
mpat
het
icey
es.
"Idon'
tknowmychi l
d.Butall
Iknowist
hatt
wo
monthsfrom now,
youwillbekagi
soswi
fe"
"youknowthatheismarr
iedr
ight
?"ormay be
shedoesn'
t,
that
'swhysheisf
orci
ngallt
his.
"Iknowmy
-"
Ha!Modi
moWAkgot
so.
"mama!Kanay
ousai
dy ourr
easonforl
eavi
ng
homewaswhat?Oohyeahright
.Theywant
ed
tomarr
yyouofft
oapolygamousman,because
ofwhateverreason,andwenalepaparan
away…Nowy ouwantt odotheexactsame
thi
ngtome.Fi ne"Istandup."
Iwi
llfol
l
owin
yourf
ootsteps,whoknows.Thismightbethe
l
astti
mey ouseeme"

*
***

Myconcent rat
ionspanhasdr oppedand
thousandf olds,Pheloisonmat ernit
yleave,
nowIhav etof or
eseet heprojectwi t
hQui nton
bef or
ewest ar
texecutingitinamont h.The
plansar ecomi ngalongprettygoodandIam
happybecausesomet hingIsgoi nginther i
ght
directi
on,somet hi
ngIcanact uallycontr
ol.Iwill
bemeet i
ngwi thKagisoaf t
erwor k,
Idon'tknow
whatIwi l
lsaytoQbutIwi l
lfigureitout,wewi ll
bemeet i
ngatt hepubj ustaroundt hecorner .
Youknow,
whenmypar
ent
stol
dmeaboutt
his
arrangedmarri
aget hi
ng.Ifeltl
ikemyli
fei
s
comi ngtoastandst i
ll
,IHavebeenindeni
al
hopingthatt
heywoul dsayt heyarej
oki
ng.But
witheachday,itbecomesmor eandmorereal
andt hehar
derItrytoignoreit,
themoreit
provestobedef f
icult
.

Whentheclockstr
ikesf
if
teenthi
rt
y,It
akemh
phoneoutandshootatexttoQui
nton,t
henI
packmythingsandheadout.
Iam crossi
ngf i
ngershere,
Idon'
tknowwhat
myai mis,butwehav etocomet oan
agreement,Ican'
tlooseQandheal socan'
t
aff
ordtolooseOr ati
l
we.Webot hstandtol
oose
i
fwegoaheadwi t
hthis.
WhenIst
epinsi
de,Ii
mmedi
atel
yspothi
m,hei
s
i
naboothatthef
atend.
"hi
…thanksforagr
eei
ngtoseeme"henods
andgestur
esmet osi
tdown.
"l
ook,Idon'twantt
obeatar oundthebush.We
needtof i
ndasoluti
ontothis,youaremarri
ed
andIhav enoplansofbecomi ngyourwif
e.Let
al
oneasecondwi f
e.Toany oneforthatmatt
er.
Ideservewaymor ethanthat"helooksatme
andnodshi shead.
"Idon'
twantanot herwifeaswell
,OraIs
pregnantandifIwer etoall
owmyf athert
o
keeponmani pulati
ngme.Iwi l
lneverbewith
thewomanIl ove.AlreadyI'
m wal
kinginthi
nice
withher,shel
eftme, andIfIcont
inuewiththi
s.
Iwill
nevergetherback"
Inodmyhead,
atl
eastwear
eont
osomet
hing.
"l
ookAzania"heholdsmyhand." iknowthi
sis
al
lfuckedup,butt
rustme, Iwil
lmakey ouand
Quintonenduptogether…Ipromiseyou,we
don'thavet
ogetmar ri
edand- "
"
what
'sgoi
ngonher
e-?
"
Whoev
erhast
hemanual
ofmyl
i
fei
snot
playi
ngf air
,inf act
.Heorshej ustkeeps
throwingwhat evertheyli
kemyway ,
Ilookup
andmyhoney -browney edmani snoteven
l
ookingatme, hisintensestai
risonmy -
ooh
shit,
Kagi sohasmyhandcl aspedinhis,heshi
ft
hiseyesandl ookatKagi so.

"r
emofi
l
we,whatar
eyoudoinghere?
"It
ryt
o
openmymouthandsaysomethi
ngbutnot
hing
comesout
.
Helooksatmeandr aiseaneyebrow.Someone
walksupbehindhim andIseeAkin,Leoand
anotherguyIdon'
tknowwhoal so…islooki
ng
atKagisoli
kehewant st
okill
him.
"babywhatareyoudoingher
e?"Isay
,tr
yingt
o
di
structt
hem hopef
ull
y…
Helooksatmeandchuckl
es"
Icoul
dbeasking
youthesamequesti
on,
"wi
tht
hathetur
nsand
goesoutthedoor
.
_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Iam bot
hti
redanddrained,IwishIcoul
djust
sl
eepoverandoveragain,butIcan'
t.
Ihaveanask..
.Aftert
hisstory
.Iwouldli
keto
takeabreakunti
lidkwhen,butinthe
meanti
me. .
.Iwil
lbeworkingonBroken,and
youwil
lgetitasapdf,detai
lswil
lfol
lowint
ime
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
27

Couldt
hisbeit
,thet
imewhereIhav
etotel
l
Qui
ntonthetr
uth?Quest
ioni
s….Howexact
ly
wil
lhehandl
eit.
"Tookyoulongenoughyourf
inal
lyyouhome,
thoughtyouwouldfol
lowri
ghtafterme"hei
s
sit
ti
ngont hecouchl
ooki
ngstrai
ghtatme.

"t
houghtushoul
dgi
vey
ousomet
imet
ocool
off
?"

"
huh!
"hechuckl
ed"
soy
ouknowwhat
'sgood
f
ormenow? "

"
Q..
.Comeon"Isay
.

"y
oucoul dn'
tevenhidey ourfl
i
ng?Youbasical
l
y
wantedmet oseey ou"lordtel
lmewear enot
fi
ghti
ng,ourfi
srteverfi
ghtcan'tbeaboutt
his.
Lordplease.
"t
hat'
snott
rue,
andi
t'
snotaf
li
ng"i
tryt
o
defend

"arel
ati
onshi
pthen"hecockedhi
sey
ebr
ow
urgi
ngmet odisagr
eewithhim

"
noi
tisnotQui
nton,
wewer
ejustt
alki
ng"

"
aboutwhatexact
ly,
whatbusi
nessdoy
ouhav
e
wi
thhim?"Modimo!

"
it
'snotbusi
nessbutper
sonal
"

"st
uffyoucoul
dn'tt
alktome, y
ourmanabout?"
howexactlydoIexplai
nmy sel
f,howdoIget
my sel
foutoft
hisordeal?
"
youwoul
dn'
tunder
stand"

"
huh!Okay
"thenhepi
ckshi
skey
supand
makesawaytothedoor
.

"
babecomeon,
let
'st
alkokay
"
"y
oual
readyhav
eaper sonf
orthat
"thenhe
sl
amsthedoorri
ghtonherf
ace.
Ifeel
myhear tweighingheavyonme,ift
hisi
s
howher eactst
ojustseeingmewi t
hKagiso.
LordknowsIdon'twantt oseehi
sreacti
on
whenhef i
ndsoutt herealr
easonwhyIhave
beenmeet i
ngwithhim.

"wherewerey
ou? "Hehasbeengoneforhour
s.
Ihavebeenwait
ingupforhi
mf orhour
s,i
t'
sjust
aft
ertwel
veand-
"someplacefarawayfrom her
e.Butit'
snotli
ke
youcare"hesaysshruggi
nghisjacketoffand
headi
ngf ort
hestai
rs

"i
fIdi
dn'tcar
e,Iwouldnthav
est
ayeduplat
e
andwaitforyoutocomebackhome"Icounter
back

"myplaceyoumean"thatrenderedmesi lent
,I
tr
iedtoopenmymout handsaysomet hingbut
nothi
ngcameout ,hel
ookedatmeandwal ked
upthestair
sandsecondslaterIhear
dt he
bedroom sl
am cl
osed.
Ikeepbi
tt
ingmyli
pt opreventtear
sfr
om
comingout.Sowereal
lyjusthadourfi
rstf
ight
?
Ilookupatt
hecl
ockandi
t'
sal
mosthal
fpast
twelve.
It
akemyphoneoutsendAnzoat
extt
ocome
getme,Iknowi
t'
slat
eandhe'sprobabl
y
sl
eepi
ngbuthopef
ull
y.Justhopef
u-
AsifGodi
sonmysi
de,
myphoner
ingsandi
t'
s
hi
m.

"hey
..Wherear
ey ou,ar
eyouokay
?"Inodmy
headandthenclearmythr
oat.
"yeahI
'm okay
,I'
llsendyout
helocat
ion"Isay
andthenhangup, Idon'
twanthi
m askingme
toomanyquest i
ons.

Wi thasi gh.Itaket
hestairsoneaftertheother
bef or
er eachingth-
HIS!Bedroom andgot ot
he
closet,Itakemybagoutandst ar
tpackingmy
things,justwhenI '
m abouttoturnandt akethe
l
astbat ch, heuncovershimselfandlooksatme.

"
whatar
eyoudoi
ng?
"Il
ookathi
m andcont
inue
whatIam doi
ng.

"
Iaskedyouaquesti
onRemo"sl
owly,
Icanf
eel
myheartshat
ter
ing,
anddamnIhat
ethis
f
eeli
ng.

"
leav
ing"Isayandzi
pupmybag.
"
why
?"doeshehav
eamnesi
aorwhat
?
"cl
earl
yI'
m crowdingy ou,t
hel astthingIneedis
tobeaccusedoff orci
ngmy selfonsomeone
whodoesn'twantme, youlovemeIknow, but
mov i
ngintogetherwasabadi dea, clear
lywe
sti
l
lhaveal ott
ol ear
nabouteachot her"I
changemyshoesandpul lmybagdown.

"soevery
timewehav eanargumentyoujust
goingtopackandleave?"Hestandsupand
l
ooksatme, he'
sinjusthispaj
amabottoms
andhi
stonedski
nnedi
sjustsoappet
izi
ng.

"noQuinton,f
irstofall
,thatwasn'tanargument,
youwer ebasicall
yaccussingme, doyout hi
nk
ofmet hatlow, andwedon' twalkoutofeach
otherwhenwe' fi
ght
'wesi tdownandhearbot h
sidesofthestor i
es,
thatjustgoestoshowt hat
wedon'treall
yknoweachot hert
hatmuch"
It
iemyhai
rint
oabutandgr
abmybag.

"whatar
eyousayi
ng?"IswearIsawf
earpass
thr
oughhi
seyes.
"thatwestil
lhav ealott
olear
nf r
om eachother
"myphoner ingswi that
extfr
om Anzosay i
ng
hehadarriv
ed, Itakemybagandwheel it
downstai
rs,hef oll
owsmeoutsideunti
lAnzo
pull
sup.
"y
ouknowIdidntmeanthatri
ght
?"Hesaysj
ust
asIdescendt
hestar
ingheadi
ngtoAnzo

"
maybe"IsayandAnzocomesoutandhelps
mewithmybag, hel
ooksatmeandthenatQ
whoIslooki
ngatusandwit
hhishandsonhi
s
wai
st.
Igetinandputonmyseatbelt
,whenIl
ook
behindme.Qs'facei
str
ansfor
medandhe
roughl
yslamsthedoorcl
osed.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Ihadtotr
yandgetabi temotional
tobeabl
eto
wri
tethi
schapter.Ihadabitofwri
ter
sbl
ock
buthopef
ull
ythischapteri
sasgoodenough
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED
CHAPTER:
28

Whent hedoorclosed,
Ifel
tmyheartbr
eaking,
I
closedmyey esandtri
edtoswal
lowthelump
thatsuddenl
yformedonmyt hr
oat.

"
areyouokay?
"Iopenmyey
esandseeAnzo
l
ooki
ngsideeyi
ngme.
Icl
earmyt hr
oatandsayy es,it
'sali
e,Iam not
,I
am farf
rom i
teven,butt
hel astthi
ngIwantis
tot
alkaboutit
.Iknowhewant st oknow,butI
wil
ltel
lhi
m, j
ustnotnow.
“whatthefuck?”Il
ookupt oseewhatheis
talki
ngaboutandabl ackaudij
ustpul
lsupin
frontofus,Igetali
tt
lescar
edwhent hedoorof
thecaropensbutwhenIseewhoi ti
s,myheart
dancesal i
ttl
ebit
.
Anzoj
ustl
ooksatme,
lookathi
mtooandt
hen
backatt
heQui
nton.
Hepull
sopenmydoorandsi ghs.“
y ouwal
ked
out
”that
’sall
hesays,Ibi
tet
heinsidesonmy
mouthandlookathi
m.
“
Iknow”Isay
.
“br
o…canIt akeher
”hesaystoAnzo,“
ifyou
wantt
ogobackaf t
erwetal
k,t
henIwil
l gl
adl
y
dosomy sel
f”hesaysbackatme.“Ij
ustwant
ustot
alkplease?”
Il
ookatAnzoandt
henbackatQofwhi
chbot
h
ar
elooki
ngatmeexpect
edl
y.
Withasigh,Iopenmydoorandst epout“okay
”
Isayandthent urnt
olookatAnzo.“t
hankyou
forcomi
ng,Iwi ll
seeyoutomorr
ow”
Henodshi
shead“
any
time”
Qtakesmybagt ohi
scarandthenopensmy
door,
“thanky ou”Imouth,
andheshutsthedoor
befor
epr oceedingtohi
sside.
“I
’m sor
ryIt
hrewy
ouout”isthefi
rstt
hinghe
saysaft
ermomentsofsi
lence.
“youdi
dn’
t,
itwasst
upi
dofmet
odot
hat
anyway”
“no,technicall
yIdid,Ishouldn’
thav esaidthose
words, andy oudon’tsuffocatemepl ease,Il
ike
havingy ouinmyspace, mor ethanyoucoul d
everthing”het akesmyhandi nhisandgi v
esi t
akiss,hegi vesmeagl ancebef or
elooking
backatt her oad.
“i
tsokayQuint
on”weenterhi
sst
reetand
secondsl
ater,
heispul
l
inguponhisdriv
eway
.
Hehel
pscarrymythi
ngsi
nsidebef
orehepul
ls
metothecoucheswi
thbot
hmyhandsi nhi
s.
“Ioverr
eacted,
Ishoul
dhaveaskedyoufi
rst
beforeassuming,sopl
ease,
whatbusi
nessdo
youhav ewitht
hatguy?”
Therei
stheplat
for
m,Ishoul
dtel
lhi
m,buthey
..
guesswhat?
“wewer etal
kingaboutmydad,hei
saboutto
retiresohewant edtotalkt
omeabouthis
package”t hunderst
rikemymouth,
whyam I
l
y ing,thi
sshouldbethechancetot
ell
himthe
truth,butheream Idoingqui
tet
heopposi
te.
“
okay
”Iseehi
mrel
axi
ng.
“andQIdon’tli
kethefactthatt
hef i
rstt
hing
thatcametoyourmindwascheat i
ng,Iwould
neverdothattoyou,y
ouar emyendgame
babe”hebrushesthebridgeofhisnoseand
sighs.
“
Ial
sohatet
hatbaby;Iam r
eall
ysorr
y”hepul
l
s
metowar
dshim andburi
eshisfaceonmyneck.
Icanal
readyfeelbut
ter
fl
iesi
nmyst
omach
fr
om j
usthisbreathf
anningonmel
i
ket
hat.
“Iloveyousomuch-ahQuinton”mybreath
hicksalit
tl
efr
om t
hef r
ict
ionofourbodies
grindi
ngoneachother.
“
Ilov
eyout
oobaby
”hesay
sbef
oreat
tacki
ng
myneckwithhi
skisses.Theover
fl
owi
ng
sensati
oni
sall
justt
oomuchf oronet
obearso
Irel
easeamoan.
Hehelpsmeoutofmyshi rtandbraandplays
withmynippl
es.Myheadfallsback,
andhe
takesmynippl
einhismouth,forsomereason,
theact
ionsti
mulatesmemor ethanmostday s,
okay…IknowIli
kewhenhesucksme, buttheis
somethingt
oday,ormaybebecauseit’
smake-
upsex?WellIdi
dhearthatiti
sthebest.
Hequi ckl
yhel psmeoutofmypant s, andhe
pull
shi sdownt oo.Wi
thoutt
hinki
ng, Ikneelin
fr
ontofhi m andgrabMYwi l
li
eWonka, y
es,I
sai
di t
, i
t’
smi nemoss,i
tsmychocol at efact
ory.
My007.
Isti
ckmyt ongueoutandl i
cki
tfr
om the
bottom up,Irepeattheacti
onacoupl
eoft i
mes
beforegoingt othehead,Il
ookupathim and
hiseyesaresqui ntedcl
osedbutst
il
ll
ookingat
me.
“youlooksobeaut
if
ulri
ghtnow”Isaybef
ore
taki
nghiminmymout h,hecussesandpul
lsmy
hair
.
“f
uckbaby
,car
eful
whatyousay
,wedon’
twant
tounmanmenowdowe? ”hesmil
esbef
ore
pushi
ngmyheadbackdown.
Hepullsmeupagai nandhoi stmet ohi m,I
cli
mbont opofhim andimmedi atel
y,hi
shands
gotomynanaandIam dr enched.“ fuckbaby ”
hesaysbeforehepusheshi sfingersandgi ves
meaf ewthrust
swi t
hthem andt henpullsme
tohim.“wereal
lyshoul
dgety ouont hepill
baby”
“okay”Isaybefor
eposi
ti
oningmy selfand
slowlytaki
nghimin,
hestandstil
lforsome
ti
met oadjustandhesl
owlyandmet iculousl
y
start
smov ingmebackandf or
th,upanddown
withmyhandsonhi sshoul
dandourey es
l
ocked.
Wehavehadsexsoman-no!wehavemade
l
ovesomanyti
mesandeachtimegetsbet
ter
t
hanthel
ast
.
Hismout hopensandheshut shisey
esandI
knowt hatheisclose,he,movesmeacoupleof
ti
mesbef orehepul l
soutandr ubsonmy
entr
ance,Ithr
owmyheadbackandshutmy
eyeswhenIcum andheput si
tbackin,
pumps
afewt imesbeforehest i
ll
sandIseehiscum
dri
poutofme, t
hesi ghtal
onemakesmewant
him ev
enmor e.
Irestmyheadonhisshoulderwhi
leheki
sses
thesideofmyface.GOD!Ireal
l
ylovet
hisman.

_
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___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Anotheronewi
l
l f
oll
owsoon.Let
'sbr
aceour
sel
ves,wenear
ingtheend.
Anywho.
..
ifGodi sonmyside,nexty
earthe
bookmightjustbeanact
ual har
dcopy,
byGod'
s
Grace
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
29

Qui
nton

Growingup,Iwasr ai
sedbymygr andf
ather,I
couldhavechosent oli
vewithAuntKeagileand
UncleAkin,t
heywoul dhaveprovi
dedmewi tha
farbett
erli
fethanGr andpadi d,
buthei sfamil
y,
theyonlybl
oodr elati
vethatwantedme, well.
.
soIthought,heari
ngt hatMay awasalsonot
rai
sedbyourmot herkindofgavemear eli
ef
thatmymot herdidn’tonlyabandonmeonl y
,
andalsoknowi
ngthatVusii
sashi
theadofa
fat
hergavemeconsoletoo.
Iknowf oraf actthatKagisoalsohateshim,
howdoIknowkagi so?Wel l
…Iwashi sment or,
I
wasi nmyf inal y
earandhewasi nhisfi
rst
,li
keI
usuallydoIt ookhim,li
tt
ledidIknowt hathe
orchestrat
edt hewholething,atfi
rstwegot
along,toapoi ntwealmostgotcl ose,unti
lI
l
ear ntwhohei s.
Imustsay…ifitweren’tthatf
orwardtwi
nofhis,
Iwouldn’
thaveknown, shemadeapassatme,
becameconsistentuntil
Kagisorepri
manded
her,
anddidshel i
sten?Nope.
Unti
l Kagi soleti
tsl
ipthatIam thei
rolder
br
ot her .Iwasconfusedatfir
stbutwheni t
cl
icked, heandIgotinafight
,Iseri
ousone, I
wasst arti
ngtolett
hisboyinonmyl i
fe,hellI
eveni ntroducedhimtomybr other,surpri
singl
y
heandAki ngotal
onglikeahouseonf i
re,
pr
obabl ybecauseoftheMahl angublood
f
lowi
ngt
hrought
hem.

Theboywasbecomi ngabr othertome, our

ment orandment eer elati
onshi pprogress,unti
l I
foundoutt hetr
uth.Iswor eof fofhi m and
voil
a…t heli
tt
leshitheadi sbacki nmyl ifeagain,
Iknowi t’
swrong, butIdon’ twanthi m any where
nearmywoman, t
heyhadbet terfi
ndawayt o
dealwi t
hherfathersi ssueswi ththet woof
them getti
ngincont act.Thel astthingIwanti s
him closetoanyfemal ecloset omyhear taga-.
Ilooktomysi de,andlookatt hebeautif
ul
creat
urenexttome, Iknowunder standwhyshe
theynamedherAzani a,Godreallydidgi
veher
tousthisone, Iseetheoutli
neofherbr east
andalreadyimagi nemy sel
fthrusti
ngont hem.
Thethoughtget smeal lexci
ted,butbeforethat
,
sheneedst owakeup.
Igetundert
hecov
ersandhersl
i
m ni
cel
y
shapedstr
uct
uregetsmei
naslightdaze,
Ipul
l
herlegupandposi
ti
onmysel
f.
I
mmedi atel
ywhenIthrusti
nhereyesshoot
open.“goodmor ni
ng”shesmi l
esbefore
wrappingherlegsaroundmeandt akingev
ery
thr
ustlikeabiggir
lthatsheis,
sheismy
nir
vana, i
nherownwor ds,myendgame.

*
*

BeforeIl eft,It
oldRemot hatIam pl anninga
surpri
sedat e,Iam meetingwi ththeguy ssi
nce
ourlastsoccerdaygotr uined, alt
houghwewi l
l
bedoingi tatAkinshouse.Li tt
leKgot hatsois
adorable, sheisatotalreplicati
onofherf at
her,
theblueey esandcur l
yhai r
, I
’m surePhel oi
s
j
ealous, Ipassbybabyst oreandbuybot hher
andKeenansomet hingandheadst raightto
thei
rhouse.
It
’saft
erfi
veint
heafter
noon,Idr
oppedRemo
offbefor
ecominghere,
theproj
ecti
sduesoon
andmybabyi sworki
ngherassoffonit
,Iam
proudofhernoli
e.
Ipunchthecodesont hegateanddr i
vein.
befor
eIev engetoutofthehouse,Keenanis
al
readyrunningoutthedoortowardsmycar ,
I
swearthi
skidshy per
nessisonsteroi
ds,you
canneverkeepup.
“daddylost”hesay sgiggl
ingIpickhi
m upand
ti
cklehim andhel aughsev enmore.His
l
aught eristhebest,Icannevergetoveri
t.Wi t
h
eachpassi ngdayhel ooksmor eandmorel i
ke
hisdad, Heh!Pheloisgonnakillhi
m,boththeir
kidslooklikehi
m, youwoul dswearhedenied
them orsomet hi
ng.Ormay beGodispunishing
Phelo,whoknows.
Iwal
kinsi
dewithhim andputhi
m down,
and
i
mmedi at
ely
,herunsupthestai
rs.
“norunni
nginthehouseKeenan”Phelos’mom
sayscomingfrom t
hekit
chen.I
’m sur
prisedt
o
seeherhere.
“
sawubonama”Isaygi
vi
ngherasi
dehug.
“yebomfanawami,ev
ery
onei
st hatsi
de”she
saysandheadsbacktot
heki
tchen.
Iwalkoutsidetothepool si
deandwemy
thumbpoi ntt
owar dsthehouse,theyalll
ookat
meandl aughwhi l
eAki nshrugshisshoulder
s.
Pheloneverreal
lygotalongwi t
hherf amil
y,I
am surpr
isedhermot herishere,buthey…
peoplechangeandgr owup.

ItakeaseatnexttoZeki
eandhepassesmea
coldbeer.Aki
nandLeoaretalki
ngabout
whatevertheyar
etal
kingaboutwhenZeki
e
nudgesme.
“whathappenedlastnight
?”het
akesasi
pof
hisbeerandtur
nshi sbodytome.
“Iwaswrong,herf
atherworksforhi
m, sothey
weretal
ki
ngabouthim”Ilaybackont hechair
andputmyl egontopoftheother.
“y
oudon’tbeli
evethatdoy
ou?”Leosays.Now
ever
yoneislooki
ngatmeexpectedl
y.
“what?Shepackedherbagsandl
eftaf
terI
accusedher
,please…Ibel
iev
eher
”
“Icanalway
slooki
ntoi
tyouknow”t
hat
’snota
questi
on.
“noyouwi l
lnotAkin,
Idon’
twantyouorZeki
es’
detectiv
eskil
lri
ghtnow”Igul
pdownmybeer
andt akeanot
herone.
Itoodon’tbeli
evethest oryshegav eme,butf
or
thesakeoft heloveIhav eforher,It
ookit
,
besides,bat
hiignoranceisbliss,
andIwould
ratherbeinablissf
ul r
elati
onshipknowing
nothing.
“noshi t
…wewat chedy ougetbur nedonce, not
again.Hell…ifnotfory oursel
f,doitforme, I
woul dgivemyl i
fetot hedev i
ltohav ey our
fathersfaceonagol dplatter
”-Zekie,Iknowhe
i
sser i
ous,Idon’
tthingmyhat redforVusi can
getcompar edtohis,sincewewer ekids, i
fI
didn’tknowbet t
er,Iwoul dsayhededi catedhis
l
ifetoki l
l
ingmyf ather.
“
youandMay
awoul
dgetal
ong”Isayshaki
ng
myhead.
“wel
lhey
,onelessMahlangutowor
ryabout
”he
saysmakingatoastontheai
r.
“youmeanNgoepe, shecouldn’twai
ttochange
hersurname,I
’m pr
ettysur
ei fshecoul
dget
aholdofuswhenshewasy ounger,shewould
havelongchangedtoZungu”hel ooksatme
andlaughs.
“andwhythehel
lar
eyoust
il
lkeepi
nghi
s
surname”-
Aki
n.
Hai
bo!I
sthi
stackl
eQui
ntonday
?
“
Iam not
”Idef
end.
“okayMTHOKOZISI”Zekiesaysandt heybot h
l
aughatme.That’sthenamegr andpacal lsme
becausehesayshewillnevercallmeQui nton,
apparentl
ywhi
tepeoplebathatheal otfrom us,
i
ncludingamagamawet hu.

“mxm.Leav
emealone”Isayandl
aught
oo.“
I
boughtt
heri
ng”
.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Letstalk.
..IfyouwereAzaniaandknewofa
secretthatcouldpotent
ial
l
ymakey ourwhole
l
ifecomecr umbli
ngdownandy ournewlyf
ound
rel
ationship.Youwouldtel
lyourpartner
i
mmedi atelyyouf
indoutorwoul dyoutryt
o
resolv
ethi
ngsony
ourownf
ir
stbef
oresay
ing
anythi
ng?

Anyway
..
.Befor
eNov emberwewi
l
lhopef
ull
ybe
donrwi
ththebook.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
30

Qui
nton

IknowEzekielenought oknowthathewil
lnot
l
istentome, apartofmewant sthi
s,but
anotherdoesn’
t,Iam confl
ict
ed.
Iti
saSaturdayandRemoandIhaveadate,or
rat
her
,surpri
sedate,
aft
ert
his,
Iam goi
ngto
askhert
omar r
yme,maybemysudden
proposalissli
ghtlymot i
vatedbutIhadlong
broughtthering,thedayaf tert
hememor ial
,I
orderedit
.Itssil
verwi t
hsmal ldi
amonds
roundingitandanot herbigoneont op,
the
momentIsawi t
,Iknewi twouldlookstunni
ng
onher .
Idon’tknowwhatitisthatwewillbedoing
today,Iwantever
ythi
ngt obespontaneousand
aftert
hat,Ipl
annedasur pr
isepr
oposal,Iwant
everyt
hingtobeperfect,
becausesheis.
“whatshoul
dIwear?”sheasksappear
ingfrom
thecl
osetinj
ustherpanti
esandbra.Iwhistl
e
andtakeherhand,t
wirl
i
ngheraround,ai
ino…
‘
y oubeaut
if
ul”Isay
,causi
nghertoblush.
“anyt
hingyouwanttowear”Isay.Shelooksat
meandnodsherhead.Shegoest othecloset
andcomesbacki nwithawhiteshir
tandblue
j
eanandheel s.
If
eel
but
ter
fl
iesi
nmyst
omach.Ihav
eon
sweatpant
sandav estpl
usacap,it
sblazi
ng
hotoutsi
de,i
tsNov
embersoI’m notsurpr
ised.
Aft
erwearedone,Itakeherhandandwego
outhandi
nhand.Wegof orther
angerov
er;
I
openherdoorandthengot omyside.
Wedr i
v efi
rsttotheGl enmal lf
oramov ie,
she
picksonewhi leIgogr abpopcor nsandher
slush, andsomegummybear s,themovieis
starti
ngi nfift
eenmi nutes,sowegoi nandsiti
n
themi ddler aw,thecinemai sfullwi
thi
n
mi nutesandt hestoryst ar
ts,Icanspotkevi
n
Har tandTheRock.

Oncewedonewiththemovie,
Idriveusto
Soweto,
wherewewi l
lbezi
pli
ningandcart
dri
vi
ngandafewotheracti
vi
ti
es,Ijustt
hought
of,
Iwantev
eryt
hingtobespontaneous.
Azani
a

Wear ebackhome, andIam so…tir

ed,Ineedt
o
restbutnoIcannot,becauseQsayshehasone
fi
nalsurpri
seforme.Heaskedmet owearthe
reddressIwaswear ingthedayhestoodmeup
andlaterhadsex.
Iti
emybr ai
dsint
oabunandappl ymakeup,I
needachangeofhairst
yle,
Ihavealwaysbeena
brai
dsandstrai
ght-
upkindofgir
l.MaybeI
shoul
dtryaweav eorsomethi
ng.
“areyouready?”hesaysputt
ingonhi scuff
li
ngs,
helooksgood, heisi
nablackt ux,bl
ackshir
t
andr edt
ie,hehasabitofhaironhi sheadand
hisfadei
sgr owingandkeptnicely
.
Hesitsbehi
ndmeont hemirrorandkissesmy
neck,f
uck!Hesmell
sgood.“areyousur eIcan’
t
getoneforther
oad?”Iask,
hechucklesand
bi
tesmyneck.
“Ithi
nkwecanwor ksomet hi
ngout ”hesays
beforepul
li
ngmeupandt hrowingmeont he
bed,“buti
thastobequick”hepi l
l
shi szi
pper
downandmy007spr ungout .Hepullsme
closertot
heendsandpullsmydr essup.
“fuckRemo”hepul l
smyt hongtothesideand
rubsal i
ttl
ebit
,“aren’
tyoueverready”heputs
hisfingeri
nhismout hbeforesl
owl ydi
recti
ng
hisWonkai n,Igrabontohisshoulderwhil
ehe
poundsi nsimult
aneouslyrubbi
ngmycl it
.
Icomewi
thi
nsecondsandhef
oll
owsr
ight
aft
er.

*
*

Wal ki
ngintotherestaur
ant,weareinafitof
giggles,
becausewehadanot hersessi
oninthe
car,wear eseri
ouslyact
ingli
kekids,weareled
totable,heopensachai rf
ormeandgoesov er
t
ohi
s.
“
Ilov
eyou”hesaysandkissesmyhands.“
I
l
oveyout
oo”Isayandgiggle.
“godIl
oveyou”hesay
sagai
n,maki
ngmebl
ush
evenmore.
Wehav eourdinnerwi
thafl
owi
ngconversati
on,
hetel
l
smeabouthowmuchhel ovedstart
ing
hi
sbusiness,theobst
acl
eshecameacrossand
howheov ercame.
“
baby
…”hel
ooksatmeandsmi
l
es.
“
yes?
”heasks.
“Ihavesomethingtotel
lyou”helooksatme
expectedl
y,soIclearmythroatandshi
fti
nmy
seat.
“r
emembertheti
meIwenthome? ”helooksat
meandnods.“wel
l…mypar ent
ssaid
somethi
ngtome,I’
veneverbeent
hesameev er
si
nce”Igul
pdownmywi neandpouranother
.
“wasi
taboutyourdad?
”helookswor
ri
ed.Il
ook
athi
m andopenmymout h,
butsomeonepul
ls
achai
randsit
sdown.
“
whatdowehav
eher
e?”…

"whatthefuck!Geet
?"t
helookonQs' f
aceis
unreadabl
ebutIknowit'
snotapleasantone

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Well
hey..
.Whatdoyouknow,
poorchi
l
dwas
j
ustabouttot
ell
thet
rut
h.

GUESSWHO' SBACKBABY seey alloverthe

weekend,Ihaveanssi
gnmentdueandteststo
pr
eparefor.
Guy
s..
.Br
aam pi
cknpaymakest
hebest
doughnut
s j
ustsay
ing.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
31

Youknowt histhingcalledli
fewill
amazey ou,
beforet
hey earstart
ed, Iwasthisgirlwho
choseacademi csov erevery
thing,prefer
redit
overboysbecauseIknewIhadmywhol eli
feto
focusonthem, well…excludingthef actt
hatI
hadacrushonAnzo, butwewer efineas
fri
ends,
ifanything.
ThenIgr aduated,itsureashellfeel
sl i
fethat’
s
whenmyl i
fetookat otalt
urnforthewor se.I
gotani nt
ernship,atoneoft hebesty outh
basedcompany ,metwhatIcancal ltheloveof
myl i
fefewweeksl ater,j
ustasIwast hi
nking
goreI’
m saili
ngt hi
sboatcal l
edmj olo,my
parentsrevealtomet hatIam settomar ry
someone,tomakemat tersworse,Iwasborn
marri
ed,t
hosewer et hecondit
ionstomy
par
entshavingme, Idon’tfaul
tthem ther
e,
sev
enmi scarr
iages,evenIwoul dresortt
osuch
matter
s.
Thepr oblem i
s…nowIhav ef oundsomeone, a
personascr azyasi tsounds,Iam wil
li
ngto
gi
veev erythi
ngupf or
,someonet hatIr
isknev er
havingkidsforbecauset hatiswhatwillhappy
i
fIdonotmar ryintotheMahl angufamily,
it’
s
notlikeIeverwant edkids,notaft
ermy
mot hers’
experiences,Idonot .
“canIhelpyou?
”Isaytot
heuninv
itedguest
thatsuddenl
ysawfitt
obei
ngonourt abl
eis
somehowt hegoaloft
heday.
Shelooksatmeandsmi rks.“hel
losisterwife”
shesaysbeforet
akingmywi neandsi ppingit.I
feel
myhear t
beatdroppi
ngandsomet hingdr op
i
nmyst omach.Clearl
yseeingmyf ace, she
smil
esandlooksatQ, l
ordIdon’twanthert o
sayanyt
hing.Shei
sobvi
ouslyheretodest
roy
myhappinessli
keshet
hinksIdidhersand
kagi
sos’
.
“di
dyouknow- ‘
”“I’
m get t
ingmar r
ied”my
mouthtakesoverbef or
eIcanev en
comprehendwhatIj ustsaid.Sheturnst
olook
atmeamused; IturntolookatQt of i
ndhim
alr
eadylooki
ngintenselyatme.
“
angi
zwa”
“Iam get
ti
ngmar r
ied, t
hat’sthereasonwhyI
havebeenactingstranget hepastweeks”Ifeel
sweatdri
ppingdownmyf orehead“babyIwas
gonnatel
lyoubut-‘het hr
owshi snapkinand
standupmakingthechai rskreetch.
“oohhoney,Iwasn’
tgonnasayany
thi
ng”the
uninv
itedguestsay
sbefor
ethrowi
ngherhead
backandlaughing.
“
alr
ightyou,
Iknewally
ouwantedwast
ocause
t
roublecomeon”IseeKagi
socomingi
ntov
iew
andpul
l
ingherup.
Fr
om thedoor,
IseeQandhi sotherbr
other,
or
i
sitf
ri
end,Iqui
cklystandupandrunafterhi
m
whenthewait
ertell
smeaboutmybi ll
.
Il
ookatthedoorandt henatthewait
er.“
Igoti
t,
go”kagi
sosay spushi
ngmet othedoor,we
al
readycausedasceneanddr awnpeoples’
att
enti
on,wit
hheelson,IrunasbestasIcanto
tr
yandcatchup.
“
Q”
“
Qui
nton”st
il
lnot
hing.
“babe…babywaitup”hestopswhenheget
sto
hiscarandqui
cklytur
ns.
“whoaQuint
on,takei
teasy
”theguy
ssay
,
pul
li
nghim back.
“
fuckoffmeEzeki
el”hesay
s,t
ryi
ngt
ogetaway
f
rom hi
shol
d.
Hel
ooksatmeandpoi
ntshi
sfi
ngeratme,
tr
yingtospeakwi thnowor dscomingout .“
who
i
st heguy,i
sitthatfuckerIfoundyouwi t
h?”he
asks,angeremitti
ngfrom hisvoi
ce,withtears
bl
ur r
ingmyv i
sion,Inodmyheady es.
Het ur
nsaroundandwi peshi
sfacebefore
tur
ningbackatme“ fuckyouAzania”hefinal
ly
says,bef
oreatearescapeshiseyes.Probing
myownt earstofl
ow.“ Q”It
rytoswall
owt he
l
umponmyt hr
oat
.
“qui
ntonplease”mypl
eaf al
l
sondeafey
es,he
openthecarbef or
edr
ivi
ngoffl
eav
ingnotr
ail
of
himleftbehi
nd.
“comeonl i
ttl
eone, l
etmet akey ouhome”t he
guywhoIt hi
nkhi snamei sEzekielsays.Idon’
t
evenobjectandf ol
l
owhi m.Hepul lsopent he
doortohisG-wagon, aladyasatt hefront,
mindingherownbusi ness.Irestmyheadon
thewindowandl etmyt earsfall
,Itakemy
phoneoutandt rytocall,
threeti
mesandal lt
he
call
sringtovoicemail
.
“l
ethim cool
offabit
”thegir
l say
s,l
ooki
ngat
met hr
oughtherevi
ewmi r
ror.Moretear
sfal
l
out.
“Idi
dn’twantt ohurthim”Ichokeonmywor ds.
“Iswear,youar ehi
sbr ot
her,r
ight
?Pleasetell
him Idi
dn’tplanall
t hi
s”helooksatmet hrough
themi r
rorthenatthegi r
lwheretheysharea
l
ook.
“l
ethim cooloff
,hewillcomearound,tr
ustme.
Hej ustneedssomet i
me”Inodmyheadand
l
aymyheadback, asifthefl
oodgatedhave
beenopened, moretearsfl
ow,stai
ningmy
dress.
whenthecarcomest oahalt,
Ilookaroundme
andseethatIam atmyapartmentbuil
ding.I
stepoutandwalkstr
aighti
nwithouteven
l
ookingback.

*
*
I
fyouaskmewhatIam doi nghereorrather
howIgothere,Iwoul
dn’
tbeablet otel
lyou,but
her
eam i.payi
ngtheuberdri
verforbri
ngingme
her
elat
eatnight.I
tsj
ustaft
ernine.
Thedooriswi deopen, andlightsswitchedoff.I
slowl
ywalki n,Iswit
cht heli
ghtson, andIgasp
from t
hesightinfrontofme, t
hewhol eplaced
hasbeencr ashed,coff
eet ablebrokenandt von
thefl
oor,
itslikeafurni
turetornadowasher e.
Islowl
ymaneuvert
othestai
rs;Igost
rai
ghtto
hisbedr
oom onl
ytofi
ndoutthatthet
ornado
washeretoo.
“
Qui
nton”
Ifi
ndhiminthecl
oset,
wit
hmyclot
hes
spl
ashedall
overwit
hadrinki
nhi
shand.“
oh
myGodQ”Igasp.
Helooksatmeandchuckl
es.“
whatarey
ou
doi
nghere”hei
snotevenl
ookingatme.
“t
oseeyou”Isay
.Hechuckl
esandf
inal
l
ylooks
upatme.
“cameher etoinspectyourdamage”he
chucklesandst andsup“youarejustl
i
keal
lof
them youknowt hat
”hewipeshismouth“you
arejustl
ikeall
oft hem,goodfornothi
ng
bit
ches”
It
ryt
okeepmycool
becausehei
scl
ear
lyhur
t.
“whati
sitthaty
ouwant?Money?Sincethati
s
all
theyal
lwantedf
rom t
hem,stat
us?WhatI si
t
damnit”hehasmeinhishandsshakingme.
“
youar
ehur
ti
ngmeQui
nton”Ichokeonmy
t
ear
s.
“t
hentel
lmeexact l
ywher eIl
ackRemo,t
ellme
whatdoeshehav ethatIdon’t
,whydoy
ouall
wanthim andnotmehuh?Am Inotwor t
hit,
am
Inotwort
hf i
ght
ingfor”tear
sarenowfl
owing
fr
om bothoureyes.
“
Qui
ntony
ouar
ehur
ti
ngme”It
ryt
ofr
eemy
sel
f
f
rom hi
m butf
ail
.
“
tel
lmeRemo,tel
lmewhathehasthatIdon’t
t
hen,t
ell
methatt
henIwi
lll
eav
ey ouinpiece”
Someonepusheshi mfr
om meandhe
stumblesback.“
backof
fAki
n”hesay
s,t
ryi
ng
tostandsti
ll
.
“Leogetheroutofher
e”Aki
nsay
sbef
oreIam
sweptoffthecar
pet.

_
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___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_

Howdowef eel
nowthatthetrut
hisout
?Thi
s
i
sthel
astchapt
erunt
ilIam donewit
hmytest
s

AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
32
QUI
NTON

“cal
m downbr o,
whatt hefuck!”Akinshout s,
pushinghim backbecausehewant stofoll
ow
Azania.Thet wobrot herscameasqui cklyas
theycouldwhenZeki ecalledandt oldthem his
fi
ndings,havinggrownupwi thhim andknowi ng
thatKagisoisinvolved, t
heycameasf astas
theycould,theyknewhewoul dreact,j
ustnot
l
ikethis,t
heyknewt hathedoesn’ tseer eason
whereKagi soisinvolved,heblameshi m and
thei
rfatherforeverythinginhisli
fe.
Hismot herl
efthi
m atj ustt
hree,hedoesn’t
evenrememberhert hatmuch, butfr
om the
l
it
tlestori
eshisgrandf athertol
dhi m andwhat
Akins’mothershared, shegrewf ondofher ,she
l
ov edherevenwhenshedi dn’t
,shechooset o
gobackt otheabusiv eguyhecal l
sherfather
andraisethei
rchil
dtoget
her,heevenhated
thattheyhadotherki
dsunti
lhelearntt
hatthat
i
snoti t,
sheonlyhasonesibl
inghesharesboth
parents,t
herestj
ustshar
efathers.
Hishat redf orkagi soi ntensif
iedaf ewy ear s
agowhenhi sbi ggestf earcamet olife.Since
thenhehasnev erbeent hesame, whent hepair
meti nv asity,kagi soposedassomeoneel se
j
ustt ogetcl oset ohi m, whenhel ear ntthetrut
h,
hef l
ippedandt heyf oughti nf r
ontofev eryone,
breakingal otofschool properti
es, theywer e
takent ot hedeans’ office,het hreatenedt o
expel t
hem butkagi sot ookt hef all
,heknew
thathisf athercoul dgethi m outoft hiswhol e
mess, andnotsomuchwheni tcomest o
Quinton, peopl ecoul dn’tunder standwhyt he
twobr other swer ef ightingandbl ami ngeach
otherfort heirmi ser i
es, i
twasev identt o
everyonewhodi dn’ tknowt hattheywer e
brother,onewasj ustl i
ghtert hant heot her,and
theireyecolorwasdi f
ferent,
otherthanthat,
theylookalike,ev
ent hei
rv oi
cessoundt he
same, onecouldmi stakethem foranother,
Quintonrefusedtoseet hesimilar
iti
esbecause
thenitmeantt hathelooksexact l
yli
kehis
father,
somet hi
ngt hathedoesn’twant.
Aftert hef i
ght,thebr otherdecidedt oset t
le
theirdi f
ferenceandgi veeachot herachance,
thi
ngswer esmoot hsai l
ingandbecauset he
devilhat eshappypeopl e,anev entthatledto
Quint oncut ti
ngt ieswi t
hKagi sof orgoodand
l
eav inghi m brokent ot hecor ehappened, ithas
beenov ert woy earsandst i
llheisnot
compl etelyheal,hear i
ngt hattheper sonwho
helpedhi m heal unknowi nglyissett omar r
yhis
brother ,justsethi m backat housandf ol
d.

AZANI
A
Shehasbeencr y
ing,that’
sal lshehasbeen
doingf orthepastfewday s,yessheknewt he
consequencesofnotsay ingany thi
ng, butshe
hadhopedt hatmay beshewoul dr esolvet his
beforeQf indsout,Phelohasbeencomi ngt o
checkonher ,shehatest hefactt hatshei s
taki
ngherawayf rom hernewbor n,whi chis
whyshedeci dedthatshei sgoingt owor k,she
hear dfrom AnzothatQhasnotbeencomi ngt o
wor k,andshehat esher selff
ort hat,sheknows
thathei sbrokensheknowsshewoul dbedoi ng
thesame.ButQs’ j
obissecur ed, hers’
…notso
much.
Shedeci destocleanherapar tmentbefor
e
headingout ,j
ustasshei sabouttothrowaway
trash,shecomesacr ossagiftback,
onet hatQ
gav eheralmostt woweeksback, ofwhichf eel
s
l
ikecent uri
esago, sheseatsdownandopensi t,
thef i
rstthi
ngshepi cksupisapi l
l…shelooks
atitandput sitaside,nexti
sagi f
tbox.
Sheopensi t,
andinside,i
sani nfi
nit
ebr acel
et,
shelooksatitandt ear
sthatcomenowher e
blurhereyes,shelooksatitbeforeplacingi
t
aside,shecan’tbr
ingherselft
oweari t.
Thent her eisanenv elope, sheopensi t,seeing
asi tsf rom AlluminanceHub.Sher eadst he
l
etter ,insteadofget ti
nghappyt hatPhel oIs
offeringheraper manentposi t
ionther e,she
doesn’ t, t
her eal
ityofleavingZungu. incand
nev erhav i
ngt oseeQagai ni sterri
fyi
ngand
painful atthesamet ime, sheknowst hatshei s
supposedt ogi v
ehi m spacet ocal m down, but
whati fgivinghim spacei sapassaget omeet
andf al linlovewi t
hsomeoneel se,someone
thatisnother .
_
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
_
https:
//m.f
acebook.com/107827338337450/
po
sts/107930061660511/?
app=fbl&r
efi
d=12&paip
v=1
Pleaseguys,wit
hduer espect,Ican'
tadvert
ise
anymore.MinaIdobutwheni t'
st i
meforthem.
Fiveminutesisenoughandt heyremov eit
,
whileIpostitt
hewholeday .Wher e'
sfai
rnessin
that?SoI'
m sorry
.Ican'tadverti
sepages
anymore
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
33

AZANI
A

Twoweekshav epassed,andst
il
lnosignofQ
i
nt heoff
ice,
ormaybehecomesbutdoesn’ t
wantmet oseehim?Idonotknow,butwhatI
knowisthatIneedmyclothesf
rom hi
splace,I
haveli
tt
letoknowclot
hesandsomenol onger
f
itme,It
akemyphoneandtextPheloandaski
f
Qishome,sher
espondswi
thay es.
Goingthere,l
ooki
ngathim andknowi ngthatI
nolongerhav ehi
mi sgoi
ngtobet ough,butI
needmycl othes,
so…i mmediatelyaf
terwork,I
ubertohisplace,r
eachi
ngthere,Ipaytel
lthe
uberdri
vertowaitformeasIwal kupt owards
hi
sdoor ,Iknockacoupleofti
mes.
There,l
ooki
ngabsol ut
elyst
unningwi t
hredey es,
l
iesthemanwhohasmyhear tinhishands,the
onepersonbesidesGodwhohast heabi l
i
tyt
o
kil
lme,“Ial
readypackedthem”hesay sopen
thedoorwider,Iseehi
ml ooki
ngatt heuber
outsi
deandt henatme.
“myuberdr i
verIsay ”hi
sf eaturessli
ghtl
yrelax,
andsheshr ugshisshoul derslikehedoesn’t
care.Dreadf
ull
yso, Icli
mbupt hestairsandgo
str
aighttohisbedroom, andi ndeed,Ifi
ndmy
bagspackednextt ot hedoor ,Ifeel
myhear t
weighingonme, Itakedeepbr eathsbefore
roll
i
ngmybagsout side,Ist
ruggl
epul
l
ingthem
downt hestai
rsputhejustl
ooksatmeand
saysnothi
ng,hisbeardhasgrownandisunkept
,
thatissonothim.
“makesurey oudi
dn’tleav
eanythingbehind.
”
HesaysjustbeforeIreachthedoor.“Idon’
t
wantanytracesofyouany wherearoundme”as
i
fmyhear tisnotalr
eadybroken,hegoesand
shat
ter
sitalready
.
“
Idon’tknow,i
fther
e’s’
any
thi
ng.Youcanburn
i
t”Iharshl
ysayandseehimfl
inchali
tt
le,
good,
I
’
m alsohurt.

*
*

I
tisDecembernow, Ihavedeci
ded,Iam taki
ng
phel
os’off
er,Iwouldrat
herworkwithherthatQ,
hedoesn’
twantt oseemeany wherenearhim,
duri
ngtheprojectmeeti
ngswe’vehad,hehas
beenact i
ngcol dtowar dsmeandIcannott ake
i
t.HencewhyIam submi tt
ingmyr esi
gnat i
on
l
atter
.Fort heremainderoft hemont h,Iwillbe
workingfrom homeunt i
lJanuar y,whereIwi l
l
off
ici
allybet heexecutivecr eativ
edirectorof
All
umi nanceHub, that!Iscer tai
nlymydr eam
j
ob, t
heof fsideisthattheof ficesareinmi drand,
soIhav etomov ethatside, brandnewst arti
f
youaskme.

Li
keev erydayf ort
hepastf ewweeks, Iwalkto
wor k,butget ti
ngthere,Iam t
ir
eda. f,Isitdown
i
nt her eceptioncouchandhav eaglassof
waterbef oreIf eeli
tcomi ngback,Irusht othe
near byrestroom andt hrowup.Iri
nsemy
mout handt akeacoupl eofdeepbr eat hs.
AfterIam done, Iwalktotheel
evatorandgo
str
aighttohisfloor,IknowIshouldsubmitthi
s
toHr ,butIam hopingthatIgettoapologi
sefor
thefinalti
melikeIhav ebeentry
ingtodof or
t
hepastf
ewday
s.`
Ifi
ndLonainherdeskandsheshowsmet ogo
i
n,Iknockonceandenter,
“holdon”hesays,
ty
pingonhiscomputer.Hestopsandlooksat
meandhei mmediatel
yscrawls.
“whatareyoudoi
ngher
e?”hecl
oseshi
slapt
op
andlooksatme.
“
i…”–“
you?
”hepr
obes.
“Icametodropthi
soff…”Isayhandingi
ttohi
m,
hetakesi
tandourhandst ouchand
i
mmedi at
elyIf
eeltheelect
ri
cit
ybetweenus.
“
what
sthi
s?”heasks,
rai
singhi
sey
ebr
ow.
“myresignati
onl
att
er,andbefor
eyousay
any
thing,IknowIshouldtakei
ttoHR”Isay
.
“
ofcourse,y
oushould,butwhyarey
ou
r
esi
gning.Remo,t
hisplaceisbi
genoughf
or
t
hebothofus”hesay s.
“
fory
ou…may
be,
butnotf
ormequi
nton,
Ican’
t
pretendthatwenev erhappened,notli
key ou,I
l
ov eyouQ, andIknowImessedupbynot
sayinganythingtoyou,butIhadhopedt hatI
couldresolveitwit
houty ouknowinganything,
andnowIknowt hatwaswr ongnow”Icant
helpthetearsthatforminginmyey es.
“i
tsalli
nthepastnowRemo,ify
ouwantto
quit
e,doit,
butnotonmyaccount,
andbesi
des,
IgotwhatIwanted”hesay
s,wit
houtanyf
eel
ing
onhisface.
“
whatdoest
hatmean?
”If
eel
myhear
tbeat
ing
f
ast
.
Helooksatmeandchuckl es“y oudon’t
honest
lythi
nkthatmeetingmeandy ou
marryi
ngKagisoisacoincidencenowdoy ou?
”
hesays,wit
hascum lookinhi sface.
“
whatdoyoumeanQui nt
on?
”thetear
sthatI
wast
ryi
ngtocont
rol
final
lyf
low.
“
askhi
m,y
ourf
iancéeImean,
youcanl
eav
e
now”hesay
spoi
nti
ngt
owar
dst
hedoor
.
Itrywipingmyt earsbutmor ef l
ow.“y ouask
mei fyouwer enotwor thfi
ghtingf or,FYI …
that’
sexact lywhatIwasdoi ng, fi
ght i
ngf oryou
becauseIl ov eyou, Idon’tknowwhaty oumean
bywhaty ouj ustsaid,andhonest l
yodon’ twant
tobutIwi llbeoutofy ourlif
ef orgoodt hi
s
ti
me,”Ist andupandheadt owar dst hedoor
“takecar equi nton”Isaybef oreclosi ngt he
door,tearsst il
lstr
eami ngdownmyey es
becauseofwhathej ustsaid,Ihonest lyhopehe
i
snotsay i
ngwhatIt hinkhei ssay ingbecause
thatwoul dhur tli
keamot her-f
ucker .
Bef
oreIreachtheelevat
or,
Iheart
rashingfrom
hi
soffi
ce,Ist
andILonaandIshareal ook,and
hehastheaudacit
yt osayt
hattome.Bullshit
.
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
33
QUI
NTON.

"fuck!
"that'
sallI'
vebeensayi
ngsi
nceshelef
t
thebuildi
ng.Fuckenmor oni
swhatIam.How
thehelldidIeverthi
nkofsuchasatani
cand
demoni c,vi
l
est or
yli
kethat?

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Sovel
eyall
arejustgonnapr
etendasi
fIdi
dn'
t
askaquest
ion?

Orkeng?Ral
wanah?
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
34

Qui
nton

Heshoul
dn’
thav
esai
dthat
,itwasaspuroft
he
momentt hi
ng,butst
il
l,
heknowsjusthow
powerful
thetongueisandyetheleti
tgett
he
bestofhim,st
upiddoesn’
tevenbeingto
expl
ainhowhef eel
s.
Hecoul dn’tstayanylongerinsidet hatoffi
ce,
everyt
hingr emindedhi m ofher,thedesk, t
he
chair
,thecouch, hel
l
…ev enwearingat i
e
remindedhi m ofher,theday stheywoul dleave
theoffi
cel atebecauset heycouldn’tgetenough
ofeachot her
,theysexedeachot herli
kewi l
d
animals, buthe’
sgott oadmi t,
shehadhi m
wherenooneel seeverhas,notev ent heone
persont hatheoncecal ledthelov eofhislif
e.
I
nashor tper i
odoft i
met hathe’sknownRemo,
hesawhi sfuturewithherinit,andi thasnever
beenclear er
.Hegotbur ntonce, f
ort hesame
person,butnowi thurt
sev enmor e.Li keapart
ofhimi smi ssing,hefeelssuff
ocat edandcr azy
.
Het houghtt akingsomet imeof fwoul dhel
p,
butclearl
ynot .Thepai nstil
lasrawast hefi
rst
day
.
Hechuckl estohi msel f
,cl
earlytheVusiwould
doany t
hingt oseehi m suffer,butf
orwhat?
Becauseifany thing,heshouldbet heone
makinghisl i
fedi f
ficul
t.Hehasnev erbeena
fat
hertohi s,sowhyt hefuckishehellbenton
makinghisl i
fet ough.Forheav ensakes,i
tsj
ust
agirl
,onesi mplegi rl
.Can’theatabar e
minimum af f
ordhi mt hecur t
esyofhavinga
happil
yev erafter?
Hedr i
v estothepar ki
ngoft hehotelhest aysat
andbr eathesoutbef oresteppi
ngout .Li
kehi s
offi
ce,hishousehol dsal otofher.Het r
iedt o
cleanitander aseallmemor yofherbutnot hi
ng,
everycor nerholdsamemor y,i
t’
sjustpur e
toucherhencehei sstayi
ngatahot el.
Heknowst hathecantblameRemoorKagi so
fort
heunfortunat
einci
dentthatishappening,
andhecan’tblamehimselfalsobecausefrom
themomenthemetKagi so,heknewt hathe
wassett
omar r
y,andnowthathethi
nksabout
i
t…he’
salwaysknownandmadef unofhi
m,
nowhefeel
sevenmorestupi
d.

Azani
a

Sheknowst hatQsai dal lt

hosest uffsjustto
hurther
,butst i
ll
…shecan’ thelpi t,angr ypeople
saystuf
fstheydon’ tmean, buthowt hehel l
couldhethinkofsuchav il
et hing.Whenshe
gottoherplace,shecoul dn’thel pthet earsthat
str
eameddownherf ace,inaspuroft he
moment ,shepackedhercl othes, theplace
holdsofhet hatbreakshear ts,asi fonqueue,
thedoorbellrang.Lazil
y ,
shedr aggedherf eet
tothedoor,puffyredey esandar unnynose,
shepull
edopent hedoor .
St
andi
ngther
ebythedoorst
oodthreepeopl
e
whomanagedtomakeherli
feal
i
v i
nghell
…the
r
easonshei
sthi
smi
ser
abl
eandcr
yingher
sel
f
t
osleep.
Lazi
ly,
sheopenedherdoorwi deandtheymade
thei
rwayi n,
cauti
ousl
ytheysatdownont he
couch,butnotbefor
ehermot hermadea
commentaboutt hebagsthatwerepackedand
l
ookedr eadyfort
heroad.
“f
oundanewpl
ace,
I’
m mov
ingt
her
e”she
si
mplysai
d.
“ooh”i
sall
hermot hersai
d.“
butIt
houghtt
his
placewasclosert
owor k”
“
Iqui
te”shesay
ssi
mpl
y.
“WHAT!”bothherpar
ent
sexcl
aimed.She
l
ookedatthem andsi
mplyshr
uggedher
shoul
ders.
“don’tactall
surpri
sed,i
twastobeexpect ed,Q
andIcoul dn’
tconti
nuetoworktogether
,and
besides,Ihadtocutallt
ieswi
thhiconsidering
thatI’
m beingsoldoff”t
heyal
lquit
e.
Aft
erafewmi nut
esofsi
l
ence,
Ntat
eNkoana
deci
destospeak.
“zaza…youknowi tsnotlikethat,
hencewe
cameher etoseey outoday .Weknowy oul
ove
thatboy,andther
ei snothingmor et
hatIwant
thantoseey ouhappywi ththemany oulov
e
babygirl
.”Heisnotamanofmanywor ds,he
says,andthi
ngsgo.That ’showhehasal ways
been.Hisfamilyi
st oppriori
ty.
“well
…t hereisnothi
ngtobedoneatt hi
spoi nt
,
what’sdonei sdone.Excuseme…Ineedt oget
going”shest andsup.Reluctant l
y,allt
hree
standupandwal koutthedoor .Aftercl
osing
thedoor ,
shesl i
desdowni t,
t akingsomet hing
outofherpocketandl ookingati t
.Ther eal
ityof
i
t,hit
ti
nghar d.
Shequicklystandsupwhensomeoneknocks
onthedoor ,
quickl
ypushingthest
icki
nthe
pocked,unknowingl
y,i
tfall
s.
“Kagi
so…whatar
eyoudoi
ngbackher
e?”she
says,
wipi
ngherfl
owi
ngtear
s.
“l
ook…Icausedal
lthi
s,i
m goi
ngt
oendt
his
agai
n.”
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
35

Qui
nton

Someonei sroughlyknockingatmydoor ,
lazil
y,
Istandupandgoopen, sti
lltr
yingtorubthe
sl
eepof fmyey es,i
mmedi atelyIopen,apunch
l
andsonmyj awandIst umbleback,tothe
unex pectedpunch.Ishakemyheadt oridmy
offtheconf usi
on,butanot herpunchlandson
myst omach,Itrytoblockmy selfwhenanot her
onel andsonmyf ace,causingmet ospitblood
“ f
uck!”hetr
iestolaunchanot herone, butIki
ck
hislegcausi
nghi mtof all
,butdoest hatstop
him?No!hest il
lwantst ofightme, weendup
tangleduptryi
ngtodomi nateeachot her,
I
knowf orafactheknowshowt ofight,andhe
holdshisown.
“whatthef
uckiswrongwi
thy
ou?
”Iaski
n
betweenour‘
fi
ght
’
“
no!whatthef
uckiswrongwi
thy
ou?
”hei
s
f
uming,whatt
hefuck?
“y
oucan’tjustcometomyplacetobeatt
heshi
t
outofme,andhowt hehel
ldi
dy ouf
indme?”I
wipethecornerofmyeye.
“t
hehellIcan.mxm, younotthathardtofi
nd”
damny ouAkin,Iknowhet ol
dhim, he’
snever
beenabletochoosebet weenmeandt his
moronrighther
e, nott
hatIexpectedhimto,but
heshouldneversayany t
hingaboutmet ohim.
“
whati
swr
ongwi
thy
ou,
thi
sisaf
ucked-
up
situati
onbutdamny ouQuint
on,whywoul dyou
tellherthat?
”Ifeelmyheartbeati
ngfast.
Insteadofanswer i
ng,Ishr
ugmyshoul dersl
i
ke
I’
m unf azed,wheninhonesty
,Ifeelmyheart
breaking.
“Inowy oufeelli
keshitri
ghtnow,butthatwas
honestlythelowestblowev er
,youcantjusttel
l
hershitli
kethat,doyouev enwantherbackor
youdonewi t
hher ?BecauseIassur
ey ou,ify
ou
don’tf
ixthisshit
…shewi l
lbedonewithy ou”

“l
etmeguess…shecamecr y
ingtoy
ou?Fucken
pathet
ic”Itr
ytoactnonchal
ant,
wheni
n
honestl
y,I’
m not
.

“y
ousof uckenpredictableyouknowt hat?Thi
s
i
snothelpinganyone, i
fanything.Youonly
hurt
ingt
hebot hofy ou”hesi ghs,andsi
tsdown
onthecouch,whot hef uckgav ehim
permi ssi
ont of uckenseatdownonmycouch,
okay …itsnotr eallymine, butunti
lIcheckoutof
thi
spl ace…i tis.“lookman.Iam goi ngto
continueapol ogizing,probablyuntilki
ngdom
come.I ’m stil
lsay i
ng,theni ghtwasabl ur
,butI
sti
llsay ,
I’m sorry.Yourbat tl
eiswithme, not
her.Don’ tpunishy ourselfformymi stakes.My
l
ifeisamess, pleasedon’ taddont opofit”
Hemov esdownonthef
loornexttowhereI
’
m
si
tt
ing.“
itwasaf
uckedupthingIdidan-
“
“fuckyou!Ev
ent odayy oust
il
ldon’
tgetitdo
you?Forhowl ongarey ougoingtoplayst
upid?
Ifuckenknowev eryt
hingbro.
”helooksatme
shockedbeforehesighs, wi
peshisfaceand
thenhangsitdowni nsham.
“
howl
ong?
”Il
ookathi
m andchuckl
e.
“
ayearago.”Ist
ate.“
howthefuckcouldyoulet
t
hem dothattoyou?Yal
lmessedupy ounow
t
hat
?”allt
histi
mehe’sall
owedthetwodev i
lsto
playhimlikeafool
.Heshouldhavelett
hem be
andcontinuewithhi
slif
e,t
hisiswhatpi
sses
meof fabouthim,helet
sthatdonorcal
l
edmy
fathert
ocontrolhi
m.
“whatcanIsay…wealldothingswenotproud
of,
butonethingI’
m gr
atef
ulfor,i
smywifeand
ourunbornchil
d”Il
ookathim ast
oni
shed.
“
youfuckenmar r
ied?”shockisevi
dentand
l
acedonmyf ace.“howt hefuckar
eyou
marr
ied?”Ican’thelpbutwonder.
“i
t’
saf ucked-upsi
tuat
ion,onethatI
’mtryi
ngt
o
rect
if
y,andy oubit
chassat t
it
udejustsetme
backat housandstepsback”
“l
i
fe’sabitchi
sn’ti
t?”Isayst
andingup.Goi
ng
overtotheminibartopourmy sel
faglassof
whisky.
“whydidyout el
lhert
hat
?”hel ooksatme
expectedl
y,Ishr
ugmyshoul derandgulpdown
theli
quid,
allowi
ngtheburni
ngsensati
onto
takemymi ndoffmycurrentstate,i
tworksfor
af ewseconds,forthatt
inysecond,mymi nd
forgotaboutmydi l
emma, andfocusedsolel
y
onmybur ningt
hroat.
“
youdoknowthati
fyoudon’
tdoany
thi
ngi
l
lbe
f
orcedt
omarr
yherright
?”
“i
sn’
tthatwhatyouweresupposedt
odointhe
begi
nning?
”helooksatmeandchuckles.
“sure,itwas,i
tsdest
inymos.,
angeke
ngibalekel
e”hestandsupanddusthisself
.
“twowi ves,t
hat’
sabonus,butil
lbedamnedifI
raiseanothermans’chil
dagai
n,oneisenough”
Whatt
hefuck!Ichokeonmydr i
nk,“whatdo
youmean?
”Iask,inbetweencoughs.I
sRemo-
i
sshe…
“packyourshi
twearel
eav
ing”hesay
s,wi
tha
seri
ousexpressi
on.
“wher
ethehel
lto?
”Ikeepchoki
ngonmysal
i
va
ever
yti
meItrytospeak,
makingi
tnear
ly
i
mpossi
ble.
“t
omaket hi
sshitr
ight
,somet
hingIshould
havedonealongti
meago”hegr abshiscar
keysandwait
sbythedoor.“
arey oucomingor
what?”
Igr
abmyshoesandf
oll
owhi
m.
“
whatabouty
ourbag?
”
“
fuckt
hatshi
t,Ineedt
oseemywoman”

Onemor
eandwedone
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
36

Daystur
nedintoweeksandweeksturnedint
oa
month,i
tsDecembernow,workiscl
osedfor
thef
esti
veandwear egett
ingr
eadyforuncle
AkinandAuntKeagiles’
weddinganniversar
y,
and…AJs’ sur
pri
seweddi ng.I
t’
saboutti
me
Pheloti
edknotwithhim,myboydeser vesa
happil
yeveraft
ertoo.
Latelyhehasbeenspecul atingal otabouthow
secretivePhelois,butwej ustbr ushhim off,
we
don’twanthi mthinkingany t
hi ng.Especial
ly
knowi nghowmuchhehasdr eamtofhi sown
weddi ngday ,
that’
smost l
ygi rlswhodot hat,
butnotAJ, maybet hat
’swhyheandPhel o
makeagr eatpair,
shenev erwant edmar ri
age
andki ds,nowlookatt hem.
I
tsev engotmet hinki
ngaboutmyweddi ngday,
well…inthiscase, i
t’
sadeadend.Il ookaround
meandcan’ thel
pbutt hi
nkabouthowf ool
ingI
was, Il
etthehatredIhav eformyf at
hergetthe
bestof,nowIhav elosttheoneper sonmy
yearnfor,whenKagi sot oldmet hatshe’
s
pregnant,Ididnotwai ttobet ol
dt wi
ce,he
drovemet oherapar t
mentonl ytof i
nditempty,
Irummagedt heenti
reapartmentsear ched
everycornerbutsti
ll
,itwasempt y.Ifeltmy
heartbreakforthehundredtimeev ersincethe
dayIlearntwhoshewas, orrat
her,whoshei s
supposedt omar r
y.Itri
edherphone, searched
forherbutitsli
keshenev erexi
stedint he
surf
aceoft hiseart
h.
Wehav ebeensear ching, itsbeenweeksand
sti
l
l,evenZeki eandhi si nv estigati
veski ll
s
couldn’tfi
ndher .Thet houghtofherbei ng
somewher epr egnantwi t hmychi l
dandal one,
hasmenauseat ed,itgott oomuchonedayt oa
pointwher eIdr ov emy selft oherpar entshouse
tolookf orher, andi fIdi dn’ tdiethatday ,Idon’
t
thi
nkany t
hingcoul dev erbr eakme, hermot her
cri
edwhenshel earntt hatshel eft
,shebl amed
hersel
ft al
kingabouthowhi storyisrepeat i
ngit
s
sel
f.NowIf eel sost upi d, Ishoul dn’
thav ecome
here,I
’vealreadymadet hingswor se, butmost
i
mpor tantly,Ishoul dn’thav el ethergo, itwas
stupi
dofmet oallowi t
,I’
m notmaki ngexcuses
formyself,
butIwashur t,Ioncelostthegi r
lI
l
ov ebecauseofVusi andKagi so,Ihurttoknow
thatj
ustwhenIt houghtIf oundloveagai n,i
t
hadtohappenagai n,ontopofi t,If
indoutthat
thi
sarrangedmar riagewasbei ngpushed
forwar
dsol el
ybecausedadf oundoutt hat
RemoandIar etogether.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
▬▬

Everybodyisfussingaround, t
ryi
ngtoget
everythi
ngforthisevening,peoplegoi
ngupand
down, Quint
onpr epar
ingf orhi
sperformance,
l
iter
allyachaoticmess, theKPCi str
ansfor
ming,
witheachmi nutethatpasses, i
tbecomes
spectacular
.
Thet
imei
sfourt
hir
ty,
guesti
sst
art
ingt
oar
ri
ve,
thepl acel ooksmagni fi
cent.TheKot zePr i
vat
e
clubhasbeent urnedintosomemagi cf ai
ryt
ale,
butnonet heless,iti
samazi ng.Nervesar e
kickingi n,Keagileisgett
ingreadyint he
dressingr oom, shehasonachampagne
coloredj umpsui tweddingdr esswithaVneck
sweep, andgol dmi nimali
sti
cst i
let
toheel ed
strappysandal s,shedecidedt ogoall outon
hermakeup, i
tsnottoomuch, andnei therisi
t
toopl ain,justperfectenoughf orherround
shapedf ace.
Shel ooksherselfinthemi rr
orandwi shesher
mot herwasher etoseeher ,shehasgr ownal ot,
fr
om bei nganur setot hehotshotbi gcr i
minal
i
nvest i
gatorthatshei s,shehasmanagedt o
makeanamef orher self,
Mr s.k.Kotzeast hey
knowher ,
from allt
hewayi ntheUKandt hen
ri
ghtbackathome,shehascomeal ongway
fr
om t heday sofVusi untilt
oday .Shelooksat
herselfi
nt hemirroranddapsunderherey es,
shebrushestheinvi
sibl
ebumpwhenshef eel
s
handswrapherf r
om behind,t
heall
toofamili
ar
col
ogneshehasgot t
enusedtoforthepast
twentyt
woy earsofherli
fe,waki
ngupand
fal
li
ngasleeptoit.
“Il
oveyoumyl i
efi
e”Akin, herhusband, f
ather
ofherchil
drensay s,sheusedt ofinditfunny
backintheday swhenhewoul dcallherthat,
butnowshehasgr ownaccust omedt oit.He
sayshelearntthewor dfrom Dav i
d,theman
theybot
hwi tnessedbeingbr utal
lykill
edby
noneotherthanVusi Mahlangu,forreasons
knowntohimsel f.
Shesmi l
esandlooksathimt hr
oughthemirr
or.
“y
ouar emylif
eMr .Kotze”hesmil
esand
nuzzl
eshisnoseont hecrookofherneck,
pl
acingasoftkissonin,whil
ebrushi
ngher
stomach.
“ar
ewegr owi
nginher
e?”shechuckl
esand
nodsherhead.
“yes,wear e,verymuchso…Ican’ tbeli
eveI’
m
pastthefirsttri
mest er
,Godthisi
sami racl
e,
whoknewat52Iwoul dbestandi
ngher e,
pregnant,andt histi
me, wi
thyouaround”she
says,chuckling,try
ingtocontr
olhertearsand
hormones.
“miracleshappent ot hosewhobel i
evemyl ove,
youandI ,
til
lthedayt hewe”t here’saknockon
thedoor ,Keagil
ecal l
soutf orthem toenter,
thei
rf i
rstbornson, theonlychildtheyshare
togetherAkinJuni orwalksin,hel ooksatthem
adoringly,t
hisistheki ndoflovehewant s,the
onehedeser ves,awomanwhowoul dlovehim
undy i
nglyandsowi l
l he.
HelovesPhelo,lordsknowshedoes, heis
wil
li
ngtospendt her estofhisli
fewithher
, he
wouldrat
herdiet hanbewi thouther,
sheishis
oneandtruelove, buthecanthelpbutfeelthat
heisnothers,shenev erwant edtohavekidsto
begi
nwi t
h,i
t’sami r
aclethatshekeptKeenan
whenshefoundoutthatshewaspr egnant
,she
al
wayssaid,ki
dsandmar r
iagearenotpartof
herpl
an,
it’
sbyGod’sgracethattheyarenow
bl
essedwithtwobeauti
fulki
ds,aboyandagi r
l.
“ear
thtoJunior
”hi
sfat
hercal
l
edouttohi
m.He
shookhisheadandsmil
edatthem.“
whatar
e
youthi
nkingson”
Helooksathisparent
s,“not
hing,
I’
mjusthappy
foryouguy
st hat
’sall
”hesaysbefor
ewrapping
hisarmsaroundhismotherinanembrace.
“don’
tworr
yson,youtoowil
lgetyourhappi
l
y
everaf
ter
”hismotherKeagi
lesay
s,headori
ngl
y
l
ooksathismotherandshakeshi
shead.
“Idon’
tthinkso, buthey,Imustappr eciatewhat
Ihaveri
ght ”Akinhasal waysdr eamtofhi s
weddingday ,whatsui thewillbewear ing,
seeinghisbridewal kdownt heai sle,heal ways
wishedtogetmar r
iedyoung,butt hen, theysay
whenwemakepl ans,Godlaughs, whi chwoul d
explainwhyt helov eofhislif
edoesn’tever
wantt ogetmar r
ied,scaredofcommi tment,as
muchashet ri
est ounder st
andherreason,a
fuckedupchi l
dhooddoesn’ thavetoholdyour
future,i
fany onecanat testtoit
,hecan,hehas
beent hroughal otandst il
lhesti
ll
believ
esthat
theisabr ightertomorrow.
“mmmh,maybe,
butyou’
llbesur
pri
sewithwhat
Godcandot
opeople,al
wayshavefai
th”
AZANI
A-BORNMARRI
ED

CHAPTER:
37

Thecoupl ehavesaidtheirvows, ev ery

oneis
i
mpr essed,theycamef rom taki
ngf amily
photos,Quintonsgr
andf atheri
sal soher e,
KagisotooandLoy i
soandhi swi fe,theyareal
l
ontheirwayt othereceptionarea, hecantbut
feel
sad, helooksatthet wopeopl ewhohav e
beennot hingbutgr eattohim smil
eandenj oy
thei
rlov es, t
went yyearsint
omar ri
ageandt hey
arestillverymuchi nl ove,t
hennexthelooks
overtot hepeopl ehegr ewupcal li
ngbrot
her s,
Akinishappyf orhispar ent
s,hecantbutenv y
him,byt heendoft oday ,al
lhi
sdesireswill
comet olife,notonlywillhehavekidswit
ht he
l
ov eofhi sl i
fe,buthewoul dwakeupt omor row
mar r
iedt ohi m, t
hennexthel ooksatZekies,
theyar enotcl ose,buthecanseet hathei s
happy ,happywi t
hhi swoman, buthecanthel p
theli
ttledev i
linhimt hatfi
ndsconsolein
knowi ngt hatsoon, Zekiesworldwil
lcome
crumbl i
ngdownbecauseofami st
akehemade
asachi l
d.
Thenlastly
…hel ooksatLeo,af r
eesoul
,he
doesn’thaveanyproblem hi
sonl yl
ovei
shis
work,nothingel
se.Howhewi shestobehi
m.
fr
eeofl ovestr
ugglesorlovescars.
Ev
ery
onet
akesaseat
,get
ti
ngr
eadyt
ohav
ea
meal,
orrat
herasurpri
seforAki
n.Theyal
l
set
tl
edownonchai randwaitf
orAki
nand
Keagi
let
ogoonst age.
“l
adiesandgent lemen,thanky ouf orhonor i
ng
ourinvit
e, mywi feandIar ereall
ygr ateful,
beforewehav eourmeal s,mywi feandIhav ea
l
itt
lesur pri
seforourson, Aki
n…son, comeov er
here”hel ooksathi sbrothersandwal ksov erto
thestageal itt
leskept i
cal.Hestandsnextt o
hisfatherandl ooksatt hem.Uncl elooksatt he
bandandnodshi shead, apianot unecomeson,
beforeamel odicvoicesoundsf rom t hemi c,he
l
ooksathi sparentst oquestionthem, i
nstead,
hismot herlooksathi m andsmi les“ wel ove
youv erymuchson”
Someonepull
ingoutandchairandseat
ing
down,Qfeel
shisheartst
opsabeatwhenhe
seeswhoiti
s,wordsgetstuckinhi
sthr
oatand
sweatdr
ippi
ngdownhi sfor
ehead.
Shel
ooksathi
m,bef
orehef
eel
sther
oom
get
ti
ngsmal
l
erandsmal
l
er.

El
li
eGoul ding’
s’howlongwi llIlov
ey oucomes
i
ntune.Firsttocomei sKgot hatsointhearms
ofhergrandmot her
,Akinsmot her
,holdi
nga
boardwritt
en,“MAKE”hesmi leslooking
adori
nglyandhisbabygi rl
,theappl eofhisgrey
-
bl
ueey es.Helooksov erathisf at
herwhoj ust
nodshishead.
Nextupi tshi sson, Keenan.Holdingaboar d
writ
ten“ ME”heshakeshi shead,somet hi
ng
becausehej ustpi ecedupsomepi ecesi nhis
head, t
henl astly,i
namer maiddress, wi thaV
neckcour ttrain,champagnecol oredwi t
hRose
goldheeledsandal s.Shelikeherkids, hada
boardwr it
ten“ YOURSFOEVER”seei ngt his,
he
can’thelpbutl etthet earsf al
l
,hisfat herholds
himi nhisembr acewi t
hhisbodyshaki ng
becauseoft het ears.Phelosmi l
est hroughher
tear
s.“daddydon’ tcr y”Kennansay s,peopl e
chuckleatthi
s,Aki
npickshim upandki
sshis
cheeks,andthenki
ssesKgothatsowhohas
drooloverherpout
ypinkli
ps,sheisaspi
tt
ing
i
mageofhi m.
Phel
otakeshi
shandonhersandkissesi
t“wil
l
youmakemey our
s?”henodshi
shead
vi
gor
ouslybef
orepeopl
estar
tcl
appinghands.

Qui
nton

Thecoupleisabouttohavethei
rfi
rstdance,
despit
emysuddenr eser
vati
on,Iwalkupthe
stageandtakethemic,
Theywalkuptheai
sle,handi
nhandandsl
ow
dance.Thesongst
artsslow,

¶
¶Ev
ery
body
'sl
ooki
ngf
ort
hatsomet
hing
Onet
hingt
hatmakesi
tal
lcompl
ete
You'
l
lfi
ndi
tint
hest
rangestpl
aces
Pl
acesy
ounev
erknewi
tcoul
dbe¶
¶¶

Iseehert ur
ninherchair,shelooksdiff
erent,
myhear trat
echangeswhenIseet heglowon
herski
n, shecutherhairshot,dyeditbrownI
thi
nk,i
tgoesper f
ectl
ywel lwithherskintone.
Youwoul dswearthecol orwasmadewi thher
i
nmi nd,shelooksperfect,Ihol
dherey e,and
shedaresnotbackdown.

¶
¶¶[
Chor
us]
Somef
indi
tint
hef
aceoft
hei
rchi
l
dren
Somef
indi
tint
hei
rlov
er'
sey
es
Whocandenyt
hej
oyi
tbr
ings
Wheny
ou'
vef
oundt
hatspeci
alt
hing
You'
ref
lyi
ngwi
thoutwi
ngs
[
Ver
se2]
Somef
indi
tshar
ingev
erymor
ning
Somei
nthei
rsol
i
tar
yni
ght
s
You'
l
lfi
ndi
tint
hewor
dsofot
her
s
Asi
mpl
eli
necanmakey
oul
aughorcr
y

[
Chor
us]
You'
l
lfi
ndi
tint
hedeepestf
ri
endshi
p
Theki
ndy
oucher
ishal
lyourl
i
fe
Andwheny
ouknowhowmucht
hatmeans
You'
vef
oundt
hatspeci
alt
hing
You'
ref
lyi
ngwi
thoutwi
ngs

[
Bri
dge]
So,
impossi
bleasi
tmayseem
You'
vegott
ofi
ghtf
orev
erydr
eam
'
Causewho'
stoknowwhi
choney
oul
etgo
Woul
dhav
emadey
oucompl
ete(
Ohh)

[
Ver
se3]
Wel
l
,formei
t'
swaki
ngupbesi
dey
ou(
Ahh)
Towat
cht
hesunr
iseony
ourf
ace(
Ahh)
Toknowt
hatIcansayIl
ovey
ou(
Ahh)
I
nanygi
vent
imeorpl
ace(
Ahh)

[
Chor
us]
I
t'
sli
tt
let
hingst
hatonl
yIknow(
Ahh)
Thosear
ethet
hingst
hatmakey
oumi
ne
Andi
t'
sli
kef
lyi
ngwi
thoutwi
ngs(
Ahh)
'
Causey
ou'
remyspeci
alt
hing(
Ahh)
I
'
mfl
yi
ngwi
thoutwi
ngs
[
Out
ro]
Andy
ou'
ret
hepl
acemyl
i
febegi
ns(
Ahh)
Andy
ou'
l
lbewher
eitends(
Ahh)
I
'
mfl
yi
ngwi
thoutwi
ngs
Andt
hat
'st
hej
oyy
oubr
ing
I
'
mfl
yi
ngwi
thoutwi
ngs¶
¶¶¶

Whenthesongnear
stheend,Iwal
koffst
age
andwalktowar
dshert
abl
e,sheiswit
hLeoand
hi
sdate.
Igetther
eandgrabachai
rnexttoher
,myhear
t
i
spoundinghar
di nmychestl
ikei
t’
sgoingt
ofl
y
out.
TheECt
ell
sev
ery
onet
orai
set
hei
rgl
assest
o
makeatoastt
ot henewlyweds,Ireachformy
gl
assandrai
seitup,oncewet oast,we,
ev
eryonet
akessipofthei
rchampagne.
“whyaren’
tyouhavi
ngalcohol,t
heonlyti
meI
deni
edmy sel
fwaswhenIwaspr egnant
”Phel
o
saysfr
om behindme,Remochokesonher
dri
nkandmywhol e-
bodyfreezes.
“i
tst
rue?”Ifi
ndmyselfasking,t
hewholetable
goesquiet
.“Remo-“
Icallherwhenshedoesn’t
payatt
enti
ontome, It
rytogr abherhand,but
shequickl
ypani
csandIf eelmyheartdrop
downtomyt oes.
“oohShi t,
Ev ery
bodylook”Leospeaksoutand
weal llookwher eheispoint
ing, undert
he
brightli
tgazebo, Zeki
eiskneeleddown, Ima
hasherhandonhermout handnoddi ng
vigorously,
hest andsupandwr apshishand
aroundher ,weal lcl
apsourhands, buti
nstead,
I
l
ookt omyl eftandseeRemonowher ei
nsight.
Iseeherpinkdr essdisappearfr
om outt
he
door,Iswim mywayoutt heseaofpeoplei
n
thi
splace,Il
ookwher ecarsarepar
kedand
don’tspother.IroundaroundtheCluband
thanktheheav enswhenIseeher ,“
Remo”Ical
l
outher,sheraisesherheadandshakesher
headwhensheseesme.
“Qui
ntonpl
ease,st
ayawayokay
”shesay
s,st
il
l
shaki
ngherhead.
“
babypl
easehearmeout
,Ibegofy
ou”
Sheshakesherheadno,
wit
htear
sst
reami
ng
downhereyes.
"wewaypassedt hetal
kingstageQ"Ifeel
the
str
ingsofmyhear tbei
ngtuggedat,shi
thurt
s
l
ikeamot her
fucker.
Shestandsupst
rai
ghtandat
tempt
stowal
k
pastme.
"Remowait
"Ihol
dherhand,shel
ooks
ever
ywher
ebutmyface."Remo"Isayhername,
withtearsgl
ister
ingherey
es,shelooksatme,
andt hi
stimesheholdsmyey e,myheart
breakseacht i
meIseehert r
yingt
ocontainher
tears.
"f
ucky ouQuinton,I'
mtryi
ngt omoveon,itwas
allagametoy ouri
ght?Thenwhatareyoust i
ll
doinghere,
whatdoy ouwantf r
om m-"before
shecouldfi
nishherwor ds,Iswall
owthem with
myl i
psonher ,shegasp,gi
v i
ngmeeasyaccess
tohermouth, Ihol
dont i
ghttoherandcont i
nue
kissi
ngme, whenshedoesn' tpushme,Ipick
herupandpr essherontothewal l
,myhands
makingthei
rwayt oherpanti
es.
"Q"shemoans, Iputthenowt ornpanti
esinthe
pocketofmyt r
ouserandr ubonher ,
mymout h
mov estoherneckkissingeverypl
aceIcan.I
openmyzi ptotakeZunguoutbutshest ops
andpushedmeback.
"
fuck!Staythehel
lawayfr
om meQuint
on"Itr
y
t
ohol dherhandbutsheshakesi
tof
fandruns
pastme.It
ryt
oruntowar
dsherwhen
somethi
ngcat
chesmyeye.Ikneel
downand
grabi
t.
It
sabr acel
et,
thenoneIgif
tedtoher,she
fuckensti
ll
wearsit
,thatmeansIsti
l
lhavea
chance.
Ilookandseeherwal ki
ngt owar dstheparki
ng
l
ot ,
IMar cht
owardsher" fuck!Sheboughtacar"
that'
sf uckenni
ce,butdamn…Iwant edtobe
therewhenshebuy sit,i
t'
scr azyIknow,butI
want edhertoexperienceal l
herf i
rst
swithme,I
j
ust-( sigh)

AZANI
A

from longhairtoshort,
evendy edit
,anker
that'
swhatt heysay,cutti
ngyourhair
representschange,that'
sexactlywhatIam
doing, Iwantchange,goneistheoldAzania,
I
needt opr eparemy selfment all
ytobecome
someone' swi fe,it'
snotl i
keI '
mt oot hri
lledwi t
h
theidea,Ihadt oswal lowmypr ideandgot o
theMi ll
anowher eOr atilwei scur r
entlyst aying
andact uallybegher ,pleadwi thhert oal low
KagisoandIt ogetmar ried,notbecauseIwant
to,butbecauseIcannev ercarryachi l
dt hats
notaMahl angu, asmuchasI …Ican' tsayhat e
becausei t'sstrongwor d, butcurrentlydespi se
Q,Ihast ogr ovel andbegt omar ryanot her
womanshusbandj ustsoIcankeepmychi ld,I
neverwant edtohav eki ds,thethoughtscar es
me, evennow, butt het houghtofhav ingHI S
chil
d,it'
sexci t
ing, hencewhyIam doi ngt his,
but…onl yifhewant st hebabyam Igoi ngt ogo
aheadandgetmar ried, butifnot…t henIdon' t
know, Iwillbet hreemont hsintwoweekssoI
guessIhav eunt i
l thent of i
gureshi tout.
Wor se…t hedayI 'llbet hr eemont hsist heday
I'
ll
be' getti
ngmar ried' i
t '
st he31stt odayand
tomor rowt henegot iationswi l
lbegin.
Iwenttophelos'weddingwithhopesofmay be
tal
ki
ngtoQ, Itr
ied,
Ijust(si
gh)IchickenoutI
guess,
andseei nghi
mi nasui tandlooki
ngall
…
youknowwhatImean.Ij ustcouldn'
tgoahead
wit
hit,
Ichickenedout.

Irestmyheadont hesteeringwheel andbreat

h
outloud.Shit!Thatwasn'tsupposedt ohappen,
Ishouldhav esomecont rolovermy sel
f,Ineed
tolearntoresisthi
m.Itakeonel astbreath
beforeIcanst artt
hecar…y es!Iboughtmyown
damncar .Itwasaboutt i
me, it
'saHy undai
Venue, bl
acki ncol
or.Evenafterall
thebul l
shi
t.
I'
m proudofmy sel
fforbuyingit.

*
*
*
I
mmediatel
ywhenIgettomyapar tment,Ir
est
myheadagainstt
hedoorbutItpushesopen,
pani
cri
sesandmyf i
rsti
nst
inctistorun.
"whatt
hehellarey
oudoi
ngher
e?"t
hisguyhas
gottomekiddingme.
Insteadofanswer i
ngme, likeear l
ieron.He
pushesmeont hewal landpi cksmeup, thi
s
time, hehasnot roublefi
ndi ngmycoochi e,
"li
ck
her e"hedemands, hewet shi sfingureusi
ngmy
damnsal iva.Fuckhi m.Heki ssesonmyneck
andbi teswhi lefondli
ngwi thmycl it
.Ithr
owmy
headbackr eel
inginthepl easur e,damnmy
bodyf orbetrayi
ngmel i
ket his.mydr essfal
ls
downont hef l
oor,heputsmedown, I'
m onl
y
l
ef twithmyheel s,heturnsmear oundand
bendsmesl ightl
ydown.
"oohshit
!"Iexcl
aim.Whenhist onguecomein
contactwit
hmysl it
,hi
slipsf
laps,sucksand
bit
esonmybud.Mynai lsachef r
om my
attemptatscrat
chingt
hewal lbeva9ihav
e
nothingtoholdont o.WhenIconv ul
sedshe
turnsmear ound,pullsmyonel egandent ers
me, icryoutandbiteonhi sshoul derand
scratchhisback."f
uckImi ssedy ou"hesays,
mov inginmei nafastpace, maki ngmemov e
upanddown, hepicksmeupandmakesme
wrapbot hmyl egsaroundhi m.Ev enf r
om the
shirtheiswearing,Icanf eel howwr ippedhei s,
Clearlyhehasbeenv i
sit
ingt hegy m mor eoften,
ormay bei
t'
sbecauseIhav en'tseenhimi na
l
ongt i
mebecauseev enhi ssizeseemedt o
hav egrown.ButdamnI '
ml i
kingit.
"
IknowIf
uckedupbaby
…but-
"
"don'ttal
k"Ishuthim upwithakiss,hi
space
fastenandt henlowers."f
asterpl
ease"Ibeg
becausei tf
eel sf
uckengood.Whenwast he
l
astt i
meIgotsomev i
tamins?LordknowsI
needt hem afteramont hofbeingaway.
Onetwothr
eemor et
hrust,andheshakes,
I
knowhe'
sclose,
soam I.Icum fi
rstand
secondsl
ater
,hef
oll
owssui
t.
Her
estshisforeheadonmi
neandwebot
htr
y
t
ocatchourbreaths.
"
I'
m pr
egnant
"Ibl
urtout
.
"
Iknow"hesay
s,cat
chi
ngmeof
fguar
d.
"
I'
m keepi
ngi
t"
"
asy
oushoul
d"
"
soI'
m get
ti
ngmarr
ied,Ican'
tcar
ryachi
l
d
t
hat
'snotaMahl
angu"helooksatmeandsi
ghs.
"t
henaMahl anguchil
dy ou'
ll
carr
y"hesmirks
andpicksmeup" butI'
l
l bedamnedifIl
etyou
marryanotherguy
,hellwil
lfr
eezeover
,Ican
neveral
lowit"
"Qui
nton…"hethr
owsmeont hebedand
unbut
tonhisshir
t."
Q…whatareyoudoi
ng?
"
comeon!
"
I'
m notdonewi
thy
oubaby "hepul
lsmebyt
he
l
egandgrabsmyboobs."
fuckenbaby…I
'
m
goingt oenj
oythi
spr egnancy ,t
rustme"hesay s,
brushingonmyal readyhar denednippl
e."how
faralongareyou?"Hepul lsclosemybr estsand
pushishisalr
eadyhar denedcockbet ween
them.
"fuck!
"bybreat
hhit
chesandhesmi
rks.
.
"almostthr
ee"Imanaget
obreat
houtinshal
l
ow
breaths.
"touchyoursel
f"hepull
soutandfl
apsitonmy
nipples,
fuckenbaster
d,heknowsjusthowt
o
turnmeon, li
keastudent,If
oll
owhis
i
nst r
ucti
on,hepushesbetweenmybeastand
thrustsforacoupl
eofmi nut
es
Hestopsandpull
smyhandt owar
dshismout
h
andsucksonthem.mybreat
hbecomeserr
ati
c.
Hepushesmebackont hebed,st
rat
chi
ngme
wideopenandhethrust
sin.
"
letmebethemanofthi
srel
ati
onshi
p,t
rustme
whenIsayI
'm goi
ngt
ofi
xthi
sbaby,youcan
dreadit,runf r
om it…desti
nyar r
ivesall
the
same.I t
'si nev
itabl
e"hesay s,l
ookingme
strai
ghtint heey ebefor
ehest arsbounding
hardandf ast,
maki ngmescr eam atthetopof
myl ungs
JesusImi
ssedt
his.

Nkangal
a

Vusi’
s’offi
cedoorsli
desopenandthefamily
tr
adit
ionali
stenter
s,heisl
ooksathi
m and
l
aughsshaki nghishead."
wakhul
uma,
bakhulumile,
athiI
zwane…manelani
"(hehas
spoken,theyhavespoken.Hesaysl
ist
en,l
isten)
Vusistandsupandlooksathi
m, shocked,i
f
anyoneiscapabl
eofscari
ngVusi…i t
's
defi
nit
elyNgwane,t
hemanr ar
elysay stwo
words,butheknowswhenhespeaks, i
t
happens.Questi
oni
swhat ?Whatwi l
lhappen…
eversi
ncet heytoldhi
mt hatMay awil
l behis
downfallhehasbeenuneasy ,especi
allysince
shelef
tTumos' f
ather,
buttheysettl
edt hatone,
butshenev erdatedtoret
urnhomeunt ilshe
l
earntthatTumoandKat l
egoar egett
ing
marri
ed.
Hei sal
wayscaref
ul,buthecannev erbetoo
careful
whenHlengiisinvol
ved,ev
ent hedev i
l
knowshe'snotsaydareshef i
ndsoutheknows
whathappenedtoTumo, darenotment ionthat
hewast hel
astpersonwhosawhi m ali
ve.

"
kut
heni
Ngwane?
"(whathappened?
)
"desti
nyhasprevai
led,hewhowi l
lrulethe
kingdom hasbeenchosen"thenhet urnsto
l
eav e.Leav
ingVusievenmor econfused.
Kagisoisthenextkinginl
i
ne, whocoul dbe
chosen?
THEEND.
..
_
___
___
___
___
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