CHAPTER 43
NALEDI MOLETSANE

I’m almost at the house in Bryanston to meet
up with Thuli, I’m not sure what this is all
about. She cannot keep pulling me in the
drama, I mean the man that lied to the both
of us is gone. We honestly don’t have to be
dealing with each other, Thuli should move on
with her life and find happiness. She deserves
to discover herself and not be seen as nothing
but Jimmy’s widow.
I open the gate with my remote and it slides
open. I gave the keys to Thuli when she
wanted to check if Jimmy wasn’t cheating on
her in this house the time he disappeared. But
the lawyer gave them back to me when I was
signing documents for the transfere of my
inheritance. I still don’t know what I’m going
to do with this house, Manana suggested that
I live with my daughter here but I’m not sure
if that’s a good idea. I mean this house holds a
lot of good memories of Jimmy and I. This is
the house I thought we’d raise a family and
live happily ever after. I am not sure if I can
stay in it and not think of him and the
dreams we once shared.
Thuli’s car is parked in the driveway, how did
she get in though? Did she find Jimmy’s set of
keys maybe?
I park next to it and take a deep breath. I’m a
little nervous, I honestly don’t know what to
expect. I mean this woman has done
something humiliating to me in public, I can
only imagine what she could do in private. At
least my mother knows that I’m here, if she
doesn’t hear from me at the end of the day
then she will come with the police here.
I walk inside the house and Thuli is standing
in the middle of the lobby, looking at the
picture of me and Jimmy above the staircase.
I close my eyes and send a short prayer to the
heavens before closing the door behind me. I
walk further in the room and stand next to
Thuli, she doesn’t move her eyes from the
picture. I don’t say anything to her, I just look
down and wait for her to say something.
“He loved you,” she says and I close my eyes
pained. I wouldn’t have given him a chance
had I known he was married. I am sorry for
the part I played in hurting this woman, even
though I wasn’t aware that she was still his
wife.
“He lied to me, Thuli,” I respond quietly and
she heaves a sigh.
“I know that but he still loved you with all of
his heart. You were his soul mate, Naledi,” she
looks at me with a smile and eyes glistening
with tears.
“I don’t mind giving the house and the
company back to you,” I say and she quickly
shakes her head.
“That’s not what he wanted. He gave everyone
what he thought they deserved. I will not
take your inheritance from you Naledi,” I
pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Then what is this about?” I ask she walks
past me, heading to the lounge. What can I
do? I follow behind her and there are bottles
of champagne chilling in the ice backet.
There’s also a sweet and savory platter on the
table. What’s all this?
“Please sit down,” I settle down on the couch
and cross my legs.
She pops a bottle of champagne and pours
into two flutes. She hands one to me and
takes the couch opposite to mine.
“I took off my mourning clothes because I feel
like Jimmy doesn’t deserve my respect. He did
not love me or respect me so why should I,
you know? Khabo is mad at me for going
home and asking my family to cleanse me,”
she explains and I nod my understanding.
Though I’m not sure why she’s telling me.
“I thought I could move on from him and
unlove him after hearing how he spoke of you
at the reading of the will,” this whole thing is
so uncomfortable.
“Give yourself time, Thuli. I promise you’ll be
okay,” she takes a sip of her drink and leans
back.
“No, I need to be reminded that he didn’t love
or want me and that will only happen if I
spend time with the one he lived for. That’s
you Naledi,” she says and I gasp in shock. No,
honestly no. She can’t expect me to be around
her so she can heal and move on from her
husband.
“I can’t. I also want to put this whole thing
behind me. I can’t spend time with you and be
reminded of how he lied to me. I’ll be honest
with you, a part of me wishes you didn’t exist
because I wouldn’t have ended things with
Jimmy,” I say and she’s nodding imperceptibly.
“You’re warranted to feel that way. You loved
him and the both of you were planning a life
together,” she pauses, “You also need to spend
time with me so we can both be reminded of
how he hurt and betrayed us,” she’s making
absolutely no sense to me.
“I’ve dealt with my issues with Jimmy. I
honestly don’t need to be reminded of him and
what he did to me,” she starts wailing and
guilt eats through me that very second. I
quickly get on my feet, placing the
champagne flute on the coffee table.
“I’m sorry, please don’t cry,” I say, settling
next to her and brushing he back in circles.
“N-Naledi, I gave that man the best years of
my life. He was everything to me and I meant
so little to him, do you know how painful that
is? It’s heart wrenching. I need you to do this
for me, I need to always see you and be
reminded that you were his everything, not
me. That’s the only way I will be able to shake
him off and move on with my life. This sounds
crazy, I admit but we mourn and deal with
things differently. I am begging you to do this
for me, please.” God! This is not happening to
me. I am battling with my heart and my head
and I’m not sure which one to listen to.
KATHERINE MOLOTSI
“Kat, what’s wrong with you babe?” Karabo
asks and I heave a sigh.
“Nothing,” I lie and she rolls her eyes.
“I know you, so please tell me the truth,” she
says and joins me on the rug.
I came to see her, we decided to keep in touch
after meeting at the restaurant. It has been
really great reconnecting. Nothing
inappropriate has happened between us, we
agreed to keep things friendly. We both didn’t
want to jeopardize our relationships but that
was stupid of me because my husband has
absolutely no problem jeopardizing our
marriage.
“Talk to me please,” she says softly, wiping my
tears.
“I thought things were coming along fine
between us. I mean the post-marital
counseling has been going really well. I felt
like we were at the best place in our
marriage, but I was on my own in this whole
thing because he has been emotionally
cheating on me with his ex Mabatho. They
have been calling each other and texting,
expressing how much they miss each other
and still have love between them,” I say with
a shaking voice and Karabo gives me a hug.
“Oh, Kat. I’m really sorry babe,”
“What hurts the most is that my husband
begged her not to give any other man a
chance to be with her. Thabo told Mabatho
to give him time to get his things in order.
That can only mean one thing, Karabo. My
husband is going to leave me for Mabatho
once he gets a job, he’s only staying with me
because he cannot afford to go,” I say and she
gasps in shock.
“Wow, just wow! He might not even wait to
get a job to move back to her. Protect
yourself, Kat. Hide your personal assets,
change things from your name to your
parents names. You cannot trust Thabo from
here onwards,” she says, cupping my face. I
lean into her touch and close my eyes.
I woke up one night a few days ago to go to
the bathroom and Thabo was on his phone. He
said he couldn’t sleep so he’s just browsing
through social media. I went to the bathroom
and when I came back I noticed another
phone on the bedside table. Thabo has never
owned two phones, that’s why I raised an
eyebrow. I didn’t confront him, I decided to
sleep and see if he will use them both the
next day. He didn’t take out the other one and
that was suspicious. He probably thought I
didn’t see the other phone because I was still
drunk with sleep. I sent him to the shops and
started snooping around the house. I found
the phone stashed in one of the shoe boxes.
The phone didn’t have any biometrics or
password, lucky me. I went through the call
log and the was only one number there,
incoming and outgoing calls to it. It was
saved as “Batho Waka” with a heart emoji
next to it. They call each other while I am at
work and text while I am sleeping. It hurt so
bad to see all of that because I really wanted
to make my marriage work. I believed that
my husband was on the same boat but that
wasn’t the case, he is just stringing me along.
I made sure to return the phone where I found
it and when he came back from the mall I
didn’t confront him about it. Thabo would
have found a way to turn the whole thing
around and blame me for everything. Plus, I
needed to wrap my head around it all and
decide on a way forward. It has been hard
sleeping next to him knowing that his heart
lies somewhere else and I’m just a meal ticket
to him.
“I wish I didn’t choose him over you,” I say,
running a finger along her jawline.
She licks her lower lip, “But you did. You’re
only feeling this way because he hurt you,”
she says calmly and I’m embarrassed.
“I’m sorry you’re going through this,” Karabo
kisses my forehead and when she tries to lean
back, I place a hand on the nape of her neck
and pull her towards me. I kiss her but she
doesn’t respond, I don’t give up though. I want
to feel something other than pain and
betrayal, I know Karabo will be able to do
that for me.
She pushes me away and gets on her feet.
“We can’t, Katherine. You’re still married and
I’m with Vhutshilo,” I was shocked to learn
that she’s dating my best friends baby daddy.
“They are both not treating us right, Karabo.
We can do this once and not feel guilty,” I
stand up and we are just inches away from
each other, her breath is fanning my face.
“My boyfriend is not perfect but he treats me
great,” I chuckle.
“Oh come on, Karabo. You will always be
second best to Naledi and that’s a fact,” I say
nonchalantly and she gasps in shock.
“Wow, really Kat?” I close my eyes.
That was low of me, I shouldn’t have.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that,” I
apologize, scratching my forehead.
She looks at her wrist watch, “You need to
leave. My boyfriend will be here soon,” she
says, pointing to the door.
Her phone chimes, she takes it from the table
and reads the text before closing her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Karabo. I didn’t mean to be a bitch,”
I say, grabbing my handbag and heading to
the door.
“Kat wait,” she mutters and I pivot, “You’re
right, I’ll always be second to Naledi,” she says
and turns to face me too.
“What happened?” I ask with narrowed eyes.
“He was supposed to come here but he just
texted, canceling. Naledi needs him to pick
her up because she’s drunk. She won’t be able
to look after their daughter so Vhutshilo has
to step in,” she says with a pained expression
on her face.
I feel bad, she wouldn’t be feeling this way if I
didn’t spew that nonsense.
“Lock the door,” she says, unbottoning her
jeans. My clitoris pulsates immediately and I
drop my handbag, turning to lock the door.