CHAPTER 23
JIMMY KHAMBULE

“What can I do for you Khabo?” I ask, lowering
myself on the couch and crossing my legs.
“My brother, I didn’t come here to fight,” I
haven’t seen or heard from her since the day I
asked her to leave my house.
“I’m listening,” I’m still very much mad at her
for telling Sihle about my plans to marry
Bubble. She knew what that could lead to but
didn’t care.
“I want to apologize to the both of you for
opening my mouth. It wasn’t my place to tell
Sihle anything, the situation was still shaky
and I made it worse. Please find it in your
hearts to forgive me,” this is not a genuine
apology, Khabo is only here because she hasn’t
received her family’s upkeep from me. I did
say I was going to make her regret going
behind my back and I’ve already started. They
will have to survive on her salary until I’m
ready to forgive her.
“I’m also sorry. I was just so stressed, I
shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” Thuli says
before getting on her feet and going to sit
next to Khabo. I’m glad they fixed things, I
didn’t want my drama to drift them apart.
“Thank you sisi,” They share a hug and I’m just
looking.
“Jimmy, please,” she says after a minute or
two and I just shrug my shoulders.
“Thuli has spoken for the both of us,” she
smiles and gets comfortable on the couch.
I’m not sorry and I don’t forgive her, she will
feel it.
“I’m so relieved that we have all made up. We
shouldn’t let this tear us apart. This is the
time to stand together and make sure that
Naledi comes into our family,” Thulisile knows
that I need Naledi here for our marriage to
work. Without the love of my life we will go
back to how things were; I’ll look for thrill
outside because I’m simply miserable with her
alone.
“Naledi is still refusing to marry me, but we
have the minister on our side. She said she
will do all she can for Naledi to realize that
our marriage has to happen,” I pray she
manages to show Bubble that I’m the man for
her. I’ll do my part and remind her of why she
fell in love with me in the first place.
“She’s a stubborn girl but at least her mother
is all for it,” that’s Khabo, forcing a smile on
her face. I know she hates Naledi, she is just
accepting my decision because she wants my
money, without it she cannot afford the
comfort she’s living in.
“The has to be something we all can do to
convince her, too. I want this over and done
with so we can all move on. Everyone will be
more accepting and understanding once
Naledi and her daughter are a part of our
family,” Thuli mutters.
I’m nodding in agreement.
We are disturbed by Sihle walking down the
stairs, I just hope she was not eavesdropping
on an adult convesation. This whole thing has
absolutely nothing to do with her but her
mother, who came up with the polygamy
idea. Sihle should get on board or she’ll be left
behind; My life will not be dictated by a
person I gave life to. I have never been the
annoying father who wants to run her life and
so I expect her to extend me the same
courtesy. I am not saying she shouldn’t feel
hurt and betrayed on her mother’s behalf, but
she should know that I’m still her father and
she is ought to respect me.
“You’re a flip flopper aunty,” Sihle says and my
wife gasps in shock.
“Sphesihle!” Thuli warns.
“No mama. Aunt Khabo doesn’t love or care
about you. She was telling me to help her
fight this thing and now she’s all for the
idea?” she’s pointing to my sister with a
walking stick she’s holding.
“Put that cane down, Sihle,” I say calmly.
I can see how mad she is right now, she might
hit someone with that thing and injure them.
“Oh, wait! He has deposited your allowance
right? You are selling my mother out for
money? Aren’t you grown? Don’t you work?” I
am mad at Khabo right now but I won’t just
sit here listening to Sihle raining insults at
her.
“Listen here little girl,” she turns and shoots
me a fulminating gaze.
“Little girl? You have been sleeping with a
baby girl,” oh now she’s just asking for it.
I have allowed her to say and do as she
pleases but I’m done now.
I slowly get up from my chair and stride
towards her; My daughter is shaking with
anger but I’m not scared of her. Today she will
learn that I’m Jimmy Khambule, the man that
gave her life and everything she has in this
world.
“I am not your mate, Sihle, none of us are,”
she chuckles.
“The day you decided to stick it inside a girl
my age is the day we became mates, Jimmy,”
she says derisively and involuntarily I smack
her hard in the face. She screams, touching
her cheek.
Both Thuli and Khabo get up, looking at us
shocked.
“You hit me dad?” she asks and I nod
vigorously. I have never laid a hand on my
kids but Sihle deservesed to be slapped silly.
“I will do it again if you dare say another
disgusting and disrespectful thing to me,” she
takes a few steps back and within a blink of
an eye this brat starts hitting me hard in the
stomach with the cane. To say I am
speechless would be an understatement, Sihle
is the devil.
“Thuli, what’s wrong with this child?” Khabo is
trying to take the stick from her but Sihle is
not letting go. They are struggling with it.
Thulisile is crying hysterically and I’m just
standing here with my jaw on the ground.
I agreed for my lawyers to help this child but
I’m going to pull them and open an assault
case against her too. I want her to feel fire
from all sides.

NALEDI MOLETSANE

I am crying in Vhutshilo’s arms, he’s
comforting me but I know he’s scared too.
Today is Friday and my mother expects to find
me home when she gets back from work, or
she will use her power to rule me and
Vhutshilo unfit to be parents and then take
our daughter from us. She’s not afraid of
playing dirty, she did it once before and I don’t
doubt that she’ll do it again.
Maswabi didn’t want Vutshilo to be a part of
our daughter’s life, she threatened to have
him arrested for statutory rape but Manana
managed to get her to back off. She did but
under the condition that we do not get into a
relationship. She got what she wanted but
that didn’t stop her from being a thorn on our
side. To this day she hates that Basetsana’s
father and I are close friends who are doing
their best to raise their little princess. She
has nothing to fault us on, she can only
manufacture lies when it comes to our
parenting.
I went straight to Manana after meeting with
Maswabi outside Basetsana’s school. I
explained everything to her and she wasn’t
really shocked, she reminded me of why I
shouldn’t be either. She wiped my tears and
told me not to worry because what Maswabi
threatened me with will only happen over her
dead body. But I just couldn’t stop myself
from thinking about loosing my daughter and
breaking down.
We are waiting for her to bring me something
I can use against my mother. Manana said
what she has will make sure that Maswabi
doesn’t bother me anymore; I’ve been cracking
my skull trying to figure out what it could be
but I come back empty. I know my mother to
be as clean as an operating room, but I also
know that Manana wouldn’t promise me
something if she knew she couldn’t deliver.
The intercom goes off and Vhutshilo gently
pushes me off him and hurries to open up. I
hug my knees and rock myself back and forth,
my heart is thumping in my chest,
threatening to jump out. I’m praying that
whatever she has can really get Maswabi off
my back forever.
She’s my mother and I love her but I’m done
trying to make our relationship work. All she
does is hurt and make me feel less of a person
just because I make mistakes.
Vhutshilo walks back in with Manana and her
eyes are already warm, comforting me. I
quickly get on my feet and run to her, she
receives me in her warm embrace and I just
cry some more. She’s not saying anything just
hushing me and brushing my back in circles.
We break the hug and she wipes my tears
with a reassuring smile on her face. Life
would have been nothing without Manana’s
undying love and support. I owe this woman
my life, God is my witness.
“Manana, please tell me you have something,”
Vhutshilo says, desperately.
She stretches her hand out to him and he
takes it.
“I never wanted to betray Maswabi like this.
She helped me during the hardest time of my
life and opened her home to me. She is my
sister but she happens to do things I do not
agree with, she doesn’t want to listen to
reason so I had no other option,” Vhutshilo
and I exchange a look.
“Thank you for helping me, Manana,”
“You are my whole life, Nyeleti. I always tell
you that you gave me back my life the day
you looked at me and smiled. Your little hugs
made life worth living again and every
moment of the last 23 years together proved
to me that God loves me. I would lose myself
for you to be happy,” her words warm my
heart.
“I love you so much,” She kisses my forehead.
“I love you too, my brightest star,” we go sit
down, ready to hear what she has to say to
us.
“How do I get my mother off my back?” she
clears her throat uncomfortably.
“I want to apologize for keeping it from you,
but please understand that it wasn’t my
secret to tell,” okay, I’m scared now.
“Please tell me you’re my biological mother
and she’s not,” I try to lighten the mood.
“I’m your mother, Nyeleti, blood or not,” we
join hands and squeeze.
“Uhm… Where do I even start?” she looks
nervous.
“I got your mother’s phone and forwarded
everything to myself. She doesn’t want
anyone finding out about this, especially the
public. You know how important her
reputation is to her,” sadly, I do. I belive she
loves how the public views her more than she
loves me, her only child.
“Maswabi is seeing someone she shouldn’t be
seeing,” she explains vaguely and I’m shocked.
My mother, dating?
“Wow, dragon lady? I wonder how the guy
copes with your mom,” me too.
“Uhm, how is that going to help us?”
She heaves a heavy sigh, “Your mother is in a
transactional relationship with Uhm…” she
swallows hard and I’m blinking rapidly,
waiting for her to say the name.
“With?” I gently coax her.
“Oh, Nyeleti… Maswabi is paying Mongezi,
your best friend for sex,” say what?
I jolt up, fanning my face. How could they do
this to me?
“Are you serious?” she nods.
“Yes, take a look at this,” she hands me the
phone and there are pictures of my mother
and Mongezi in bed. She’s covered by a duvet
and Mongezi is bare chest. It’s clear that they
had just had sex here. I scroll and there’s
more photos, screenshots of their
conversations. I cannot believe my eyes.
“You can catch them red handed. They are
meeting at their hideout at 12, I’ll forward the
location so you can confront her in the act
and tell her to back off.” I look at Vhutshilo
and the poor guys eyes are threatening to fall
off.