CHAPTER 33
THULISILE KHAMBULE

A week, 7 days, that’s how long Jimmy has
been gone from our home and he hasn’t said a
single word since then. He left here saying he
had an important meeting to attend outside
the country, he didn’t mention where and who
he was meeting with. I reached out to his
personal assistant, hoping she would be able
to give me information about this
international trip but she was confused. My
husband told her that he will be at home for a
couple of days, which is a lie obviously
because I wouldn’t be looking for him.
I think I have an idea of where he might be,
Jimmy never disappeared like this, it only
started when he met and fell in love with
Naledi. A big part of me feels like she finally
agreed to be his wife and they decided to go
away to celebrate their engagement or
whatever it is. I accepted, as painful as it is
for him to take that girl as a second wife. I
would have appreciated the heads up, to be
told that she is finally on board. If it’s true
that they are together then they will feel my
wrath for not respecting me as the first wife.
Their marriage will not happen if they do
things behind my back.
I get to her office building and park the car in
the visitors parking lot. Jimmy made me
promise not to come near Naledi unless he
asks me to, but I’m desperate here. I need to
know if she’s here or not, her whereabouts
will determine whether I should be fully
worried or mad as hell.
I walk inside the office and head to the
reception, everything about this place
screams professional. I clear my throat and
their receptionist looks up at me with a
smile. She greets and I greet her back then
ask to see Naledi, she asks if I have an
appointment and I shake my head and ask her
to call Naledi and let her know that Thulisile
Khambule is here to see her. She’s annoyed
but tries her best to not show it, I appreciate
her professionalism. She hangs up after
talking to Miss Moletsane and directs me to
her office.
NALEDI MOLETSANE: MANAGER IN VALUATIONS
AND BUSINESS MODELLING.
That’s the sign outside the door I’m about to
knock on, I didn’t think she was holding a
managerial position at work. I looked down on
this girl, I thought she was some kind of gold
digger. I mean that’s the only explanation to
why a young and beautiful girl can be with an
older man who is wealthy and influential as
Jimmy. It was stupid of me to think that way
because her mother is a minister, she doesn’t
need the money or connections.
I hit my knuckles on the door and she gives
me permission to come inside. I take a deep
breath and turn the door handle and walk
inside. She gets up from the chair behind the
glass desk and fixes her cream white blazer
before flipping her weave back. She’s surprised
to see me here and I just got scared out of my
mind to see her in this office. It means Jimmy
is not with her, if he’s not with her then he’s
with another woman or something serious
has happened to him.
“Mrs Khambule, to what do I owe the visit?”
she asks with a straight face and I take a
deep breath.
“I won’t even try to bull shit you, Naledi. I
came to see if you’ll be here or not,” I say
with a little shame.
She narrows her eyes, “Excuse me?” this is
embarrassing but what choice did I have?
“Jimmy hasn’t been home in a week, he hasn’t
made contact and his phone is off,” I explain
and she laughs, shaking her head.
“And you thought he was with me?” I
shouldn’t have come here, I should have found
another way to find out about her
whereabouts.
“He only ever disappeared this long to be with
you,” I say and she closes her eyes, when she
opens them I see pity starring at me.
“Mrs Khambule, I’m sorry but I don’t know
where your husband is. I bumped into him at
a restaurant a while ago and it wasn’t even a
moment for me. Like I told your husband, I
want nothing to do with him. I am not going
to be his mistress or second wife, please don’t
ever worry about him being with me,” she
says calmly and tears burn my eyes. I know I
said I’d be mad if they were together but a
part of me wanted him to be with her. She’s
who I have come to accept, another woman
will cause more chaos. I don’t have the energy
to get used to his new routines and behavior;
My daughter is in prison and the other one,
Senzeni has moved out of the house after
finding out that their father wanted to marry
another woman.
“If he’s not with you then where is he?” I ask,
allowing my tears to fall. It hurts, it hurts so
much.
“I wish I had answers for you, Mrs Khambule,”
I was told that marriage is hard but this is
not hard, it’s hell on earth. Where did the love
and respect Jimmy had for me go? What kind
of husband does this to a wife that has been
nothing but loyal and respectful to him?
“His house, the one he bought for you, can you
please take me there?” I ask and she gulps
down her saliva.
“Uhm… I… It’s not my…”
I quickly interject, “I can go on my knees and
beg you Naledi. I need to know if he’s with
another girl or he’s truly out of the country
and there are issues of communication from
his side,” I say and she shakes her head.
“No, please. There’s no need to go on your
knees. I will give you the location of the
house,” she says and I sigh in relief.
She grabs a pen and a sticky note then writes
the address and hands the piece of paper to
me.
“Thank you. I will call you when I have
something,” I say and she holds out both her
hands.
“No, please. I honestly don’t want to know.
Mrs Khambule, I’d appreciate this to be the
last time you come to me and ask about your
husband. I have nothing to do with him, I
don’t want anything to do with him. I am
tired of being pulled back into the drama
that’s associated with him,” she says in a low
but stern voice.
“I respect that,” I say and turn to leave her
office. I never made it to a chair.
“Wait…” she says and I stop in my tracks and
pivot to look at her.
She grabs her handbag and fishes inside it and
comes back with a set of keys.
“You’ll need these to get in. I don’t have any
use for them anymore,” she says and I nod and
walk back to get them. She’s really done with
Jimmy and their relationship.
.
.
.
I get to a house in Bryanston and press the
remote for the gate, it slides open and I gasp
in shock, he really bought this beautiful house
for his side chick? I drive in and there’s no car
in the driveway, the front windows and door
are shut, it doesn’t look like anyone is home. I
kill the engine and climb out with my heart
drumming against my chest, I’m nervous out
of my mind. What if I find him with a young
girl in bed having sex? The thought of that
alone leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
I try to open the door but it’s locked so I use
the key Naledi gave me to open and then
walk inside. My heart drops into my stomach
immediately, there’s a huge picture of Jimmy
and Naledi hanging above the curved stairs.
He had a whole life with this girl, this is proof
that she has always meant something to him.
Yes, he admitted this to me but seeing it with
my own two eyes just validates his words. I
am hurt beyond imagination. Will I still stay
with Jimmy even after seeing this?
I close the door with tears streaming down
my face and make my way to the first room
after punching in the security code Naledi
wrote. It’s a huge lounge with exquisite
furniture and there are more pictures of
them; There’s no one in here so I leave
without touching anything. I go to the
kitchen next and it looks as good as the other
room, the whole house surely is gorgeous.
I open the fridge and it doesn’t have much, it’s
just bottles of champagne, cider, sparkling
water and lemons. I doubt that Jimmy is here,
there would be food in the fridge but maybe
they are eating take aways. I check the trash
next and it’s empty, I don’t want to be
relieved just yet, I might still find something
upstairs.
I am sweating as I ascend the stairs, my heart
is threatening to jump right out of my chest.
Love shouldn’t hurt this way, I don’t deserve
what Jimmy is doing to me. I wish he could
just pause and realize that he is my whole life
and he has to treat me like his Queen. There’s
nothing I wouldn’t do for that man but he
doesn’t mind hurting me like I am not his
wife, the mother of his children.
All the doors are open so I just peep through
without walking in, I’ll come back later. I
finally get to the last door, it’s the master
bedroom. It’s bigger than the one we share in
our matrimonial home. I clutch at my chest
and draw in some air before stepping inside.
The bed is neatly laid, I notice a woman’s pair
of morning slippers near the nightstand. They
must belong to Naledi, it’s her house after all.
She might not want it but it’s hers, Jimmy
bought it to be with her. He loved her enough
to not take her to different hotels.
My phone rings, startling me. Dammit! I
almost had a heart attack. It’s in my hand so I
just turn it to look at the screen, it’s my
sister-in-law Khabo calling. I’m surprised, she
has been avoiding me because I couldn’t
convince Jimmy to send her allowance. That’s
one thing I hate about her, she loves putting
me in the middle of her drama with her
brother.
I clear my throat and answer.
“Hello,”
“Thuli, where are you?” she asks hurriedly.
“I’m in Bryanston,” I answer.
“You need to come home now,” haibo! She
cannot order me around, I married her brother
not her.
“I’ll be home in an hour or so,” I say, walking
into the walk-in closet. There are a few suits,
shirts and shoes and other casual clothing.
The other side has a Versace gown and two
dresses, they are big sizes so I know for a fact
that they belong to “Bubble”.
“Thulisile please, I’m at your house,” she says
softly and I roll my eyes.
She better not be there to give me puppy eyes
so I can beg her brother again. Jimmy is
stubborn, he will send the money when he
wants and not a minute earlier than that.
“Fine, I’m coming now,” I say and hang up.
I would love to go through everything in this
house with a fine tooth comb but there’s no
time. I’ll come back another day, I have full
access now.
.
.
.
I get to my house in Saxonwold and there are
three cars in my driveway, one belongs to
Khabo and the other two I cannot recognize. I
hope and pray that she didn’t bring those
annoying relatives of theirs. They never leave
when they visit and I’m not in the mood to
host and entertain guests I wasn’t prepared
for. I take my handbag and climb out the car,
I feel a heaviness on my shoulders. Jimmy is
stressing me out, I won’t sleep a wink tonight
because the one person I thought he was with
swore she hasn’t seen him.
I get inside and find Khabo with my husband’s
lawyer and a woman I don’t recognize. My
sister-in-laws eyes are puffy and bloodshot
red, that alone has my heart beating faintly.
Whatever that brings them here is not good, I
feel it in my bones. I greet and they all cannot
look at me in the eye. I settle down on the
couch and my daughter, the one that moved
out walks in the lounge with a tray of cups
and a tea pot. She serves everyone then after
comes to sit next to me. What’s she doing
here? She’s supposed to be at work.
“Khabo, what’s going on?” I ask and she takes
a deep breath.
“I don’t even know where to begin sisi,” it
comes out in an almost whisper.
“Start from the beginning aunty. You pulled
me out of work and now I’m late to pick up
my car from service,” Senzeni says.
“Doctor, please tell his wife what you told me.
I cannot do it,” Khabo says, looking at the
woman in jeans and a white t-shirt. She’s
dressed like a tomboy.
“Mrs Khambule. My name is doctor Molote, I
am an urologist. A short while ago your
husband came in and after exams and tests
we found out that he had metastatic prostate
cancer. It had spread to other parts of the
body. We were going to start therapy that
would have helped to slow down the spread
sometime this week but that was just a
temporary fix, he had about 5 years to live,”
she says and my jaw is on the ground, Jimmy
has cancer and didn’t even tell me? He used to
confide in me, what changed?
“Please take me to my husband, he needs me
to hold his hand. I’ve read that chemotherapy
takes so much from a cancer patient,” I say,
trying to stand up but Senzeni pulls me back
down and clasps my hand. Tears are
streaming down her face.
“Don’t cry baby, your father is a fighter, he
will beat this. We just need to be strong for
him,” I say, wiping her tears. I want to cry too
but I need to be strong for her and Sihle, even
though she’s in jail.
“Doctor please go on, it won’t register to my
mother unless you say it,” Senzani says and I
frown. What is that supposed to mean?
“Ma’am, I presented your husband with a
treatment plan, a clinical trail in Mayo clinic,
it’s in the USA. I explained that it carries a lot
of risks, some patients didn’t make it but
others survived, they are now cancer free,”
see? There’s hope. God will not allow anything
to happen to my husband.
“You need to help me get an emergency Visa
to the states, Jimmy needs me to be there
with him,” I say to the lawyer and he quickly
peels his eyes off me.
“Mama, you’re not listening,” Senzeni says to
me, cupping my face.
“What are you talking about? The doctor says
your father is in America getting treatment.
How would I know that if I wasn’t listening?” I
snap at my daughter and she closes her eyes.
“Sisi,” Khabo kneels infront of me and takes
both my hands. When did she get up from her
seat?
“Thulisile, sis’wam. Jimmy has left us, he’s
gone,” she says and I smack my lips.
“Mxm, what do you know. Doctor, please tell
these people that my husband is okay.
Americans know everything, their medicine
will fix Jimmy and he will come home to me,”
“I’m so sorry, Mrs Khambule but he’s gone.
Your husband died three days ago.” she’s also
spewing this nonsense? I don’t have time for
this negativity. I have to change and head to
the embassy, I need an emergency visa, I hope
they will give me one today.
I get up from the couch.
“Mama, please.” -Senzeni.
“Wherd did I put my passport?” I ask myself,
leaving these agents of death in the lounge.
They have failed in their mission, my God will
not take Jimmy from me.