The past, has come knocking.

DUTY AND DESIRE.
STORY BY BELLA ROYALTY.
P2/08.

[MELUSI SHOZI, CHIEF OF STAFF]
My phone beeped as I arrived in my office, I took it out and checked the message, It was a flag notification, someone was typing something related to me, the president and…

Me: Dr. Aphiwe Bhengu?

I sat down and tracked the IP address behind the flag, it led me to a name, Thumeka Mbhele, journalist at Mzansi Leaks, I got access to what she was typing, oh this wasn't good! And why does it say I'm the source?

I quickly searched for this girl's number and called her.
Thumeka: Thumeka Mbhele hello?
Me: How am I the source of that story you're writing when we've never even met?

I tapped into the NASA Live feed and saw her in her office, she was looking around startled.
Thumeka: I… I don't understand
Me: You quoted me as a source in that fake story you're writing, do you know that writing a story without verifying whether it's true or not can land you in trouble? Why don't you ask yourself why Precious Zwide refused to be named as your source but rather said you should use my name?
Thumeka: You…you are Melusi Shozi, the President's chief of staff?
Me: Exactly.

She swallowed nervously.
Thumeka: How do you…how do you know that…

Me: I know a lot of things Thumeka, including the fact that if you publish that story without any tangible proof, the Unity House will make sure that you never work in this country ever again as a journalist, I will personally open a kill file on you and make sure I make your life a living hell to the point where you commit suicide, oh wait, you've tried that already, well my dear this time I'll make sure you're successful, before you embarass yourself, delete that nonsense you're writing there.

Thumeka(trembling): Y-yes sir, I apologize sir.
Me: I don't see you deleting.

She looked around and started deleting what she was writing and I dropped the call.

I called Precious.
Precious: If it isn't the ice boy.
Me: What are you doing?
Precious: Well if you must know I'm doing my nails and after I'm done I will—
Me: I don't care about that Precious! You called Thumeka and spewed her nonsense!
Precious(panicking): H-how do you know about that?
Me: I'm going to say this once, and once only,Nkosinathi should have killed you after your father died, but he didn't because he doesn't believe in hurting women hence the revenge he set out for you, I'm not Nkosinathi, I don't care about women, I will kill you.
Precious: Melusi he hurt me!

Me: He did not hurt you Precious you did! You did the day you decided to keep quiet about who killed his girlfriend and child and how they died, that was your mistake, he was willing to forgive and forget but then you started sleeping with his own brother, you dug this grave for yourself! Take the money and disappear Precious, come back after some years and write a book about being the first lady, stop causing chaos!

Precious: I'm recording you and if anything happens to me everyone will know that—
Me: You are not recording me, this is your last warning.

I dropped the call and went to the UR while texting the sweeping team.
Nkosinathi: Melusi, what's wrong?
Me: Sshh…

The sweeping team got in with their equipment and I signaled that they should give the room a clean sweep. They didn't find anything. I led them through the secret door that went straight to the president's private chambers. They did a clean sweep and found a bug hidden under the headlight

Nkosinathi: How long has that been there and who put it there?
Me: It's Precious, she knows about you and Dr. Aphiwe and a few minutes ago, she sold the story to a journalist from Mzansi Leaks, I managed to sort that out. I don't know if she won't try to sell it to someone else.
Nkosinathi: Precious is really starting to get on my nerves.

My phone beeped, it was a link, I pressed it and exhaled.
Me: She fucken' leaked the story on her personal social media accounts!
Nkosinathi: No, no, no! Melusi!
Me: Dr. Aphiwe has been exposed, your affair with her from 10 years ago has been exposed!
Nkosinathi: I have to call Aphiwe! Melusi sort this out!
Me: Yes sir.

I walked out, Precious doesn't listen man! I just put out the Mzansi Leaks fire and she's just gone and lit another one!

The post was already gaining attention, being shared and people commenting, so I went to the social media team.

Me: Everyone, Precious Zwide, formerly known as Precious Zungu, our former first lady, is currently on her revenge tour and is venting on social media, I need her accounts shut down immediately!

They rushed to their computers.

[DR. APHIWE P. BHENGU]
I was woken up by my phone buzzing non stop, I groaned and reached for it and checked the caller ID, it was an encrypted call, that could only be one man.

Me: Nathi, do you know what time it is?
Nathi: Hey baby.
Me: Hey, what's wrong?
Nathi: We have a problem.
Me: What's wrong?
Nathi: Everyone knows.
Me: Know about what?

I sat up.
Nathi: What happened between us 10 years ago.
Me(shocked): What??
Nathi: I'm so sorry baby, Precious planted a bug in my room yesterday.
Me: I was in your room yesterday!
Nathi: She heard everything, there's even a leaked audio of us discussing our plan to have that part never mentioned and saying we should say we only met now while you were treating me.

No, no, no, this wasn't happening right now!
Me(emotional): How bad is it?
Nathi: Don't leave the house today, don't answer calls from unknown numbers.
Me(crying): Nathi!
Nathi: I'm so sorry.
Me: That is not good enough! Sorry is not good enough! They are probably calling me your mistress right now! Nathi you were meant to protect me!
Nathi: Baby I know!
Me: Yoh! Yoh! You've just ruined my life Nkosinathi!!!

I dropped the call and wore my gown, I had to catch my family before they left for work, I peeped through the curtain and noticed a few cars parked outfront, journalists and reporters.

Me: Oh this is bad, this is real bad! Mom! Dad! Andile!!

They were in the kitchen, having breakfast.
Mom: Aphiwe what's wrong?
Me: I-I have something to tell you.
Andile: Is Londeka okay?
Me: She's okay, I… I'm trending.
Dad: Trending?
Nolwazi: Aibo skwiza, you're trending?
Me: Y-yes and it's not for the right reasons.
Mom: What are they saying?
Me: I don't even know where to start…

Andile turned the volume up on the TV and there it was written in bold, accompanied with my pictures, some from high school, even the one we had taken with the president in grade 12 when he had visited our school.

Andile: You had an affair with the president?

Everyone turned to look at me, my hands were literally shaking, the damn cat had gotten my tongue!

Me: I can explain!
Dad: Explain Aphiwe!!
Me(smh with tears falling): It wasn't an affair, I went to a party after I had been dumped by Tiro, I was drunk and it was party and—
Mom: He assaulted you?
Me: No, he didn't assault me, it happened once and—

Dad marched to me and I went in another direction, he's not about to hit me at my big age! I'm 28 years old for heaven sake and he's already beaten me for this 10 years ago!

Dad: You slept with the president? Did he not see that you were a child? You were 18 and he was what? 33?
Me: We were wearing masks and it was on the night of the election results, he wasn't the president yet and—
Andile: So at 18, Tiro wasn't the only man you were sleeping with? You were going to parties and sleeping with random old men in masks?
Mom: I'm so disappointed in you!

Dad: He paid for your international university fees! We thought the government was being generous! That they recognized you as a top scholar! Meanwhile he was paying for his girlfriend! I'm going to kill him! Aphiwe the man is twice your age!! He was married! Did Tiro even take your virginity or was that a lie as well?

I sat down and just broke down.
Andile: No, Aphiwe you don't get to do that! You don't get to do that! Your tears won't work this time especially after the scandal you've just put us through! You should have remained in America.

Me: You begged me to come back here! I didn't want to come back here because I knew this would happen! But you begged me! So don't fucken say that! I'm here to help your daughter!

Nolwazi: I think…we should all just calm down.
Dad: You are such a disgrace!
Me: A disgrace baba? I made one mistake and you're calling me a disgrace? So what if I had an affair with him? It was 10 years ago! He was in an open marriage! I was 18 and it was consensual! He didn't force me to be with him!

Mom: Aphiwe usuyahlanya? Uyazizwa ukuthi uthini?

Me: No, mom you're not about to lay me on the cross and crucify me for what I did when I was a teenager! We realized our mistake! We agreed to focus on our lives back then, I focused on school and he helped me achieve my goals! I went to the best Medical schools because of him! Schools you wouldn't have been able to afford! He continued to run the country! I am an adult now and he's divorced!

Dad: You will not be with a man that's twice your age Aphiwe!
Me: Baba we are not fighting! We are in a relationship! Age doesn't mean anything!
Mom: You can have any man you want, Aphiwe! You're a beautiful, young and successful woman! You don't have to be with an old man!
Andile: Is it because he took you to school? We can repay him his money then!
Me: I am an adult, remember that, I will make my own decisions regarding my life!

I walked to my bedroom and shut the door and slid down on it, exhaling.

This was a nightmare, I sat there for a while before I reached for my phone and went online but my phone glitched.

"That is not a good idea."

A bold message appeared on the screen and I cursed, I just want to see what people are saying about me so that I can at least defend myself!

[AMAHLE SHAZI]
Social media was in shambles today and I was guilty by association, I figured journalists and reporters weren't able to get to Aphiwe so they were now attacking me, asking for questions.

I wanted to go and check up on my bestie so badly but having a newborn was restricting me and she wasn't even answering her calls, understandably so.

Sfiso: Is it true? It must be true though because there's a leaked audio of the two of them.

I exhaled.
Me: I shouldn't be telling you this.
Sfiso: What do you think I'll do baby? Aphiwe is family, perhaps she can deal with this legally and I can help her, I doubt what the First lady—
Me: Former first lady, she deserves no respect for what she's done.

He laughed a little.
Sfiso: As I was saying, what she did wasn't legal, she bugged the president's house, that's treason on its own, a private moment between two people was leaked, that's illegal.

Me: This happened 10 years ago, we were 18, Aphiwe was dating DJ Tiro, he wasn't this big back then, he was still starting out, Aphiwe dated him when he was still being booked at schools, tarvens etc, one day he went viral and started banging tiktok baddies, he broke up with Aphiwe.

Sfiso: What? How does anyone break up with Aphiwe?

Me: Exactly! This is the same girl that used to sneak out at night just to support his craft, she even lost her virginity to him, anyway after he broke up with her, she was obviously hurt, that was her first love, we had a wild friend called Mbali, she dated a guy who was friends with Nkosikhona, the president's brother although at the time we didn't know all that, so they asked her to organize 'istoko'

Sfiso: That was you?

I nodded, ashamed.
Me: Baby we were just teenagers trying to have a good time not knowing that Mbali was selling us to her politician friends, it was a masked party, on the night election results were set to be announced, anyway we got there looking like adults ready to have fun, Aphiwe and Nkosinathi immediately hit it off and they left us to go and have some fun, remember Aphiwe was hurt and was trying to forget about Tiro, so they spent the night and Nkosinathi left the next morning, Aphiwe was exhausted and hangover but she heard him tell her his name and that although his name was Nathi, she'd know him as the president.

Sfiso: So the masks were on the entire time?
Me: According to Aphiwe, Nathi never took his off, at some point hers was off, but we had on make up, we looked grown there was no way that he could have known he was sleeping with an 18 year old.
Sfiso: Damn, please don't tell me he only met her again when he visited her school?

I nodded.
Me: We returned home that day, as we were having breakfast, there he was, being sworn in as the president, hours after he was with Aphiwe, we agreed that we'd never utter that to anyone, only for the president to visit our school, boom they met! He was shocked that she was a schoolgirl, whatever happened between them that night shouldn't have happened but it did so now what?

He nodded.
Sfiso: Did it end there?

I looked at him.
Me: They agreed to meet, the purpose was to sign NDA's forbidding her from ever speaking about this, I mean a whole 33 year old sleeping with an 18 year old? Scandalous, however one thing led to another, if it weren't for Melusi Shozi, the president's chief of staff, those two would have never broken up, I think they both caught feelings and when they had to break up, it was so painful, anyway it's been 10 years, I don't know why Precious would even leak this.

I was not about to tell my husband who works for the state of justice that we witnessed murder, when Mbali was killed in front of us, he did not need to know that part.

Sfiso: Well the president is a single man and so is Aphiwe, now is their chance to be together.
Me: Not when the country is this divided.

Sfiso: Aphiwe is an adult now, the president is single and he obviously still loves her, we should let them be honestly, the man is a great president, he's great at his job, he deserves to have someone who brings him peace and gives him love and if that person is Dr. Aphiwe Bhengu? Why the hell not? They can't crucify them over something that happened years ago.

Me: They are saying he cheated on the first lady, Aphiwe slept with a married man, that's what they are angry about.
Sfiso: He was in an open marriage, that means he could date whoever he wanted, Aphiwe was 18, it was consensual, people should get over it, haaa!

I laughed.
Me: I can tell you're team #Naphiwe

We laughed.
Sfiso: I just believe in true love and I can tell that this is true love babe, they should let them be.
Me(smiles): They really should.
Sfiso: That Precious must be taught a lesson though.
Me: She's hurt Sfiso, she had her laundry aired in front of the whole country and was kicked out of the Unity House.
Sfiso: She cheated, had 3 kids and passed them on as the President's, now she's spilling secrets? Do you think the Unity House will respond to these allegations? If they do, will they admit or deny them?

I exhaled.
Me: Nkosinathi is a man of integrity, I will tell you that for free, I don't think this will be buried, if anything, they should take advantage of this chaos and make it beautiful, turn it into a beautiful love story, one that teaches patience, resilience and distance, 10 years is a long time, waiting for someone.
Sfiso: We have to support Aphiwe baby.
Me: I agree, what can we do?