A HEART REPLACED chapter Thirteen
A HEART REPLACEDChapter thirteen
NONHLAKANIPHO ’S POV
She gets out of bed and heads to the shower, preparing for another day of work. After a refreshing shower, she feels much better than yesterday, when her back was aching from sitting at her desk all day. She's still getting used to her new job, but she's determined to adjust. As she prepares breakfast, she notices that Mkhuseli isn't home, evident from the leftover food from last night. She eats her breakfast, lost in thought, when Mkhuseli walks in, greeting her briefly before heading upstairs. She notices lipstick stains on his shirt and feels a sudden flutter in her heart, but quickly brushes off the feeling. She finishes her breakfast, and the sound of the driver's car outside brings her back to reality. She grabs her bag and heads out, greeting the driver before the car drives off.
She arrives at work, enters the building with a deep sigh, and heads straight to the elevator. When the doors open, she steps inside and presses the button for her floor. The elevator comes to a stop, and she exits, making her way directly to her office.
She settles into her seat and opens her laptop, racing against time to complete the project she started yesterday. With only two hours left to finish, she's anxious to wrap it up and show it to Mkhuseli as agreed. Just as she's getting into the zone, a colleague bursts in without knocking and greets her with a cheerful
“Good morning, Mrs. Mbatha!”Nonhlakanipho responds with a monotone
“Good morning” and maintains a straight face, unimpressed by the colleague's excuse that she's used to barging into offices without knocking.
The colleague continues, “Mr. Mbatha wants you to present your project in the board room, there's a meeting scheduled.”Nonhlakanipho's heart sinks, this wasn't the plan! She was supposed to show Mkhuseli first, not present it to a room full of people. How is she supposed to do that?!
Nonhlakanipho's mind races as she tries to process the sudden change in plans. She had been preparing to present her project to Mkhuseli alone, not to a room full of people. She starts to feel anxious and overwhelmed, her hands shaking slightly as she tries to type on her laptop.
“Excuse me,”she says to the colleague, trying to sound calm. ”But I thought I was supposed to show Mkhuseli my project first, before presenting it to anyone else.”
The colleague looks at her with a confused expression. “Oh, I must have misunderstood. But Mr. Mbatha was clear, he wants you to present it in the board room now.”
She takes a deep breath and tries to compose herself. She can't believe this is happening. She's not prepared for a presentation, and she's definitely not ready to face a room full of people.
“Okay,”she says finally, trying to sound confident. “I'll get ready and head to the board room.”
The colleague leaves, Nonhlakanipho lets out a sigh and tries to gather her thoughts. She can't believe this is happening. She's going to have to wing it and hope for the best.
Nipho collects her papers and laptop, still trying to process the sudden change in plans. She had thought she had two hours to finalize everything, but now she's being rushed into a presentation. She takes a deep breath, gathers her composure, and heads into the board room. As she enters, all eyes turn to her, but her gaze locks onto Mkhuseli's, her frustration palpable. She resists the urge to glare at him, instead rolling her eyes and scanning the room. She notices Mr. Mbatha seated in the corner and greets everyone with a professional “Good morning”, The room responds in kind. Mkhuseli stands up, introduces her as the new Creative Director, and invites her to begin her presentation. “The stage is yours,”he says, gesturing to the room.
_
_
NARRATED
Mbatha watches his daughter-in-law with a warm smile, pride swelling in his chest as she presents with confidence and poise. He's impressed by her ability to engage the room, maintaining eye contact with everyone present. He thinks to himself, "I made the right choice in accepting Bab'Thubana's daughter as my makoti." She's intelligent, beautiful, and articulate - a perfect blend of beauty and brains. Unlike her late sister, Londeka, who only knew how to squander his son's money on shopping sprees and lazy days. He can't fathom what his son saw in Londeka, but that's a closed chapter now. His son has found a true gem in Nonhlakanipho. The applause from the board members brings him back to the present, and he joins in, beaming with pride. “That was amazing, my daughter,” he says, rising to his feet.
“I fully support the idea you presented.” he says
“same Mr Mbatha, I'm with you there”,The other board members nod in agreement, and Nonhlakanipho smiles to herself, pleased with the positive reception.
The meeting adjourns, and the room empties. Nonhlakanipho fixes Mkhuseli with a cold, piercing gaze, her eyes blazing with a mix of anger and frustration. She's seething with resentment, wanting to confront him for springing the presentation on her at the last minute, without adequate preparation. However, she takes solace in the fact that her impromptu presentation won over the board members, including Mr. Mbatha. Mkhuseli approaches her, sensing her displeasure, and attempts to apologize, but she curtly dismisses him, swiftly exiting the board room. Mkhuseli sighs, realizing his mistake.
Mkhuseli returns to collect his belongings and exits the room, leaving Mbatha to witness the tense exchange. He enters his office, closes the door, and Mbatha follows, closing the door behind him. Mkhuseli pours himself a glass of whisky and sits down.
“Son, what's going on between you and Nonhlakanipho?” Mkhuseli frowns, defensive.
“What do you mean? Nothing's happening.”
“Don't make me a fool, wena mfana, ngibone indlela ekubheke ngayo ukuthi ukudinelwe.”
“It's not a big deal, father.”
“Haibo? Not a big deal, umfazi wakho ekudinelwe?” “Nonhlakanipho is not my wife, father.”
“She is your wife, and I hope you're not mistreating her.”
“I'm not mistreating her, father,” Mkhuseli says, his tone defensive.
“I hope you're being honest, because Nonhlakanipho is going to be in your life for a long time. We may not have done right by her, but that doesn't change the fact that she's your wife now.” Mkhuseli sighs and takes a sip of his whisky, his expression unenthused.
“I was impressed with her presentation,”Mbatha says, taking a seat.
“She's perfect for the position.”Mkhuseli inwardly rolls his eyes, surprised that his father is staying to chat. He's already exhausted from listening to Mbatha praise Nonhlakanipho.
While he acknowledges that she did well in the presentation, he's tired of hearing his father's endless admiration for her. He can't help but compare it to the lack of praise he's ever heard for Londeka, his late wife. The contrast is striking, and Mkhuseli can't help but feel irritated by his father's newfound enthusiasm for Nonhlakanipho.
“Friday, we have a family dinner. Bring her along, son,”Mbatha says, and Mkhuseli nods in agreement.
“Let me get back to work. I'll start making my way to Nonhlakanipho's office.”Mbatha gets up and leaves his son's office, heading to Nonhlakanipho's office. He knocks, and upon hearing her voice, enters.
“Our new Creative Director!”he exclaims, walking towards her desk.
“Sawbona, Mr. Mbatha,” she says, and Mbatha frowns.
”Call me ‘Baba’, not Mr. Mbatha. I'm your second father now.” Nonhlakanipho rolls her eyes inwardly, forcing a smile and nodding.
“Kunjani Ngane Yami?” Mbatha asks.
“I'm good, Baba. And you?”
“I'm good too, my child. I just thought I'd drop by your office before heading home.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“You look great behind that desk. You fit perfectly,”Mbatha says, and Nonhlakanipho smiles.
“Really, Baba? Ngibonga.”
“I just wanted to congratulate you on your work and say you did an amazing job on your presentation. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your projects and presentations,”Mbatha says. Nonhlakanipho nods, still smiling.
“By the way, we have a family dinner on Friday. You and Mkhuseli are invited.”
“Great, we'll be there, Baba. Should we bring something?”she asks. Mbatha waves his hand, ”No need to bring anything, just bring yourselves.” He pauses, then asks, ”How are you both doing since the ceremony? I haven't asked yet.” Nonhlakanipho hesitates, then lies, ”We're doing fine, Baba.” Mbatha presses on, “Are you sure? No fighting or disagreements?” Nonhlakanipho nods again, “Yes, Baba, we're good.” Mbatha warns her, “Don't hesitate to tell me if Mkhuseli disrespects you. I'll deal with him.” Nonhlakanipho laughs and assures him she will. Mbatha gets up to leave, saying, “My wife is waiting for me at home.” After he leaves, Nonhlakanipho breathes a sigh of relief and mutters under her breath, ’Nywee nywee my foot!’
________
MKHUSELI ’S POV
Mkhuseli enters Nonhlakanipho's office without knocking, and she exclaims, “This door must be covered in thorns since no one knows how to knock!” He apologizes, but she's unconvinced. “Don't apologize, just do it right!”Mkhuseli chuckles, thinking she's being dramatic, but Nonhlakanipho's serious expression makes him reconsider.
“Are you serious?” he asks, and she raises an eyebrow. Mkhuseli sighs and exits to knock properly. After three knocks, she lets him in.
“I apologize for earlier,”he says. Nonhlakanipho responds, “Your father greets before talking.”
Mkhuseli chuckles, finding her quirky.
“I'm not my father,” he says.
Nonhlakanipho replies, “I didn't say you were.” Mkhuseli apologizes again, “I have work to do, and Instead I came here to apologize okay ,”
“You chose to come, so now you can go back to work.”
“Are you always this rude? Now I understand why Londeka didn't get along with you,” he says.
Nonhlakanipho laughs and asks, “Is that what she told you? Are you implying that you two discussed me?” still chuckling.
He responds, irritated, “That's not what I meant.”
She says, ”Okay,”and he asks, curious,
”What did you discuss with my father?” Nonhlakanipho replies, “Why don't you ask him what we talked about?” He presses, “I'm asking you, aren't I?”
She teases, “Oh, I see. You want to know if I mentioned your overnight stay to him? Well, I think you should wait for him to call you to bring it up.”
Mkhuseli says, “You know, I don't appreciate your tone. I'm trying to have a conversation with you.” Nonhlakanipho responds, “My tone? You're the one who came in here with an attitude.” Mkhuseli replies, “I did not. I simply asked if you were always this rude.”
Nonhlakanipho laughs and says, “You call this rude? You should see me when I'm really being rude.” Mkhuseli shakes his head and says, “I don't think I want to see that.”Nonhlakanipho smiles sweetly and says, “Oh, I think you would. You seem like the type who enjoys a challenge.”Mkhuseli raises an eyebrow and says, “Is that what you think?” Nonhlakanipho nods and says, “Yes, I do. And I think you're enjoying this conversation a lot more than you're letting on.” Mkhuseli chucklesand gazes at Nonhlakanipho, then exits her office, not in the mood for an argument. He's never allowed a woman to get under his skin, not even Londeka, his late-wife. But Nonhlakanipho seems determined to do just that. He hopes she's joking about telling Mbatha that he didn't sleep at home yesterday. He chuckles to himself, recalling the wild threesome from the previous day, which made him feel more alive than ever...
To be continued...
Please log in to submit a comment.