A HEART REPLACED, chapter Nineteen
A HEART REPLACEDChapter Nineteen
It's been a month now, and all she can say is that her life is going incredibly well. She's thriving in her job, earning a steady income, and financial independence. She recalls the first time she received a payment notification on her phone - she was over the moon, ecstatic, and couldn't contain her excitement. Pearl, took her to her office, and they celebrated with fun and festivities. She's still reveling in her role as Creative Director, and her passion for her job only continues to grow.
She's never been bothered with other things, like his parents. Bab'Thubana tried to make amends with her again, but she just told him she forgives him to get him off her back. Since then, he's been calling and checking up on his daughter, which is getting boring. As for his wife, MaMnguni, she's heard her calling her names one time his father called, but she doesn't care. The Mbathas are people who are better than her own parents, loving her unconditionally. But she hopes they don't find out that she and Mkhuseli are pretending, as it works for them. Speaking of Mkhuseli, he has a girlfriend who visits him at the office. She's beautiful, light-skinned, and has big boobs. She's starting to think Mkhuseli doesn't see her as his type because she doesn't have big boobs.
Anyways, why is she thinking about Mkhuseli and his girlfriend? “Earth to Nonhlakanipho,” Pearl says, bringing her back to reality. “Oh, hey, I'm sorry, I was... never mind, what's up?”She asks Pearl, who replies, “What are you thinking about? You don't seem yourself lately.”
”I don't know what you're talking about; I'm myself always,” she responds.
Pearl hands her a cup of coffee and says, “I know you, Nhlaka. We've been friends for a month. If you don't want to talk about what's stressing you, I won't force it.” She thanks Pearl for the coffee, and Pearl leaves, closing the door behind her.
She sips her coffee and continues working on her project, which she has been focused on for two weeks. Finally, she completes the task and feels a sense of relief. She gets up and heads to Mkhuseli's office to show him her finished work. She knocks three times no answer,she decides to let herself in However, when she walks in, she finds Mkhuseli in a compromising position with his girlfriend,they are both naked and fucking on his table.
“What the **** Nonhlakanipho!” Mkhuseli curses.
She quickly closes her eyes and apologizes, “Omg, I'm sorry.” Mkhuseli responds unbothered, “Close the door on your way out.” She quickly exits and closes the door behind her, feeling shocked and embarrassed.
She can't believe she just walked in on Mkhuseli having *** with his girlfriend. She heads back to her office, her heart racing, and tries to shake off the image from her mind. She can't help but wonder why they didn't lock the door.
She needs to take this out of her mind, because she will go crazy if she seats in her office and thinking about Mkhuseli and that girlfriend of his.
She takes her bag and head to Pearls office.
“It’s almost lunch, let’s go eat out” she says walking in her office. “Your treat?” Pearl asks with a mischievous smile.
“Yes Ma’am my treat” she says.
“Well then I can never say no to that, come let’s go” she takes her bag and get up, her tummy is like it’s getting bigger day by day, she will be giving birth soon. They get to MacDonalds and order, they are both craving for it so they seat and wait to be served their order.
“You’ve been quiet the whole way, are you okay Nhlaka?” Pearl ask.
“I walked in Mkhuseli’s office while having *** with his girlfriend” “What!?”
“I know right it’s embarrassing”
“What’s embarrassing about that?” Pearl asks.
“You shouldn’t be embarrassed, Mkhuseli and his girlfriend are the ones who should be embarrassed.”
“Ha! You girl just watched a live *** show!” they both burst out laughing.
“Gosh, Pearl!”
“Aren’t you hurt?” Pearl inquires.
“Hurt by what? Don’t start, Pearl.”
“Come on, friend, I’m just asking. Mkhuseli is your husband, after all, even if you both are in denial. Didn’t it hurt you to see him with another girl?”
She shakes her head, swallowing hard.
“No, it didn’t. She’s his girlfriend, not just any girl. And why would I be hurt? I don’t care who Mkhuseli has *** with.” Pearl looks at her for a moment, then looks away.
“Okay, I think it’s time you find yourself a boyfriend.”
“I don’t need one.”
“Oh, come on, Nonhlakanipho! You do need one, okay? Just give Mkhuseli a heartache too.”
“I don’t need to find a boyfriend just to hurt Mkhuseli. I won’t waste my time on that.” Pearl rolls her eyes and notices a hot guy walking into the MacDonald’s.
“Look there!” Nonhlakanipho turns to look at him, and he’s wearing formal clothes. The guy turns and their eyes meet. She quickly looks back at Pearl, who laughs.
“He’s coming to our table.” Nonhlakanipho’s eyes widen. “Seriously?” Pearl nods.
“Hello, ladies,” the guy greets when he reaches their table.
“Hey,” Nonhlakanipho says.
“Hello ,bhutiza,” Pearl responds.
“Can I join you girls if you don’t mind?” The guy asks, looking at Nonhlakanipho.
“Sure, you can,” Pearl says, and Nonhlakanipho gives her a dead stare. The guy takes a chair from an empty table and joins them. Just then, their order arrives, and the guy’s order too. “Let me take mine, you can find me in the car when you’re done eating. This chair is uncomfortable.” Pearl gets up and walks away before Nonhlakanipho says something. She sighs and looks at the guy next to her, finding him staring at her. She fakes a smile and then looks at her food. She's so going to get Pearl for this. How could she leave her with this stranger?
“So, what's your name?”the guy asks, breaking the silence.
“I'm Nonhlakanipho,”she replies, trying to sound friendly.
“I'm Menzi,”he says, smiling at her. “Nice to meet you, Nonhlakanipho.”
“Nice to meet you too,”she says, trying to hide her awkwardness.
They continue eating in silence for a few minutes, with Menzi occasionally glancing at her. She starts to feel uncomfortable and wishes Pearl would come back.
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MKHUSELI ’S POV
After dropping Nomathemba off at her place, he drives straight home. Nonhlakanipho had left early that day to have lunch with Pearl and hadn't returned. He hopes she didn't come back because of what she saw - him with his girlfriend, Nomathemba. Yes, Nomathemba is now his girlfriend; he decided to settle down with her instead of constantly changing partners to avoid getting sick.
He kills the engine, gets out of the car, and locks it. He then heads to the house, only to find it locked. He uses his keys to unlock it, which means Nonhlakanipho is not home. He sighs and walks up to the room to change into comfortable clothes.
Just as he’s preparing a meal, Nonhlakanipho arrives.
“Hi,” she greets him and walks past, but he stops her.
“Can we talk?” he asks.
“About what?” she inquires.
“Uh, about what you saw…and…”
“Oh, about that? No need to worry, I’m sorry for letting myself into your office,” she apologizes.
“Well, it’s my fault; I should have locked the door,” he admits. “Well, you didn’t…So I hope your girlfriend isn’t mad at me,” she says with a hint of sarcasm.
“Not at all; why would she be? She’s okay,” he reassures her. An awkward silence follows, and they stare at each other. He notices something unexplainable in Nonhlakanipho’s eyes, but she clears her throat and walks away, leaving him feeling guilty for no reason. Why does he feel like Nonhlakanipho is hurt by his actions? He shakes off the feeling and continues cooking, then decides to take a drive to clear his mind.
‘Maybe I’m just overthinking things,’ he thinks to himself. After all, he and Nonhlakanipho are just friends.
He gets into his car and drives off, trying to clear his mind. But he can't shake off the feeling that Nonhlakanipho is hurt by his actions. ‘Why would she be hurt?’ he asks himself. ‘We're just friends, and I've done nothing wrong.’
As he drives, he finds himself heading to Qhawe's workplace. Qhawe is his brother and a doctor. He hopes to find him not busy with patients and pour out his heart to him.
He arrives at the hospital and heads to Qhawe's office. He knocks on the door, and Qhawe's voice calls out, “Come in!”
He enters the office and finds Qhawe sitting at his desk, writing some notes. “Hey, bro! What brings you here?” Qhawe asks, looking up.
“I need to talk to you about something,” he says, taking a seat.
Qhawe puts down his pen and gives him his full attention. “What's going on?”
He takes a deep breath and explains the situation with Nonhlakanipho,That she walked in on him making out with his girlfriend.And now he can't help but feel like Nonhlakanipho is hurt by it or he's just seeing things, because why would she be hurt?They are friends and been friends for a month for God's sake then now why would he start seeing things now?Qhawe listens attentively, nodding his head.
“I see,” Qhawe says when he finishes. “And how do you feel about it?that she found you in an appropriate position with that girl you says is your girlfriend”
“I don't know,” he admits. “I feel guilty, but I don't know why. We're just friends, and I've done nothing wrong.”
Qhawe nods thoughtfully. “I think I know what's going on here. You're feeling guilty because you're not being honest with yourself Bafo”
“What do you mean?” he asks, curious.
“I think you have feelings for Nonhlakanipho, but you're not admitting it to yourself. And that's why you're feeling guilty.”
He's taken aback. Could Qhawe be right? Does he have feelings for Nonhlakanipho beyond friendship?
“I don't know, Qhawe. I really don't know,” he says, feeling confused.
Qhawe nods. “That's okay, bro. We'll figure it out together. But first, let's get one thing straight - honesty is key in any relationship. You need to be honest with yourself .”
He nods, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. Maybe Qhawe is right. Maybe he does need to be honest with himself and Nonhlakanipho.
“Thanks, Qhawe,” he says, standing up and heads out ,he bumps into someone.He apologize and continue leaving the man picking up his pen.
To be continued…
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