MELAMINA THE QUEEN

CHAPTER 13

KUHLEKONKE ZULU

I look at the picture of another man kissing my wife for the dozen time and my head threatens to explode. What the fuck is happening? I know my wife loves me. She would never do this. She is not the spiteful type and she also has no reason to spite me because the issue with Zisanele isn’t even an issue at all. And I promised her that we will fix it together once she is back. Now why are pictures of her kissing another man trending online instead of her being here next to me? And to make matters worse, she is ignoring my calls. Her phone goes straight to voicemail and she is not even answering the house phone. Journalists are having a field day with her and I just wish I can talk to her.

“Have you seen it?” I hear Zweli’s voice and quickly turn around to look at him. He is still wearing his school uniform. “The stuff they are saying about mom. Is it true?”
I shake my head and walk to him. “They are lying, my boy. Mommy is not like that. That man forced her to do that and I am going to make him pay.” Raising a teenager is hard. You can’t hide anything from them.

“What about you and the Mhlongo princess? What is going on? Is she the reason why mom won’t come back and took the quads this time around? Did she leave us because of you and that man?” Zweli is the silent type. I honestly expect these type of questions from Mahle, not him. Nonetheless, I need to say something to ease his mind and overflowing thoughts.

“Your mom and I are good. In fact, she is coming back before the week ends. I know you are all grown and everything but when she comes back, I will make sure she spends some quality time with you.”
He shakes his head. “No. don’t force her to do something she doesn’t wanna do.” He stares at me for a few moments before heading out. Christ, Futhi. Where are you when I need you the most? Your children are so demanding.

I sit on the couch and rub my temples. My business phone has been ringing non-stop. People want my comment on the pictures but I have nothing to say. Also I wouldn’t wanna say anything before I get a chance to talk to my wife. There has to be an explanation for this. Surely. Right? My personal phone rings and I am a bit relieved to see that it’s Gcobani that’s calling, one of Futhy’s close guards.

“Msweli, talk to me.”
He clears his throat. “Sir, something happened with your wife.” Well, no shit Sherlock. The whole world knows. That’s the price to pay for being royalty. Everyone is all up in your business.

“Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“This is too sensitive to say over the phone. It’s better if you come here and see what’s happening for yourself.”
I scoff. “You do understand that it will take me 19 hours to get there and that’s assuming I get clearance early? So why don’t you just cut to the chase and tell me what the fuck is going on with my wife? Or do me one better, put her on the damn phone.” This chat is pissing me off really because it seems like I am in the dark and Gcobani just wants me to drag the truth out of him.

“That’s going to be difficult, sir. Getting her to the phone, I mean. After we escorted her from the office, she got home and locked herself in the basement. It’s been 6 hours and she hasn’t come out. The kids kept on asking about her until they dozed off. There is no getting through to her. She keeps mumbling some things.”

My body goes into shock while my mind spirals out of control. My gut feeling tells me that something happened to my wife, something bad and I don’t wanna entertain it now. I can’t go crazy. Not when I am thousands of miles away from her. “When was the last time you checked her?” I ask and Gcobani sighs.
“I am sitting outside the door and waiting for her to come out but it doesn’t seem like she is going to come out anytime soon.”
“Okay. Thank you for updating me. I will be there as soon as I can. Look after my wife, Gcobani.”
“With my life, sir.”

Hanging up, I make arrangements for my urgent trip to Peru. When I am done, I go and check on the kids. I spend a little time with them but I don’t tell them about my sudden trip. Somehow, I know they will wanna go with me and I don’t think I want them to see the state their mother is in. I don’t even pack a bag. I just head to the driveway and I frown when I see Noma standing there.

“Hey, Noma. What brings you here?” I stop not far from her.
“Your jet got clearance and I thought I could catch a ride with you.”
“How did you know I was on my way to Peru?”
She sighs. “I know my best friend. I have known her for years. When I saw those pictures, the hairs at the back of my head stood up and I knew something was wrong. She looked like a caged animal with nowhere to go. That guy was clearly assaulting her and I think the pictures were planned. So I need to be there for my friend, because knowing her and the person she has become, she is probably going through a lot right now.”

I never really studied the pictures carefully. I was too consumed by my rage but I will look for signs of distress once I am on board. I nod at her. “Let’s go then.”

***

It feels like ages before we finally touch down in Peru. My body is exhausted and I could use a hot shower, a warm meal and eight hours of sleep; but all that has to wait. I need to get to my wife. During the flight, I studied the pictures carefully and taking into consideration what Noma said, I actually saw the situation for what it truly was, an assault. My wife looked like she was moments away from bursting into tears. She looked really uncomfortable and all I wished was to get to Manuel and rip his head off. He touched what’s mine and I just wanna make him suffer. I wanna make him pay.

When we get to the house, I climb off the car and jog to the basement. I bump into Gcobani who is seated on a chair outside the basement door. He looks up and sighs out of relief when he sees me. He stands up.

“Sir.”
“Has she come out?”
“No, and we also couldn’t get in.” yeah.

The basement is locked with a biometric fingerprint and only Futhi and I can access it. I press on the button near the door and a small screen lights up. I place my hand on it and it grants me access before the door is opened. I step inside and my world comes down crumbling when I see my wife naked in a corner with a haunted look on her face. I take my shoes off and tiptoe to her so that I don’t scare her. I squat in front of her and she doesn’t even react.

“Lwandle.” I call out and she blinks a few times before scratching her body.
“He touched me. He touched me. He touched me.” She keeps on mumbling the same words and I die a million times inside. She is traumatized, just like the time she killed Lee’s ex. But it’s worse this time around because it’s personal. I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around her but I don’t know if it will trigger something.

“Tase, look at me.” Noma crouches next to me and holds Futhy’s hand. “It’s okay. I am here now. He is not going to harm you ever again.” Futhi’s eyes flick from me to Noma and she lets out a heart-breaking sob that brings tears to my eyes. “Pull it together, Kuhle.” She speaks through her clenched teeth. I look up to stop the tears from falling. “Futhi, I need you to calm down and remember who you are.” I hear thunder rumbling from outside and I frown. The sky was clear when we landed.

“He touched me. He… touched…”
“STOP NTOMBIFUTHI!” The thunder rumbles loudly and my wife breaks down in front of my eyes. Noma wraps her arms around her and I see her tense.

I am going to kill him. I am going to kill that son of a bitch.