Chapter Nineteen

STRING OF PEARLS

NINETEEN

_ONEZWA_

I turn and open my eyes to find Troy staring at me. He smiles, and I reciprocate.

"Good morning, beautiful," he says, and I blush.

"Last night was amazing," he continues.

"It was," I reply, smiling.

"As much as our lovemaking session was incredible, we need to discuss what happened yesterday. Baby, I hate being blindsided. It's best you stay at home and..."

I interrupt before he can finish. "I love my store. I love being hands-on and running it my way. The store is my dream."

He clenches his jaws.

"Look, you have to trust me. Being cooped up in the house isn't a solution. I'm invested in us, and you can't keep me locked away," I assert.

He heaves a sigh. "Babe, I'm not saying you should be locked up. I just... Babe, I can take care of you and give you a comfortable life."

"I have my own money," I counter.

His jaws clench again before he abruptly stands up.

"I'm going to shower," he says, visibly irritated.

I sigh, feeling frustrated.

This situation is complicated. I genuinely love Troy, but then there's Mcedisi – Lord, that man is everything and more.

My thoughts are interrupted by my phone ringing. The number is unknown, but I answer anyway.

"Hello?"

"I need to see you," Mcedisi's deep voice resonates, sending shivers through my body.

"Mcedisi, I..."

"Baby, please," he interrupts, his term of endearment piercing my heart.

The bathroom door swings open, and I quickly hang up.

"Breakfast?" I ask Troy.

"Make it meaty and greasy. I worked up quite an appetite last night," he says with a smirk.

I giggle and step into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Later, Troy gets up and pecks my cheek.

"Thanks for the delicious breakfast, but I have to go. I'll see you later," he says, grabbing his jacket and walking out.

I gather the dishes, hearing the door close. I frown.

"Did you forget something?"

"Yes, my heart," Mcedisi Mthethwa says.

I turn around quickly, eyes wide.

"What the..."

He silences me with a kiss.

I wish I could say I pushed him away, but damn, I think I'm addicted to this man.

"I told you I'm not yet done with you," he says, his lips still brushing against mine. His touch dissolves my resistance, and I surrender.

Summoning strength, I push him away. He buries his face in my neck, inhaling deeply, sending shivers down my spine.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he whispers.

"Yesterday was... I love you so much."

I turn away, unable to meet his gaze.

"Yesterday was a mistake." He scoffs

"Bullshit, you felt it too – the connection we share. You can't deny it." I stand firm.

"It was wrong. We hurt people. I'm no home wrecker, Mcedisi. I won't be the cause of another woman's tears."

He wraps his arms around me, his lips grazing my neck.

"Then marry me." I face him, my voice steady.

"What about MaSibiya?" He sighs.

"I'm not leaving my boyfriend for a polygamous marriage. Your wife already hates me. I'd never put myself in that situation." His eyes lock onto mine, his voice soft.

"Onezwa, I love you." I meet his gaze.

"Choose me." He looks away and that alone tears me apart.

"Well, that settles it," I say firmly.

"Stay away from me, or I'll get a restraining order. Go back to your wife." I open the door wide, my eyes avoiding his.

"Leave," I say, feeling his intense gaze.

His parting words echo, "I'll fix this." He pecks my cheek, and with that, he walks out, leaving me with an unsettling sense that he's taken a piece of me with him.

_MCEDISI_

I hardly slept, thinking about her. When Nkanyezi finally got hold of her number, I couldn't wait to call her. Her sweet voice on the phone was enough to silence the noise in my head and ignite the flames of passion in my heart. Onezwa has full ownership of my heart; it still baffles me how or when it got to this point.

After she hung up on me, like a lovesick puppy, I jumped into my car and drove to where she lives with that boyfriend of hers. I waited for him to drive off before going in.

I gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking out. I need to fix this mess. I'm seriously caught between a rock and a hard place: the love I have for Onezwa, which grows deeper with every passing day, and the guilt of what I did to MaSibiya.

As I'm about to open my car door, I feel cold steel pressing against the back of my head. "Your disrespect is on another level," I swiftly turn, and Onezwa's boyfriend is pointing a gun at me.

"Sho," I say, and he frowns.

"Did you sleep with her?" he asks.

"Fuck off," I reply, and he chuckles.

"You don't know who you're dealing with, Zulu man," he says, pulling back the slide.

"Right back at you, cheese boy," I retort, and we have a staring contest before he clicks his tongue and retracts the gun.

"Stay away from my woman, or else," he warns before walking away.

I heave a sigh and get into the car before driving off. I decide to go to the rank to clear my head. When I arrive, I find Nkanyezi and Thulani eating inyama yentloko.

"Bafo," Nkanyezi greets.

"Nduna," Thulani follows, and I greet them as well, taking a seat.

"You look like you're carrying the world on your shoulders," Nkanyezi observes.

I nod as I reach for a piece of meat.

"How is MaSibiya?" I inquire.

"You know where Nonka is; she's at her happiest," he replies, and I heave a sigh.

"Onezwa doesn't want isithembu," I inform, and he sighs.

"Bhuti," he says, before wiping his hands. He has never addressed me in such a manner before; it's always bafo or Mcedisi.

"This is tiring. You clearly love Onezwa, and I believe she loves you too. It's time you make a choice that will make you happy. All your life, you've put everyone before your happiness. After ubaba passed away, you dropped out of school to become a provider for us. You married at a young age so Mama could have someone to help her. You've been our everything. Even Qhawe knew that in you, he had both a brother and a father. That's why he was so entitled. Choose yourself, bafo; choose your heart."

He speaks, and I smile, my mind trailing to Onezwa asking me to choose her. Choosing my heart is choosing her because she is my heart.

"I should get going. My people are waiting," Nkanyezi says, standing up.

Just then, a loud gunshot shatters the air, and chaos breaks out. I swiftly draw my gun, and bullets begin flying everywhere.

_NARRATED_

Troy has Onezwa in a choke hold. His eyes burn with anger.

"I'll be damned if I allow you to make a fool of me," he says to a battered Onezwa.

She tries to speak, but the pain is unbearable.

"Shhh, don't try to speak. Let me help you upstairs and run a warm bath for you," he says, now calm and compassionate.

"You see what you made me do? I'm not a monster, my love. I don't go around beating up women, but you and that scum," he says, clenching his jaws.

"I'm sorry," Onezwa says softly as the warm water hits her skin; she flinches a couple of times.

"I know, and I promise I will never ever let anger overcome me," he says while gently dabbing her bruises with a warm cloth.

His phone beeps, and he takes it out of his pocket with his free hand and reads the message before a smile forms on his lips.

"Your boyfriend is dead. Now there's nothing standing in the way of our happiness," he says.

Onezwa's heart instantly breaks. Tears roll down her face as the thought of Mcedisi dead breaks her very soul.

"I have some business in Joburg. Maybe we should go together and just rekindle our love. I'm so sorry for laying my hands on you, okay?" He says with his mood improved.

The next day....

Onezwa woke up to breakfast in bed and a very sorry Troy. She hardly slept praying that Troy was lying. The saddest part is that; she can't even ask him about it. She has been going through her phone trying to find anything that might mention Mcedisi and sure enough; an article about a shoot out at the taxi rank, claiming six lives but the names of the deceased were not mentioned. She covers her mouth letting out a painful sob.

A few moments later, Troy walks into the bedroom with two cups of hot chocolates.

"Motho wame, please stop crying. You've done too much of that," he says before handing her the cup.

"I'm okay," she says with a burning lump stuck on her throat. She is in pain and she can't even go through the emotions.