Red Lace

Chapter 22

NTANDOYENKOSI TSHAWE MNGUNI

"You can't go to your apartment for a coat Ntando, its just dinner," Lihle says and I shoot her a look.

"Khanya is making it hard to be with him and besides he's not going to find out! I haven't had dinner with a guy since last month, I need to look cute!" I say and she rolls her eyes at me.

"I honestly think you are being dramatic, you need to make Khanya understand. Also that guy looks a little old," Lihle says.

"He's doing his masters, he's probably 23 or 24 years old." I say and she shakes her head disapprovingly.

"I still think you shouldn't just jump to go to dinner with a man you don't know. What time is this dinner anyway? Where is he taking you?" Lihle asks all these questions.

"He said he was taking me to some restaurant. I checked his IG, he looks loaded." I say and she raises an eyebrow at me bored.

"You are just as loaded, you don't need this man's money." Lihle says trying to convince me against it. While Lihle and I met here, I told her about my relationship with Khanya and according to her I'm making a mistake by not fixing things with him. She's a sucka for a cute romance story and mna I'm tired of Khanya's drama.

"I will see you when I get back okay?"

It's lunchtime when I rush home. Cape Town weather decided to switch up on me when I least expected it to. Getting inside the house; I rush to my room to look for a coat in my closet, but I can't find one that will match my current shoes; I run to Nichume's room to search her closet for a coat I once saw her wearing. She has something in the dark red that I am looking for. I take out her dark red coat and put it on, standing in front of her mirror. I put my hands in her pockets and I feel what I can assume to be rings. I pull my hand out with the rings and put them on her bed. It's a lot of rings. I pick them up and they are all the same design with different gems on them. Inside each ring band is a name written. I take a bowl from the kitchen and put the rings inside it and return them to her bedroom on top of the bed then rush out. I send her a quick text letting her know I took her coat and would be back later than normal today. I'm going out on a date with this guy tonight.

KHAYALETHU MNGUNI

"Do you trust him to deliver the message?" Shadow asks and I nod my head, turning my chair to face him.

"He has feelings for Nichume or he fell in love with her," I tell him. He raises an eyebrow.

"You picked all of that up from?" Shadow asks me with his eyebrow still raised. He doesn't understand.

"The three months he spent here. I saw how he spoke about her. He's conflicted himself. I would know because that was me when I met Mihlali. She confused me." I admit and Shadow laughs, throwing himself on the chair opposite me. "Akin is loyal to his masters, I don't doubt that, but he is also in love with Nichume. He respects me, and he's seen my work. He knows I mean my word and my threats even more. He won't risk it." I say certainly, and Shadow takes one last swing at his drink.

"I'm trusting you," Shadow says and places his glass down. He sits up, leaning in, which means he's about to be serious. "You remember the conversation I played for you three months back between the little Prince and I?" He asks, he seems a bit off as he presses his iPad looking for lord knows what. I look at him waiting, "The one about how Nichume was tied to the Prince?" he asks, he seems worried. He has that look on his face where he already knows I will not like whatever he's about to tell me "Promise you won't flip out," Shadow says. I look at him. "I need you to promise me," He says, leaning back. I let out a sigh and nod. "I've been tailing Chume," I shoot him a look, and he raises his hands apologetically, "I know what you said about trusting them and shxt. They saw her in hotels with different men. They thought it was Ntando, niggas weren't sure to tell you because they didn't know how you would act," Shadow explains. Slowly my anger is rising, but above all its concern.