Shrivelled Roses 2: Iyana Kleinbooi

19

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 19

-IYANA-

She quickly walked away and ran for the bathroom, where she cried her heart out, clutching onto her small belly. She wasn't even showing yet, but some features in her body made it clear that she was pregnant. Like her plump feet and her suddenly big nose... but she wasn't showing around her midsection... unless you were one of those people with sharp eyes.

After gathering up much courage and her voice back, she got up from the toilet seat and cleaned herself up. The waterproof mascara did wonders for her undereye... shoutout to the makeup Gods! She took the walk of shame back to the broad room filled with happy people, walked up to Phathuxolo again, looked at him and asked...

"Could you please walk me out? I want to leave this place" she whispered still dabbing tears off her face. He nodded and followed behind her. Not even a soul noticed that they were gone. He offered to take her home, at first, she refused but he eventually managed to convince her. Each in their own world, they drove to Iyana's home... in silence.

"Are you friends with him?" she finally asked after trying very hard to remember his face from somewhere besides from TV and newspapers.

"No, I am just an investor in small businesses that have potential"

"What business did you have at his wedding then?" she asked still looking hazily at the road ahead.

"Mh... okay, so just as royal homes support each other when a bereavement befalls the other, they also support each other even in times of jubilee. So, we were basically invited by Buhle's father to go and celebrate with his family... he's a chief in your boyfriend's village."

Her jaw almost dropped.

How did she miss that part? They obviously thought and proved that she was naïve. How could she possibly not have noticed that Buhle was a royal princess? When she was conducting and collecting her research on Clive and Buhle why didn't that pop up? That she was royalty? Wait... the phone call in the study? He said "Nkosazana" and still, naïve and stupid Iyana didn't pick that shit up too? She sighed... That's probably why the brothers couldn't drop the marriage thing. Iyana still couldn't get her head wrapped around the news that Buhle was the chief's daughter... maybe it's because the brothers made it look like it had something to do with business.

"I'm sorry" he whispered and she shook her head.

"You're not sorry... you did this because ufuna ndikuvume. Don't act like you're sorry"

He didn't respond.

Instead, when he got to her front-yard he turned off the ignition and locked the doors. That was his only chance to make sure that she leaves with a good impression of him. He was inkosana after all, he couldn't afford going around causing bad impressions... even to people like Iyana.

He cleared his throat...

"I am sorry, I know you don't believe me but this is the honest truth" he argued.

"If you were sorry you wouldn't have ulterior motives. You would have just told me the truth about Zwelethu and then undiyeke ndihambe indlela yam not ba nawe uzibike. That's just plain disrespectful" she shouted at him, almost cracking her voice.

He took a deep breath and nodded at her... just to show her that he was hearing her point. But that didn't mean she was correct.

"As I said when we started this whole conversation, I like you, that will not change whether uyandivuma or awundivumi. I will like you senditshate nomnye umntu because ke ndizotshata omnye umntu despite liking you, because you are likeable, that's it. Now shoot me, because what I was not going to tolerate was seeing you getting hurt whilst I stood on the sideline wishing I could get a chance to actually treat you right. Again, I do not love you, I like you. Also, I do not regret showing you the pictures, what I regret though is not showing you sooner... maybe it wouldn't hurt as much as it does right now. Now if you want someone to blame for how you feel right now and you think that I'm the right scapegoat then I am all yours. Blame me all you want, but just know that from today, I will sleep peacefully knowing that I reminded you of your worth. Ukundivuma is not even in context ngoku, I am not going to force you into anything you don't want to do. In actual fact Iyana I am more worried about you. You're hurting, look at yourself... you're hurting and I wish there was something I could do to make that pain go away so believe me when I say I am sorry. I really am."

She felt every word.

Each and every syllable, every consonant she felt at the depths of her belly and he was right... she was just using him as a scapegoat to project. Zwelethu was the real culprit there, not Phathuxolo. She sniffed and blew her nose before asking him to unlock the car. All she could think about was her unborn baby... She stepped out of the car, but before closing the door she said "thank you for bringing me home" and he nodded. She walked away, and he just sat there watching her fade away into her sorrows.

He eventually started his car and drove home... there was no need for him to go back to the launch. His mind was just exhausted. He stepped into the shower and stood under the warm tickly water for far longer than intended. He was actually brought back to his minds by the water becoming too hot.

"I have to find a way to see her again... maybe I should deliver flowers to her house ngomso. Just to make sure she feels better" he thought to himself as he sat on the edge of his cold bed. A part of him felt like he had really found his wife in her, but he knew that there was no woman on the surface of the earth that he could love the way that he loved Buhle Mzimela, iNkosazana ka Sheleza. They were childhood friends, they practically grew up together... and they were both aware of the chemistry between them. They just didn't know how to handle it, hence they left things at just being "friends" which has been working just fine for both of them.

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