PULL MY HEARTSTRINGS (COMPLETE)

72

"Anesu!" Kgomotso came into the bathroom in a state of panic upon waking up to find the bassinet empty, and refrained from having a complete meltdown until she got a satisfying explanation.

He put the razor down and turned away from the mirror after wiping his hands.

"Where is Khanya?" She didn't wait for him to get a word out.

He wasn't thrown off by her question, meaning he knew what was going on.
"Calm down, baby. She's with your mother, I thought you could sleep in since you were up with her for most of the night."

"Yho." She sighed, hand pressed on her chest and her heart was still racing. "If I die of a heart attack it will be your fault because I thought something bad had happened."

"I'm sorry, sthandwa sam, I didn't mean to get you worried." He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close against the warmth of his skin, and the citrus infused scent emanating from his body was arousing.

"Should I run you a bath?" he asked, his lips hovering close to her ear.

"Not now I want us to talk first."

"O-kay." He wiped the lather off his face and went into the closet to get dressed, and found her waiting on the bed, biting on her bottom lip. He was back to walking on eggshells around Kgomotso like back when she had a miscarriage and it made him feel useless.

It was a week since the burial and they weren't lying about the real funeral starting after everyone leaves because she was deep in the trenches fighting every day to keep grief off her neck, but it was relentless in its quest to occupy her mind so she never forgot how painful it was to lose someone.

"I don't understand what I am doing wrong when it comes to Khanya... Don't get me wrong, I love her and I don't want to let Kamo down." There was a slight pause and a head shake. "But something has been off with her since we brought her here."

He frowned, scratching his temple. "Off how? I don't think I follow."

"I know it's normal for babies to cry because it's their only form of communication but it wasn't this bad when we were still at her parents' house. I don't know what's going on but she has become increasingly fussy and it's a cause for concern."

"Don't you think it's too soon to start worrying? I don't think there's any reason for you to be so hard on yourself, maybe we should give her a few more days to get used to the new environment."

Kgomotso sighed and buried her pale face in her hands. Her negative energy wasn't helping, according to a parenting website she stumbled upon- babies could sense everything their parents were feeling and she was a hub of negativity, and couldn't stand to wake up and face another day.

"You're probably right but promise me we'll seek help if this continues after a few days."

"I promise." He sealed it with a kiss.

She was clearly bothered by this and he didn't want to dismiss her just because he thought it wasn't a big deal.

"I'll go run you a bath so you can answer that." He excused himself.

Kgomotso almost declined when she saw it was an unknown number, the last time she did Felicity happened and the image of her performing fellatio on Anesu was still present at the back of her mind even though he claimed it never happened.

"Hello?" She answered calmly.

"Hi, am I speaking to Kgomotso Modise?"

She didn't recognize the deep voice and her curiosity was piqued, thinking it was a potential client.

"Yes, you are."

"Miss Modise, you're speaking to Treasure Mosia from Jozi Scoop,"

Oh, great! It was a fucking journalist from Jozi Scoop nogal, they weren't known for reporting accurate stories so she had to keep this brief to avoid being misquoted.

"Where did you get my number?" She snapped.

"I can't say."

"Well, bye-bye and have a nice day minding other people's business."

"Whether I get your comment or not doesn't matter because I'm going to publish the story regardless." He drawled.

"What story are you talking about?"

"As if the fact that your sister received a state funeral wasn't controversial enough, allegations of misappropriation of state funds have come to our attention and people deserve to know what happened."

"Then you called the wrong person because I know nothing about that," Kgomotso countered.

"Oh, so you also know nothing about the event company owned by your brother-in-law's cousin, which was hired for your sister's funeral and her wedding in Cape Town? The same company which has been investigated in the past for overcharging the state for the funerals of well-known politicians. You were present for both events Miss Modise, so forgive me if I find it hard to believe that you know nothing about these allegations."

"Motho wa modimo, I've already told you that I don't know anything."

His chuckle was a display of sarcasm. "But we know that you chose a casket worth R95 000, and the programmes for the lavish memorial cost R40 000 they must have been printed in gold. I can go on for the whole day because I'm in possession of all the incriminating evidence, which you'll have the pleasure of reading tomorrow on our website."

What?! Kgomotso sprung on her feet and started pacing frantically because what did he mean R95 000! She should've suspected foul play when no-one in that opposed her choice like they did with everything else because it was a set up, and it made sense why Bab'Senzo didn't want Jerry to contribute a single cent. As an auditor she knew going R45 000 over wasn't a mistake that money was going to line their pockets.

"Opposition parties are calling for the Public Protector to investigate because this was a gross and flagrant misuse of public funds, do you have anything to add to that?"

This was bad, like seriously bad because her clients were prone to have trust issues if they believed she could be involved in embezzlement, the damage could be irreversible.

"No, I have nothing to add and please, don't call my number again." She hung up and threw her phone on the bed.

"Who was that?" His head was tilted and his hands were shoved in his pockets, clearly he was standing there long enough to hear the entire conversation.

"Treasure Mosia from Jozi Scoop, apparently Lwazi's family is a bunch of crooks who used Kamo's funeral to swindle the state out of money and now I might be implicated in their bullshit because I chose a casket they charged an extra R45 000 for."

"What?"

He mustn't play that game with her because she wasn't in the mood for his theatrics, there's no way he didn't know about their crooked ways. Birds of the same feather flock together after all.

"Did he say when he's publishing the article?"

"It will probably be a trending topic come lunchtime tomorrow and I doubt there's anything you can do about it." She brushed past him on her way to the bathroom.

He followed her and stood by the door, watching her get undressed. "I'm going out with Tinashe today and may come back late."

She got in the tub, holding onto the edge for balance so she didn't slip, getting out was going to be a struggle but she wasn't ready to convert to showering full time. "Okay."

She sank into the water and laid her head back, closing her eyes but his imposing presence was hard to ignore.

"What?" Kgomotso gasped when she opened her eyes and found him standing next to the tub, looking down at her with a salacious glint in his eyes.

"You look a bit tense, baby, and I can help with that." He got on his knees and started brushing her stomach, with their eyes still locked on each other.

"I'm, I'm fine, Anesu." Her voice was a wanton whisper as he moved his hand to her engorged breast, making his lustful intentions clear.

"I can stop if you want."

Kgomotso shook her head and he smiled kissing the stretch marks on her stomach. She didn't mind the weight gain because she was never supermodel thin but those stretch marks were the reason she couldn't look at her naked body in the mirror anymore.

"Not too hard, please, it's sensitive," she said, when he pressed his thumb against her nipple. Her heart was already dancing in excitement and her breathing got erratic, watching him caress her wet skin.

His hand was back on her stomach and skated further down to the apex of her thighs and he didn't seem to mind that she hadn't shaved for weeks, and she was too aroused to care. Before he could even ask her thighs were already open and ready to welcome him.

"Good girl." His finger was already probing between her folds and it took all her will power not to moan out in pleasure. His strokes were gradual and she impatiently opened her thighs wider, silently willing him to go faster and propel her to cloud nine.

"Do you like that?"

She nodded, her mouth dry as a desert to speak anything that would make sense. In a swift motion his finger was on her clit and his strokes increased, building a storm that was sure to blow her away with immense pleasure. She gripped the edge of the tub, digging her fingers into the hard surface unable to keep still because his finger did unholy things that left her soul restless.

He made her cum and she sighed with satisfaction as her body came down from that incredible high and her legs stopped shaking.

"Don't come back too late," she said, cupping his face to give him a kiss.

Kgomotso came downstairs with a pep in her step after checking on Khanya, ausi Daphne must be the Little Diva's whisperer because she handled her better than Kgomotso did, and the stress of Treasure's phone call was forgotten for a moment because she was hungry and the aroma of ausi Daphne's freshly baked scones was distracting.

"Good morning," Kgomotso greeted, already reaching into the cake tin but a slap on her wrist stopped her. "Bathong! I just wanted a taste."

"These are for the church ladies."

"Are you going to church?" Kgomotso asked.

"No, but I invited them over."

Oh, so that's why she was dressed like the preacher's wife.

"Over where? Here?" Kgomotso stopped her search in the fridge and looked at her.

"Yes, to come and offer their prayers, I can see you're struggling and I don't want you to feel like you're alone."

Yes, she was struggling and not suicidal, but saying that would probably earn her a back handed slap from ausi Daphne. She didn't believe in praying when it came to discipline.

Kgomotso frowned because she would've stayed in bed if she knew about this. "Does Anesu know you invited strangers to his house?"

Calling her fellow church ladies strangers offended ausi Daphne because she didn't raise Kgomotso to be so high and mighty.

"Since when are these women strangers because you grew up around them?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Kgomotso's words fell on deaf ears.

"Go back upstairs and change that tracksuit and also cover your head because they'll be here at any moment."