FORCED TO MARRY AND I CHOSE YOU

56

"His pulse was faint,I couldn't take him to any hospital around here in case Zero found him. So I called in a favour from one of my trusted allies. They took him to Botswana to recover where he was under the care of some of the world's best doctors." Akani continues to speak. "Okay the body that you saw in the morgue?" Now I'm asking my father in-law. Angithi kubonwe isidumbu sika "Hlanganani". He looks at Akani instead with sharp eyes. "Aheem" that's Akani clearing his throat so I turn to look at him.

"I called in another favour at the mortuary,we got a body..." I don't let him finish "and coincidentally this body looked exactly like Hlanganani's?" I ask him. "No,we made it look like him and this person was badly injured,a normal person wouldn't take much time observing it to see if its really Hlanganani...its just too traumatic." He says. Wow!! What world am I living in where my family in-law plays with dead bodies!? "Okay so we buried this stranger who was badly injured, emsaveni ya ka Baloyi,hi lahle munhu loyi hi nga n'wi tiveki(on the Baloyi soil we buried a stranger)?" I'm in disbelief RN.

"I'm not that stupid,no,the coffin was empty." He defends. "Okay now how come the coffin was heavy?" I shoot out the question. I didn't carry the coffin but I know that it was heavy because 6 men had to carry it. "That's not important" he says dismissively. I'm shocked by his answer. Ohh so thats how it is,sharp then. "Kahle kahle what you are really saying here is that you watched us cry, you watched us waste our tears over someone who was alive and well?" I'm trying not to yell. "Bhuti Akani you cried with us,were those crocodile tears?"

I can't believe this man's level of acting. "He was in a coma,I myself wasn't sure if he was going to make it. Nomzamo the doctors wanted to switch off the machines. Do you know how stressful and heart breaking that was for me!? For 3 weeks straight I didn't receive a positive report,he wasn't responding to any treatment. Nomzamo,my brother stayed in a fucken coma for a month and 16 days!" He raises his voice,heee banna. I have my own problems as well so he mustn't dare raise his voice at me. "Still doesn't justify why you didn't tell us." I argue with my arms folded over my chest while letting out a huff.

"Would you rather be the one to take his place?" He asks in a dangerous tone. "Wh-what?" I'm even stuttering. "Do you think that if Zero got news of Hlanganani being possibly alive,he would have just sat back and did nothing?" Now this shuts me up,I have no answer for him. "Do you think that if he learned that he missed,he wouldn't do anything to correct his mistake. He wasn't going to find Hlanganani that I made sure of. But what about you?" I hate how reprimanding and cheeky his tone sounds. I also hate that he is asking relevant questions,which in turn makes a bit of sense. It makes me want to understand why he did what he did but I don't want to!!

"If he got you,he wasn't going to repeat the same mistake twice. Nhlawuleko he was going to make sure that he kills you." He finishes off,the room is dead quiet. They all seem to be deep in thoughts including yena uHlanganani. I guess that there's no hiding that Hlanganani's "death" wasn't an accident but an assassination,a murder in fact...a cold blooded one. "But why me,why would he come after me? I did nothing to the guy...I don't even know him." I clear myself in front of my elders so that they know that I don't do shady things. I'm innocent in all of this,in fact I'm the victim.

"Aren't you Hlanganani's wife,didn't he break whatever stupid pact he made to Zero to save his life by marrying you?" That's Tiyani and Akani seems to be agreeing with his question. Ohh fuck me!! All of this for marrying him!? "But that..." I try to speak. "My plan saved your life,be grateful for that" that's Akani rudely shutting me up. "Whoa, watch it now." That's Hlanganani in a warning tone to his brother. "It saved yours too." He deadpans. Hlanganani rolls his eyes at that. "So I almost fell into depression all for what?" Now I seriously ask these two.

"But I was here to make sure that you don't,we were all there." Akani surprises me when he speaks in a soft and gently voice. "Yeah and you also watched me for months going to his grave every week to pour my heart out to an empty grave." I accuse in a sassy tone. "We all had to stay in character." He nonchalantly says. The hell,I was thrown into an action and mystery movie without my damn consent. "What's that supposed to mean!?" I fire out the question. "If you knew that I was alive,would you stayed away. Where you going to be okay with not speaking to me or seeing me for a couple of months. Were you going to act like a widow and ace it?" Now that's the man who just woke up from the dead.