A WEB OF DECEIT

chapter 15

Thelani
---

I pulled away, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"Lucas, I... uhm..."

"It's okay, babe. I know it was unexpected. I just... I'm sorry."

"Oh no, it's okay... uhm, let me get dressed and dish up. I cooked."

"Yeah, it smells nice... I'll wait in the kitchen."

As I got dressed, my mind kept drifting back to that kiss. It felt... nice, a surprise considering how nervous I was.

In the kitchen, I found him deep in thought, staring at nothing in particular.

"Are you okay?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh yes, sorry, my love. Just family problems."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, my love. This looks lovely; it smells divine. I brought wine; could you pour me some?"

As we ate, our conversation meandered through light topics, yet he seemed distracted, his eyes often drifting away. He gulped the wine with an urgency that hinted at something unsaid. I took a sip myself, the wine loosening my tongue.

I ended up telling him about my bursary and how stressed I was about tuition.

"I'll sort that out for you, baby. It's nothing. Give me a few days."

"Really?" Excitement bubbled up inside me, and I leapt into his arms for a hug.

His eyes met mine, holding a warmth that made my heart flutter. Why did it feel like I was falling for this man?

We kissed again, and he carried me to the bedroom. Mr. Mkhize, Lucas, was undeniably handsome-a tall, dark man who looked to be in his 30s but was approaching 50. Wealth seemed to preserve him.

As he laid me on the bed, my heart pounded, and a strange tingling sensation coursed through me. This feeling was foreign, yet undeniably real.

---

Nkosikhona

After Sipho left, my emotions were all over the place. Anger bubbled inside me, threatening to spill over. How could everyone just assume I was responsible for Ayanda's death? It could have been anyone. I replayed the events over and over in my mind, trying to piece together what could have happened that night, but every attempt left me more frustrated. I was trapped in a maze of unanswered questions.

I was so consumed by my thoughts that I could barely think straight. The anger was like a storm, raging within me, each wave crashing harder than the last. I needed answers, and there was only one person who could help- the private investigator who had been following Ayanda. If anyone knew what really happened that night, it had to be him.

Without wasting any time, I called him and asked him to meet me. When he arrived, the tension in the room was palpable. My heart raced as I waited for him to speak, hoping he had some piece of the puzzle that I was missing.

"The last thing I remember," he began, his voice low and cautious, "is seeing Ayanda's mom go up to her apartment. A few minutes later, she left."

My mind froze. "Her mom? No way, are you sure?" I asked, my voice trembling with disbelief.

"Yeah, but I don't think she did it. Why would she kill her own daughter?"

His words hung in the air, and a chill ran down my spine. The idea of Ayanda's mother being involved in her death seemed too horrific to even consider. But if it wasn't her, then who? My mind raced with possibilities, but none of them made any sense.

"Yeah, man, but I left at night and went home, so I wouldn't know if someone else went up there after I left," I replied, my thoughts spiraling.

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. Ayanda's mom didn't seem like the type to do something so terrible. But if she didn't do it, then who did? Nothing about this situation made sense, and the uncertainty gnawed at me, filling me with a sense of dread.

Just as I was trying to wrap my head around this new revelation, the investigator dropped another bombshell. "Your parents paid out a lump sum of 10 million to the Mthembus."

"What?!" The word exploded out of me. My shock was instantaneous, and I could feel the blood draining from my face. My parents? Ten million? Why would they pay the Mthembus that kind of money? What were they hiding?

The room felt like it was closing in on me. I was suffocating under the weight of this new information. The Mthembus family definitely knew something-something they weren't telling. And now, I needed to get out of here and find out what it was.

My mind was a chaotic mess of emotions-anger, confusion, fear. Nothing made sense anymore. I felt like I was drowning, sinking deeper into a dark, bottomless pit. The truth was out there, but it was just out of my reach, and it was driving me insane.

---