A WEB OF DECEIT ✔️

chapter 53

Thelani

Today, Nkosikhona insisted I dress up for a special outing. His usual charming self, he was full of mystery and excitement, and the thought of a break from the relentless grind of work felt like a gift. I chose my favorite brown body-hugging dress, paired it with sandals, perfect for the sweltering heat, and tried not to let my mind run wild with possibilities.

"I'm ready, babe!" I called out, my heart racing with anticipation.

"Finally!" His voice had a playful edge, but there was something else there—something heavier.

I laughed as I made my way to him. "I didn’t take that long. Don't be so dramatic."

"You’ve been busy for two hours. If that’s not long, then I don’t know what is," he teased, but there was an underlying tension in his smile. He took my hand, guiding me out to the car. His grip was firm, almost too firm. My skin tingled from his touch, but an uneasy feeling settled in my chest.

The drive to Sandton was filled with a silence I couldn't quite place. The radio played softly in the background, but Nkosikhona's usual lighthearted chatter was absent. As we pulled up to a swanky hotel, I felt a strange unease creep over me.

"Oh, this place is really nice. Are we doing something special?" I asked, trying to shake off the tension. "Is it just lunch? We could’ve gone to that restaurant I like near home."

"Relax, babe. It’s a surprise," he replied, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face. His voice, though warm, carried a weight I couldn’t ignore.

I smiled, trying to match his energy. "You know I love surprises."

But the moment we stepped into the hotel lobby, I knew something was off. Instead of leading me to a restaurant or a fancy rooftop for lunch, Nkosikhona guided me toward a private room at the end of the hall. The plush carpeting swallowed the sound of our footsteps, the hallway eerily quiet.

"Hau, babe! You want to have hotel sex? Seriously?" I laughed, my nervousness creeping into my voice. "What are we doing here?"

He stopped suddenly, turning to face me. His eyes were searching mine, as if gauging my reaction to something I didn’t yet understand. "No, Tee. Just... wait here. I’ll be right back."

Before I could protest, he disappeared down the hall. My stomach twisted in knots as I stood alone, the luxurious surroundings now suffocating. What was he doing? What was he hiding?

Minutes passed like hours. The excitement that had bubbled inside me earlier was now replaced with a gnawing sense of dread. When Nkosikhona finally returned, his expression was unreadable, his movements deliberate.

"Follow me," he said softly, almost cautiously.

"Nkosikhona, what’s going on?" I asked, my voice tinged with unease.

He didn’t answer. He just led me down the hall, opening the door to a private suite. And that’s when I saw them—three figures sitting in the plush chairs, their eyes trained on me as if they had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

My breath caught in my throat. I felt the ground shift beneath my feet. "Who... who are these people?" My voice trembled.

Nkosikhona swallowed, his gaze darting between me and the woman in the middle. "Babe, this is... uh, Sizakele. Your mother."

The world stopped.

My mother.

The woman who had abandoned me at the orphanage. The woman who had rejected me, who had erased me from her life as if I was nothing. And now she was sitting there, in front of me, as though she had the right to exist in my world.