A WEB OF DECEIT

chapter 58

Nkosikhona

I had just finished getting dressed and was preparing to take Thelani to one of my fully furnished apartments. After everything that had happened with Sizakele and her kids, I couldn’t let her stay in that house another night. I needed her safe, and I needed us to be somewhere secure.

As I stood in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water, I heard footsteps approaching behind me. I turned around to see my father, walking toward me with that stern, no-nonsense look on his face. He didn’t waste time with pleasantries.

“Nkosikhona,” he said, his tone serious. “We need to talk.”

I raised an eyebrow, not in the mood for whatever conversation he was about to start. There was too much on my mind, and I wasn’t interested in hearing another lecture about my life choices.

“What’s it about, Dad?” I asked, leaning against the counter.

He stepped closer, his voice low but urgent. “We need to find Mthembu. He needs to—”

Before he could finish, Thelani rushed down the stairs, her bag in hand. “Babe, I’m ready. We can leave now,” she said, sounding eager to get out of here.

As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she froze, her eyes locking onto my father. It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room.

My father stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at her, his expression unreadable at first, but then something shifted. There was tension, a strange energy that I couldn’t quite place. Thelani didn’t blink, her face pale, like she had just seen a ghost. She gripped the banister as if to steady herself.

I felt the confusion rising inside me. What was going on? Why were they staring at each other like that?

“Dad, this is my fiancée, Thelani,” I said, trying to break the awkward silence. “And babe, this is my father, Lucas Mkhize.”

Thelani swallowed hard and managed to force a polite smile, though I could see the unease in her eyes. “Nice… nice to meet you, Mr. Mkhize,” she said, her voice shaking slightly.

My father’s face twisted, and I could see the anger simmering beneath the surface. He glanced at Thelani, then back at me, his jaw clenched tightly. “Nkosikhona,” he said in a voice colder than I’d ever heard, “you will not marry this girl. You deserve way better than this.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I blinked, trying to process what he had just said. He was dismissing Thelani without even knowing her, without giving her a chance. My heart pounded with a mix of anger and confusion. Why was he reacting like this? What could possibly make him so hostile toward her?

“Dad, you cannot tell me who to marry and who not to marry,” I shot back, my voice rising. “I love Thelani, and I *will* marry her, whether you approve or not.”

He stared at me for a long moment, his eyes narrowing as if he were making some internal decision. Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

I stood there for a moment, my body tense with anger. “Well, whatever…” I muttered, trying to shake off the frustration.

But when I turned back to Thelani, I noticed something was off. She was standing there, staring after my father, her face drained of color, her body trembling slightly. She looked… different. Not just stressed or upset, but pale, like she had seen something that rattled her to her core. I walked over to her, gently touching her arm.

“Babe… are you okay?” I asked softly.

She blinked, snapping out of whatever daze she had been in. “Yeah,” she said, but her voice didn’t sound convincing. “It’s just… it’s been a long day.”