SHATTERED DREAMS

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

I couldn’t shake the image of that little boy from my mind. His face, his mannerisms, everything about him felt like looking into a mirror of my past. But what haunted me even more was the woman—his mother. I didn’t recognize her at all. We had never met, of that I was certain. So how could this boy look so much like me?

I sat at my desk in the study, the quiet hum of the house around me doing nothing to calm the storm brewing in my mind. My phone lay in front of me, and my fingers hovered over the contact for my private investigator. I knew this had to be looked into. There was no way that boy was mine, but I needed answers. I needed to be sure.

With a deep breath, I pressed the call button. The phone rang once, twice, before a familiar voice answered. “Mr. Khumalo?”

“I need you to look into something for me,” I said, keeping my voice low. “There’s a woman… she has a child who looks like me. I don’t know who she is, but I need you to find out everything you can about her.”

There was a brief pause on the other end before the investigator responded. “Understood, sir. I’ll get on it right away.”

“Good,” I muttered, hanging up the phone and running a hand over my face. The weight of the situation was pressing down on me, heavier with each passing minute.

As I sat there, lost in thought, I heard a soft knock on the door. Before I could respond, the door creaked open, and Hlelo stepped in, carrying a tray of food. She smiled at me, her eyes full of warmth and concern. “Mbulazi, I brought you something to eat,” she said, placing the tray on the desk.

I tried to muster a smile, but I knew she could see through it. She always could. “Njabulo yami, you didn’t have to,” I murmured, reaching out to take her hand.

She sat on the edge of the desk, her eyes searching mine. “BabakaPhiwo, what’s wrong? You’ve been distant since we left the clinic. Is it about that little boy?”

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “Mkami, it’s… I don’t know. I can’t get him out of my head. He looked so much like me, and I don’t recognize his mother. I’ve never seen her before in my life.”

Hlelo frowned, her brow furrowing with concern. “You’re sure, Mnyeni wami? Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Children can resemble people they aren’t related to sometimes.”

“I thought of that,” I admitted. “But something about it didn’t sit right with me. I’ve seen people try to claim things about me, trying to drag my name into all kinds of messes. But this… this felt different. I’ve asked my PI to look into it.”

Hlelo’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t say anything at first. Instead, she reached out and cupped my face in her hands. “Mbulazi, you’re a good man. I know you wouldn’t have done anything to bring this kind of trouble into our lives. But whatever happens, we’ll face it together, BabakaPhiwo.”

Her words were a balm to the anxiety that had been gnawing at me. I pulled her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her as I buried my face in her neck. “Sthedwa sami, I just want to protect you and Phiwokuhle. That’s all that matters to me.”

“And we’ll be fine,” she whispered, her hand stroking the back of my head. “We’ll get through this, whatever it is.”

I held her close, her warmth and presence grounding me in the moment. No matter what the investigator found, I knew that with Hlelo by my side, we could face anything. But still, the unease lingered. Until I had answers, I wouldn’t be able to rest easy.

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I am sorry for the short chapters bahlali 😥.
But the question is are you guys enjoying the novel?