Unhinged Love

CHAPTER 67

MELISIZWE MNGUNI

Being near my woman is the best. We have spent a lot of time together for the past week and that quality time has made my love for her grow even more. Although she does go to work every morning, she always makes sure to come back in the early afternoon and just chill with me. I have also been working remotely, so I haven’t been sitting around like a submissive boyfriend. Boyfriend. I hate that word. I just want to be her husband as soon as possible. But after that talk about her family, I understand that the marriage topic is not one I can just throw around casually. I want her to be my wife but I am willing to be patient and take it easy with her.

When she came back from her investors’ meeting, we went to this place in Empangeni called Iziko Lounge and she told me all about how the meeting went. Honestly, I wish I had been there because I would have punched Mathabela’s teeth out for coming at my woman like that. I was happy that she was no longer going to feel indebted to him but turns out you can never get rid of the devil fully. He wrote an email to Hle the following day, apologizing for his behaviour and said that he still wanted to continue investing in her. To make matters worse, he invested a further R2 million rands in the business. I know I can’t intervene in Hle’s business but I just want to handle that motherfucker and make sure he stays out of my woman’s face or business.

Today is not about Hle though. Well, it is because I am spending the day with her brother but she is not going to be part of our outing. I know he doesn’t like me that much and I am not going to buy his love, but when Hle said that he is day off today, I saw than as an opportunity to get to know him better and maybe show him a side of me that he might like or appreciate. He is Hle’s only living family member that matters in her life and I would us to be cordial with each other.

I drive to the Richards Bay Country Club which is located in Meerensee and I wait for maybe 10 minutes until he pulls up. Not that I was counting because I was talking to his sister about the possibility of him not showing up. I am not his biggest fan, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t shown up. He is dressed for the part, that’s for sure. I climb off my car and head over to him. I greet him and shake his hand.

“I am so glad that you could join me, Ndiyema.” I start off and he nods.
“I think Magcina would have cried if I declined your invite. She and my girlfriend said they would ignore me for a week if I hadn’t come. So, emotional blackmail.” He responds and I chuckle.
“Man, we do anything to please the women in our lives.”
He chuckles. “Those little bullies.” We both laugh. And I am glad for that because that means we are off to a great start.

I take my golfing gear and we head inside. I don’t mind sharing with him since he doesn’t have his own gear. We are greeted by a hostess who shows us to a golfing cart. We climb in and drive to the course. I have been here before a couple of times but I don’t have the membership. I don’t see the reason for having it because I am not a regular in Richards Bay. The reason why I used to come here was bonding with my son which I don’t think I will do anytime soon.

We get to our spot and I place my golfing bag in front of us. An instructor comes to us but I tell him we are good. Golfing is a really calming activity. It’s not about knowing that most of the people here are to your level financially or even on an upper level. It’s the peace and tranquillity and being one with nature. And also, not having to dodge ladies who throw themselves at you because you look like someone who has money or who knows their story.

“So have you ever played golf before?” I ask Mndeni as I put on my gloves and pass him an extra pair.
He nods. “Our sperm donor was a very prominent man, so being part of activities that guaranteed you meeting people in your circle was his favourite hobby. Even Magcina knows how to play golf. That’s how she miraculously caught eyes of eager suitors.” He responds and I don’t say anything. Mainly because I realise that Hle’s father was flaunting his daughter to suitors in golf games. The more I hear about him, the more I realise that the man was actually sick in the head and needs some psychic evaluation.

We get on with our game and Mndeni misses a few times before he finally gets the hang of things and starts playing like a pro. We keep our conversation light and just talk about work and cars. It’s no surprise that he wants to get his own place and car as soon as possible. We decide to take a break and head on to the bar for some drinks and food.

“I have savings now and in as much as I wanna get a place of my own and a car, I can’t do that. I was literally a ghost who just resurfaced from nowhere and I have no track record. So, if I want to purchase any of these things, I need to buy them cash. I don’t have that type of money right now, so the best thing is to wait. Also, I want to do something really nice and big for my sister. She literally rescued me from the life I was living and treated me with the same respect and kindness and love she showed me years ago. She deserves every good thing life has to offer. That’s why I don’t trust any man with her. Even if God were to send an angel to date her, I would be very suspicious of that feathery thing.”

I chuckle. “I understand where you are coming from. I also have a sister, a twin actually. And it was not easy trusting or even welcoming her husband. What was worse is that she relocated to overseas after she got married. Now, I couldn’t keep an eye on that bastard that married her. But time and time again, he proved why he was the best candidate for my sister. I am not saying I am the best candidate for Hlengiwe but I am willing to prove myself to you. I am not going to bribe you or buy your love, but I am just willing to show you that I am here and that I care.”

He looks at me for a minute without uttering anything. A whole minute. Then he shakes his head. “She did tell me that she told you about our past and I commend her for being vulnerable like that and trusting you. I don’t know how she was back when she dated your son but he broke her trust, so I guess the relationship was not all roses and sunshine. Which is why I am finding it a bit hard to understand his reason for his anger. Yes, the ego was damaged but trust was broken and she was never going back to that. And I was this close to attacking him because I thought he was the one who spilled the news to social media. But I guess you did instil some values in there because he saved the day.” I nod. I am not going to interrupt him in anyway. I am just going to let him speak because I am at his mercy.

“My sister is the only family I have and seeing her cry makes me want to gut everyone who hurt her. When she trended last week, I wished I could just delete social media totally because their words impacted her. Even now, she still reads the comments and gets sad about them. People are mean out there and I hate that the reason for that is because of you. You are at the centre of everything but somehow you are called ‘dreamy’ and the ladies are filling your inbox and comment section with compliments. I hate how women always get dealt with the bad hand.

“You are not going to reprimand every woman out there, but do something to take the heat off her. Be the man that she thinks you are. Write a post declaring her love if you have to. Just show all those ladies out there that she isn’t just another girl in your life but she is the centre of your universe. If she is not the centre of your universe, you better let her go now before she gets hurt even more than she has.”

Somehow I thought he was going to threaten me to stay away from his sister or treat her right, but I was not expecting this. I am not someone who likes sweeping things under the carpet and I wished the whole trending thing was behind us but I guess it is not since comments still hurt Hle. My heart bleeds for her. I don’t want my woman to be unhappy at any point in life. I need to take Mndeni’s advice and I need to make it up to her. Sooner than later.