The Perfect Man

Four

"I suppose you can now all tell that Clarissa and I know each other. We met 25 years ago when I was on a business trip," he spoke and then he paused for a while before he said, "we had an affair."

The words were meaningless to me until I saw my mother's facial expression change from being blank to being extremely pissed off.

"I honestly did not know that she was pregnant," he turned to me, "I'm sorry sweetheart."

I felt nothing. I'm not sure how you're supposed to react when your cheating father announces that the man that you've fallen head over heels for is actually your half-brother. Everything around me went still, there was no movement, no sound except for this loud ringing in my ear. My chest began to ache, literally ache, I felt it as it began to contract and I couldn't breathe. It felt as though my heart was beating in my head. This could not be happening.

I dropped to the floor and I let out this loud wail. This could not be happening, I love this man and I'm supposed to walk down the aisle and officially make myself his wife. How could my father do this to me? My sisters both dropped to the floor and they both took me in their arms for a warm embrace.

"Get. Out. Of. My. House." My mother was beyond fuming. If black people could change colour, she would be as red as a tomato.

"Mrs. Zulu, I had no idea that Siya was married-"

The next thing I heard was my mother throwing the glass of water which Clarissa had been drinking.Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

I cried myself to sleep that night. Not that I slept much. It took me three days before I could say a single word to my father. I spent those three days in my room, crying. My mother and sisters had to force me to eat and afterward I would drink mybulen and go to bed.

What would you do if you found out that you were about to marry your half-brother?