Our Parents Pain Came With Love

Chapter 36

-YANDISWA BESS
To say I was pissed would be an understatement! It pisses me off and breaks my heart that we can't help Mercy without putting my husband’s career on the line. My train of thoughts is disturbed when Yanga says he wants to go with Mercy, I chuckle in disbelief
“Excuse me! You’re a student getting the best education money can buy in one of the best universities in the world! You are not going anywhere until you finish your course”
I say, I think my kids sometimes tend to forget that we are their parents else they wouldn’t behave the way they do. They getting really comfortable now.
“Mom please, Mercy needs me”
He says and I laugh, you the hysterical laugh you do when you already pissed off and someone just pisses you off even more? That’s me right now. Derrick touches my shoulder
“Nyecy needs me”
I mock
“Yanga Bess don’t fucking test me, not now. Mercy is moving to South Africa until she is safe to come back this side. You going there will only draw unnecessary attention to her! This is not up for discussion!”
I say and then get up and head to the bedroom to pack my things, I am even fed up being in this place and just want to go home and cuddle with my husband. Speaking of husband he walks in and sits on the edge next to my suitcase
“Sthandwa sam”
He says looking up at me, I don’t respond and go to the cupboard to fetch the rest of my clothes and put them in the suitcase, he pulls my hands and makes me stand in front of him between his legs
“Melo”
“Mafaku”
We speak at the same time, I let out a sigh
“We going to get through this”
He says and I look up and let out a deep breath with my eyes closed trying to hold back tears, my anger is the kind that makes me cry. I blink a couple of times and then look back at him
“I was thinking”
He starts off, I look at him with fear of what he’s about to say. The look on his face alone tells me that he has a crazy idea that I will not like
“Look, we have worked so hard to maintain the family’s name, my father and grandfather’s legacy for it to be ruined by something I did in the past”
He continues and I’m about to speak when he shakes his head
“Let me finish”
He says and I keep quiet, his hands are wrapped around my waist
“We going to help Mercy at all costs, I will work on the case with Kyle day and night helping him gather enough information and I’m pretty certain Michael and Scott will help me out where I need help”
He says and then he sighs
“for Kate to not have any leverage over me I was thinking that I step down from all my positions-”
I try to remove his arms around me
“Melokuhle let go of me”
I say sternly
“Mafaku listen”
I shake my head no
“NO! NO Melokuhle! You not doing that!”
I argue and he sighs
“Mafaku please at least let me finish”
He pleads
“Remove your hands around me Melokuhle Derrick Bess”
I say, voice firm and stern enough but he doesn’t budge, I cannot believe that of all things this is his solution.
“Yaya I’m going to step down and have Michael handle everything just until everything blows over. Scott is there to help him out. Me stepping down from anything that has to do with Bess is so that Kate and her husband have nothing to hang over our heads. I’m doing this for you and the kids, if the rape comes up the everything is going to blow up in everyone’s face. We’ve come too far Sthandwa sam, this is not for you and I but for our kids. They don’t need the drama and the press harassing them, you don’t need the press on your back over this”
he says and I can't help the tears that roll down my cheeks, I shake my head no
“There has to be another way”
He shakes his head no
“I’m sorry Sthandwa sam but there is no other way.”
He says and pulls me to sit on his lap, I bury my face at the crook of his neck
“It's not a permanent solution, it's just until everything blows over ok? This is for the safety of the kids and you”
He says, this whole thing is a mess. My husband and I have worked so hard, I had to take a business course so that we could get to where we are today and to know that we could lose all of those years worth of work over a day or two breaks my heart, the thought of my husband’s name being dragged in public over an incident that happened 21 years ago, something I myself had even forgotten it had happened. It's a lot for me. Rape is a sensitive issue, we all deal with it differently, some forgive their rapists and some don’t. I don’t condone what my husband did to me all those years ago because there is no excuse to rape and honestly I don’t advise people to stay with their abusers but we are all different and we handle things differently, I didn’t forgive Melo because he was my husband, I didn’t forgive him because we were going to have a child together, I forgave him because whenever I looked at him, whenever I looked into his eyes I saw the man that loved me, I saw the man that worshipped the ground I walk on, I saw the man that went down on one knee on my graduation day and asked me to marry him again, I forgave him because despite the fact that he raped me I didn’t see him as a rapist but as the man I loved and will continue to love him regardless!
“We going to get through this”
.
.
To Be Continued