Under Control.

20. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨?

"I hope you stayed away from that man." Her mother muttered over the phone.

"I did." Karishma replied lowly.

"I was very disappointed to see the little girl that I had raised to be a well mannered woman was acting in such a ungodly manner. You should be grateful, I never told your father. He would have been very upset and you don't want to be the one to raise his high blood pressure."

"I'm sorry—" she said for the hundredth time. For something that had occurred months ago, her mother was always reminding her. The most vile thing Rachel had ever done to Karishma was this. Karishma had hated the woman for so long after that but now, she did not have any reason to. It was her husband, she had every right to... not every right but Rachel seemed to do what was best for her family. Karishma had been prideful and blind at the time. The back and forth she had with Rachel pushed her to be so cold blooded and unkind.

Heartless as to search for Karishma's family on her Facebook friends list. Looking through for anyone with the Naidoo lastname. Heartless as to forward every image, every sext, Karishma ever sent Hunter to Karishma's mother. Luckily it was only Karishma's mother and no one else. Her mother was appalled, seeing her daughter take vulgar and loathe-some images of herself nude. Rachel stated that Hunter was a married man; her husband to be precise but she never mentioned he was a professor, not wanting to affect Hunter's job in any way Incase Karishma's mother decided to write an email to the dean of Hofstra University. Rachel pleaded with Karishma's mother to tell her daughter to stay away from her husband. She had even gone as far as showing her banking transactions that showed every item, restaurant bill, hotel bill, paypal— Hunter spent on Karishma. It was then that she finally believed it. Karishma's mother had found it hard to believe, her daughter had always been the purest there is. She was never a troublesome child, hardly. She only ever brought good news.

"I know things were tough at the beginning before you got your scholarship. We were trying our best to keep up with all your needs but... to sell your body Karishma, to sell your body. Never in my—"

"It wasn't that way—" her mother immediately cut her off.

"So what did you call that? He was your blesser! Buying you fancy flashy things..."

- {Blesser is South African slang term for a rich man who offers support (typically financial and material) to a younger female companion in exchange for sex, friendship, etc.}

"I never!"

"How else were you paying for everything? You assumed he was buying you all these gifts because he liked you because he is a Good Samaritan who expected nothing in return? Because God sent him as a messenger to help you. You thought you were paying him back with smiles? I thought you were smarter than this. A married man, vouching for a student and paying for her needs..."

It hurt to hear. Karishma blinked a few tears away. Her mother could be harsh sometimes but she knew it was all coming from a good place. A place of concern. "I'm almost done with my internship, I will have time to get a job before my visa expires then I can pay him back."

"Good! Did you give him back everything else of his?"

"Yes, ma."

"I sent the bank statement his wife sent me. I hope you calculate thoroughly and give him his money."

"...yes..."

"I will send you a bit to help you with the costs around month end." Her mother said in a much softer tone. "You can not owe him anything. This is how these men take advantage. We need to return everything of his. Do you hear me? Are you listening?"