Ziphozethu

49

I put on a random summer dress for our hair and nail appointments. We had breakfast. Everyone seemed happy and they were talking business. I obviously had nothing to add to it so I just sat there eating my fruit.

Our hair and nails took forever. Nozipho told me about her jewelry business and how she's one of the few people in south Africa who processes raw materials and makes products locally. I actually found her work very interesting. I finally looked like a human again. My wavy weave was just past my shoulder and the stylist did an amazing job of installing it.

Moses gave me the cold shoulder for weeks. He kept to the sleeping schedule but when he slept in my room that's all he did. I kept myself busy with Buhle and driving lessons. I was getting better and better but I was too scared to take the test.

Nozipho and I got closer. I could even say we were becoming friends and even though my husband was still completely ignoring my existence, I didn't feel as lonely as before.

"MaZulu, can I come in?" Nozipho knocked at my bedroom door. I was in the mirror getting ready for bed. "Yes, come in." She took a seat on my couch. "So, I need a favour." She said awkwardly. "Ever since your wedding Moses and I have been dealing with a few internet trolls. We thought they would go away but it's only getting worse.
It started with a few of your fans asking where you are, why you never appear in pictures, and why you don't have any social media presence. It's gotten way worse and it's even trending now. 'Free Zethu' has been a trending hashtag for the last two weeks. It's gotten so bad I had to put my phone off."

What? Why didn't they tell me? All of this could've been avoided. "Um, okay. I don't know what to say. What can I do?" All of this was so unessasary. "Maybe, we could go out. We'll make it look incognito but get someone to leak our location. I could even do a couple of posts with you. If you're up for it." I nodded. "That's fine. We could do that."

She planned it and we decided on brunch. I wore a white off the shoulder high low A-line dress and some heels. I kept my hair loose and Nozipho helped me with my makeup. I looked amazing. Nozipho wore a  form fitting nude dress and heels and when her makeup was done we were off to brunch.

Earlier in the week Nozipho went live. While she was on live I asked softly if we were still on for brunch Friday and that's how the news leaked. We would let someone leak the location when we got there. The social media world was already buzzing with the news.

We actually had a good time. We were eating and drinking but most importantly we were laughing. Our conversation was mostly about the kids but it felt good to just laugh with someone.

"Don't look around but we have our first few photographers outside." I was tempted to look so bad but I didn't. "So, what's your deal. Why don't you have social media? It doesn't make sense." I just shrugged. "I don't know. I just never had it in the past so I didn't see the point of having it now." She nodded. "Maybe I'll start using it. Will you help me if I decide?" She excitedly agreed.

The crowd outside grew quickly. It wasn't just photographers. It was fans too. Fans that I didn't even know I had. They started singing while waiting for us to come out. Both Nozipho and I were shocked. She had to call for extra security. When they arrived they split the crowd so we could walk.

People started screaming when we walked out. I held onto Nozipho's arm because I had no idea what to do. The crowd pushed through the security team but they were quick to respond and made a tight circle around Nozipho and I. It took forever to get to the car but we finally made it.

"Oh my gosh! That was a lot of people. I thought it only happened in movies." The car moved slowly and luckily the windows were tinted. "No, there's not usually that much people following me. That was all for you. People haven't seen you since your father announced you to the world. I know in this day and age our royal families aren't really of use but you're literally the only princess. For the last few decades only men were born to the Zulu royals so you're kind of a big deal. You don't know this?What were you doing all that time at your father's house?"

"My dad was mostly making me feel like shit for falling pregnant. That's about it. I didn't know it was a big deal. All I know was he was trying to one-up his brother. Apparently his brother got extremely mad after that whole thing and that made him extremely happy." She looked at me skeptically and asked. "Are we cursed? No, really. Are we cursed? We are. We're definitely cursed." What was she talking about? "We come from shitty families and we married into a shitty family. It has to be a curse."
"Well, we're here now I guess." I added and we both let out a sigh.

We reached home and Moses was there. "My beautiful wives! Ever since your appearance my company stocks have been rising. The shareholders are happy. The board is extremely happy and I can't thank you enough. How about a dinner for the three of us by the beach?" Really? This is what he wanted? For us to be a PR stunt. "I'm quite tired and on top of that I have work to catch up on. Can I get a raincheck? You and MaZulu can go." I knew what she was doing and I glared at her. She just smiled and walked away.

"See you tonight I guess." I just nodded and he walked away. The fact that he said "I guess" just rubbed me the wrong way. As if he was disappointed. If he didn't want me anymore he should just say so. He probably didn't want the scandal of divorce but at this point I would even be okay with living separately. It's normal for polygamous marriages. I just can't understand why he still wants me here if he hates me so much.