Unhinged Love

CHAPTER 13

MBULELO MZIMELA

I drag Nomfundo until we are away from prying eyes. I don’t know how she found me. But I shouldn’t be surprised. She works here in Richards Bay and she knows my car. What happened between us was casual and I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings, but I was not invested in the relationship as much as she was. I guess I was wrong because it’s mostly guys’ faults if we ghost the other gender.

“Nomfundo, how could you do that? Do you even know the person you just hit?”
“Yes. She is a bitch that has taken my man from me.” She answers spitefully and tries to get away from my hold. I am not an abusive person, so I let her go and she folds her arms to her chest.
“I am not yours kodwa, Mfundo. I have never been yours. Not even once. What we had was fun and it ended there. Did I ask you to be my woman? Did I promise you anything? A relationship? A marriage? Nothing. Then why are you behaving like this? We were in a situationship that included only sex if I remember correctly. So stop behaving like this. I want you to go back there and apologize to that kind woman. She didn’t do anything to deserve that treatment.”

Her eye pop out and her lower lip trembles before she screams like a man woman. This girl is insane. I place my hand in her mouth to quieten her and she bites me. “How could you do this to me, Mzimela? How can you do this to the mother of your child?” mother of what?
I chuckle. “You are a beautiful girl, Nomfundo. So delusion does not suit you. I have no child. So don’t talk shit to me.”

She huffs and pulls out papers from her bag. She shoves them in my face. “What’s that, huh? And before you say anything, unlike you, I was committed to our relationship. Not this situationship you’re telling me about. You slept with me, Mbulelo, without any condom. You took me out on dates. You spoiled me. You even gave me money. That’s no entanglement. That’s a relationship. You are so educated but you can’t seem to know a simple difference between the two.”

I unfold the papers and I am shocked to discover that the first one is for a check up she did to confirm the pregnancy and the second one is for a scan. It shows that she is 3 months pregnant. I don’t wanna insult her or deny the child if it happens that it’s mine. But how does one handle a situation like this?

“IF the child is really mine, what took you so long to tell me?”
She chuckles angrily. “As if you don’t remember blocking me like I am a psycho ex girlfriend. I came here outside because one of my friends said they saw your car. I found out about a month ago, but you are a very difficult man to track. So what do you wanna say? Deny the pregnancy and continue blocking me?”

I sigh. “I need time to think about this. I will contact you.” I leave her standing there and head back to my car. But my car is gone. And so is Hlengiwe. That’s odd. She wouldn’t just leave with my car like that. Would she? I take out my phone and open the tracking app. It shows that my car is traveling on N2 passing the KwaDlangezwa-Esikhawini offramp. Damn she is fast. Where the hell is she going? I have no choice but to follow her because she took my car and I also don’t know how she is doing. I’m concerned about her. I rush to her car and climb inside.

As I drive off Richards Bay, I connect my phone to the car’s Bluetooth and then dial my father’s number. I need his advice and guidance in this. It rings for a few moments before he answers the call.

“Mnguni, how are you doing?” he goes straight for the kill. He knows I never call him unless I really need help. On a regular day, I just text him. I’m more closer to my mom than him.

“Baba, I think I messed up. I impregnated that girl I was with a few months ago and now she came back. The worst part is that she came while I was still with my new lady and she attacked her. The new lady fled with my car and I’m now following her with hers.”

He keeps quiet for a few moments. Then he clears his throat. “That’s a lot to digest, ndodana. Just to break it down in simple terms, Nomfundo, that girl you were dating not so long ago, is pregnant. And she attacked your new lady, the chef. And now the chef stole your car.”

I sigh. “Not necessarily steal. If she wasn’t the type of person that she is, maybe I would consider that. But she is not that kind of girl. She is very smart, very kind, but I just learnt that she does not take kindly to violence. She just stood there shocked and when I came back, she was no where to be seen. I don’t know where she is heading, but I can see from the tracker that the car is approaching Mtunzini.”

“How long have you guys been together?”
“Not long. She just agreed to be my woman not so long ago but I think she might be considering her decision.”
“If it happens that Nomfundo’s child is yours, are you going to inform the chef?” now that’s a million dollar question.
“I don’t wanna start the relationship with lies or omissions but for now I won’t tell her. I need to figure out what I am going to do before telling her this situation.”

He exhales loudly. “I don’t condone lying and you know that. I believe that it’s better to hurt someone with the truth rather comforting them with lies. But you are a grown man, Mbulelo. Has been ever since you became independent. So I trust you to make the right decision for your relationships. I hope no one gets heart broken in the end.”

“Thank you, baba. I will tell you how things went after I have spoken to Hlengiwe. I’m pretty sure she is pissed wherever she is and maybe she even thinks I’m immature. Fuck. She is going to regret giving me a chance.”

“Son, just make sure that she doesn’t. From what I have gathered, she sounds like a wonderful woman and you don’t wanna lose that.”

×××

HLENGIWE MABUYAKHULU

Downside of running away with somebody’s car is that they can track it and follow at any time. I should have taken my own car. My actions may have seem childish but I’m too old to be hit like that in public because of a man. I have just opened my restaurant. It’s buzzing and people are loving my craft. What are they going to say about this new chef being involved in a childish squabble at a parking lot? You know how people love drama. In a matter of seconds, that parking lot would have been filled with people wanting to film the whole thing. I had to remove myself from that situation ASAP.

Also I was driven by anger, that’s why I ended up at Eshowe of all places. You never really know how to categorize Eshowe. You cant say it’s a township. You cant also say it’s a village. Very tricky this place. I checked in at the Aloe Hotel because this place is one of the places I have been meaning to visit when I find time. Somehow this coincidence of a trip led me here. After settling in on my suite, I open my phone and it gets crowded with notifications. I just put it on the bedside table and lie on the bed looking at the ceiling.

Do I really need this type of drama in my life? Should I even be here when my employees are slaving in the restaurant trying to keep my dream alive? Is a relationship really worth it at this point? It seems like I did not think things through. I should do something about it. Yes, Mbulelo is a great guy, a humble and kind one at that. But he seems to have baggage and I don’t need that. I have enough of it already.

A knock disturbs me from my thoughts. “ROOM SERVICE.” I hear the person on the other side shouting. But I didn’t order anything. I get up from the bed and limp my way to the door. Driving for more than an hour fucked up my ankle. It is very sore and I think it’s going to start swelling if I don’t tend to it. I open the door and I see one of the hotel staff members standing there.

“Sorry to disturb you, Miss Mabuyakhulu, but there is a man at the reception who wants to see you. He says he is not going to leave until he has spoken to you.”

“What’s the hotel’s policy against stalkers?”

She frowns. “Well, if you say she is a danger to you, then we will have to remove him from the premises.”
I sigh. “It’s fine. I can’t go there but you can tell him to come here.” I leave the door open and limp my way back to the bed. A few moments later, someone knocks and Mbulelo makes his way in. He closes the door behind him. He walks towards me and squats in front of me.

“How are you feeling?” I just stare at him. He has that type of face and sincerity that you just can’t stay mad at, but I’m trying to hold on to my anger. “I’m sorry that you found yourself in a situation like that because of me. I promise you it will never happen again.”

“And how will it not happen again? You are going to kill all of your exes?”
He sighs. “I don’t date psychos. The reason why Mfundo acted like that is because I ghosted her.” I fold my arms to my chest and tilt my head to the side. “I’m sorry. I will make sure that never occurs again. Are you okay? Does your face hurt? Does your ankle hurt?”

I look to the other side. “A bit.” I mumble.
“Okay. Stay here. I will see if I can get you some help.”
“As if I can run away again. Not with this ankle.” I say before he exits the door. He just chuckles and shakes his head.