THE INCARCERATED STRANGER

 

Chapter 36

 

NARRATED 

 

“WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?” she screams, grabbing everyone’s attention, including Nhlakanipho and Zekhethelo. Nipho’s eyes widen in shock as he sees Pari standing there.

“Nhlakanipho, what is happening here?” she demands, tears streaming down her face.

“Excuse me, Miss, who are you? Why are you asking my husband what is going on?” Zekhethelo retorts, her tone icy.

“NHLAKANIPHO MANQOBA! I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!” Pari screams back. People begin to murmur among themselves, trying to figure out what is happening.

Nhlakanipho finds himself at a loss for words. How does Pari know he is getting married? 

“Babe, who is this woman talking to you like that?” Zekhethelo asks, clearly irritated. How dare someone speak to her husband as if he were a child?

“Pari, what are you doing here?” Nhlakanipho finally manages to ask. Pari chuckles darkly.

“Maybe you didn’t hear the question. I asked what is happening here; you can’t respond to me with a question,” she replies defiantly. Zekhethelo scoffs, bewildered by this woman’s audacity.

“Yey, Sisi! Don’t you have eyes? He’s getting married to the mother of his kids; are you blind?” Zekhethelo snaps.

“Is this what you came home for? Didn’t you say you were going home to tell your parents about me and our engagement?” Pari challenges, causing everyone to gasp in shock.

“What?!” Zekhethelo exclaims, confused and taken aback by Pari’s words.

“Baby, what is this woman talking about? What nonsense is she uttering?” Zekhethelo turns to her newlywed husband for clarification.

“Cat got your tongue?” Pari taunts, her eyes locked onto Nhlakanipho’s.

“Awukhulume wena, Nhlakanipho, and stop being quiet! What is happening here?” his father, Jason, says, clearly irritated.

“What does this woman mean you’re engaged to her, Nhlakanipho?” his mother demands.

“She’s just talking nonsense. Tell them this woman is lying; you didn’t engage her,” Zekhethelo insists, staring intently at her husband.

Nhlakanipho sighs and glances between his father and mother before looking down at the ground. 

“I have been meaning to tell you about it, Mom and Dad—and you too, Zekhethelo—that I have another woman I’m in love with and want to take care of both of you,” Nhlakanipho admits. His words earn laughter from both Pari and Zekhethelo, who are taken aback by the revelation.

Zilkhona stands up and announces to the crowd, to Go ahead and get food outside; leave the family alone. Everyone begins to rise and exit, some clapping their hands in response to the situation. Soon, only the family remains.

“How long have you been dating this girl, wena Nhlakanipho?” Jason asks, his tone serious.

“Three years and a few months now,” Nhlakanipho answers. His mother gasps and claps once in disbelief.

“You’re joking, right, Nhlakanipho?” Zekhethelo asks with a shaky voice. Mangaliso shakes his head firmly.

“No, I’m not. I love you, Zekhethelo. I love you so much,” he insists.

“And what about her, huh?” Zekhethelo yells, frustration rising in her voice.

“I love her too. I love both of you,” Mangaliso replies earnestly.

“Are you hearing yourself, Nhlakanipho?” Bab'Hleza roars. Nhlakanipho lets out a sigh.

“Out of everyone here, I expected you to understand, Bab'Hleza. I don’t mean to disrespect you. You have two wives and you love them both; you should understand how I feel too. I love your daughter very much, and I love Pari as well,” he explains. Bab'Hleza shakes his head, at a loss for words.

“No! Never! You cannot love both of us! You’re lying, Nhlakanipho! You only love me,” Zekhethelo screams, pointing furiously at Pari. “That’s what you always said—I’m the only woman you love, not this man snatched!”

“I’m not a man snatched! I didn’t know about you!” Pari retorts. “The Nipho I fell in love with was single and ready to mingle!”

“All this time you’ve been fooling me?!” Zekhethelo scoffs.

 “I should’ve known! I’m a fool! How did I not see this?” Tears stream down Pari's face as she struggles to hold back her emotions. It hurts—she loves this man. He has been everything to her, treating her the way she always wanted to be treated. He is the first boyfriend she loved and who loved her back in the way she had always dreamed of. He is everything she wanted in a man.

But now it turns out he is a liar, a cheater. How could she have been so foolish? She should have seen that he was too good to be true!

 “That’s not true! I love you, Pari, a lot. I wasn’t trying to make you a fool. I meant well; my intentions were and still are pure. Yes, I lied, but I love you—I really do. I was going to come clean to everyone and to you,” Nhlakanipho says earnestly.

“When? When you were done marrying? If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have known that you have a fiancée and that you’re getting married! I wouldn’t have known that you have kids, Nipho! You hid this from me for three years? You hid whole grown living humans!” she exclaims, her voice filled with disbelief and hurt.

“Nhlakanipho, fix all this mess! We have people outside waiting to celebrate your wedding with all of us, and you had to embarrass us like this! I’m disappointed in you!” his father, Jason, exclaims before storming out. Everyone else follows him, leaving Nhlakanipho alone with his two women.

 “Can we please sit down and talk?” he says, looking at both of them. Pari chuckles.

“No one is sitting down to talk here. You have to choose, Nhlakanipho—me or this whore!” Zekhethelo declares fiercely.

“Says a daughter of a whore herself!” Pari retorts.

“What did you say? You’re calling my father a whore?!” Zekhethelo charges at Pari and slaps her. Pari gasps and retaliates, slapping Zekhethelo back and making her stagger. 

Nhlakanipho quickly steps between them, grabbing their hands. “Stop it, both of you!” he demands.

Nhlakanipho looks back and forth between the two women, his heart racing. 

“Please, this isn’t helping anyone!” he pleads, trying to keep his voice calm. “We need to talk this out without violence.”

Zekhethelo glares at Pari, her eyes filled with anger.

 “You think you can just come in here and take what’s mine? You don’t know anything about us!”Pari crosses her arms defiantly.

 “I know enough to see that he’s been lying to both of us! You may think you have a claim on him, but I love him too, and I deserve to know the truth!”

Nhlakanipho takes a deep breath, feeling the weight of their emotions pressing down on him.

 “I never wanted to hurt either of you,” he says softly. “I care for both of you deeply, but this situation is tearing us apart.”

Zekhethelo shakes her head, her voice trembling with frustration. “You can’t just love us both and expect everything to be okay! Someone has to go!”

 “Let's  sit down and really talk. Stop with accusations or slaps—please.” 

As they reluctantly agree to sit down , the tension in the room begins to shift. Nhlakanipho knows it won’t be easy, but he hopes that by facing the truth together, they can find a way forward—whatever that may look like..…

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Outside, people are already seated in groups, some eating while others are still forming a line to get their plates dished out. A few are gossiping about what transpired inside. Mangaliso is sitting with Ayakha, who can’t help but keep staring at the building, waiting for her friend. It’s been 30 minutes, and still, there’s no sign of her. She can’t shake the worry from her mind—what if that Zekhethelo woman hurts her friend?

“Relax, Cupcake, will you? I’m sure your best friend is okay,” Mangaliso says, trying to reassure her.

She sighs, unable to calm herself. “I can’t help it; I’m worried about her. What if that girl beats my friend up?” He chuckles lightly.

 “She won’t. I trust Nhlakanipho to put them in their places if they start to quarrel.”

“I’m sure he’s sitting them down and sweet-talking them—that’s what he’s good at,” Mangaliso adds with a laugh. Ayakha frowns at him.

“You’re laughing? This is not funny! How can he be this cruel? He made a fool out of my best friend!” she exclaims, frustration evident in her voice.

“He loves her, though. He loves both of the women—that’s what I know. Nipho has always been a polygamous guy; even when he was growing up, he used to have two girlfriends, so I’m not surprised by this situation,” Mangaliso explains to Ayakha, who remains in disbelief.

Abanye abafana izinja impela, she mutters under her breath, shaking her head in disappointment as she continues to worry about her friend inside.

 Pari bursts out of the building, angry and fuming, tears streaming down her cheeks. Nhlakanipho runs after her, desperate to catch up.

“Baby, please! I love you, Pari, I really do. We can make this work—please, love!” he pleads, pulling at her hand. She tries to yank it away, but his grip is tight.

“Let go of my hand, Nhlakanipho! Go back to your wife and leave me alone—we are done!” she snaps. He shakes his head, blinking away his own tears; deep down, he knows she doesn’t mean it.

“You don’t mean that, babe! I love you, and you love me back—I know it!” he insists. She chuckles bitterly and finds the strength to push him away before running to her car. 

Ayakha calls out to her, but Pari doesn’t stop; she unlocks the car and drives away recklessly, tears blurring her vision. But in that moment, she doesn’t care.

Nhlakanipho stands there feeling numb as Zekhethelo comes out and walks over to him. 

“She is gone! Now please, please forget about her and come back to me! Everyone is waiting—today is our wedding day! We are supposed to be happy, Nhlakanipho!” she says, pulling at his hand.

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