Ona is getting dressed and ready for the day while I’m dressing Mohale up and getting him ready for the day. They are meeting up with Maboko and his boys for a play date. 

The boys are quite close and it’s exciting to see Mohale’s personality grow and come out more. He is such a little Ona and I feel like he took nothing from my personality traits. Lol. 

“Baby”, I say to Ona. 

“Yes, love?” 

“I’m worried about Letlali.” 

He is quiet. 

“We can’t underestimate that girl. She’s too smart. Ona, she was able to get both Zithulele and Nothile out of prison when we had failed. And she had an entire life waiting for them when they came out. Letlali o bohlale, Ona, and the way that she moves and operates is very dangerous for us.” 

“Zithulele is a soldier. We trust him.” 

“Zithulele is also Letlali’s husband. Letlali is not the quiet bimbo in the corner just spending money and not thinking – unlike most of the wives that your soldiers marry. She’s in his ear. She’s in his bed. She has a significant influence over him. We need her in our corner. We cannot afford to make an enemy out of her.” 

“What do you want me to do, Regodise?” 

“I want you to understand that we need to make right with Letlali. I’ll work on her as much as I can.” 

“Thank you.” 

“But baby…”

He looks at me. 

“Why don’t we let this life go? You told me yourself that you don’t want this life for Mohale. But if we raise him in this life, there is no way that he will not get immersed into it. Ona, we can go somewhere and just start our own lives. Look at who and what we are becoming because of this life. We see people as moveable chess pieces to protect ourselves. Are you proud of this?” 

“Regodise, are you high?” 

“What?” 

“Do you think we can just wake up one day and decide to move on with our lives and leave all of this behind? I know you know that what you are asking me is impossible, so you must be high. The fact that you always know what to do when to do it and how to do it to get us out of tight situations tells me that you’ve always known what it would mean to be with me.” 

“I know… it’s just… Ona, I’m tired.”

“Of what?” 

“Of always being on the run. Of having to be aware of everything all the time. Of being scared that if I sleep peacefully for one minute without my sixth sense being wide awake, I could lose you and Mohale. I’m five minutes away from suffering from severe anxiety.” 

He takes a deep breath then says, “Zithulele wouldn’t do anything stupid. He knows what’s at stake.’

I laugh because clearly he has heard nothing of what I’ve said. 

“Onaleruna, you are being groomed to be a king. You cannot be this blind-sided. Killing Zithulele will only brew more problems for you. Letlali will come for you – even from her grave. Babe, pick your battles. This is a battle you would rather face in a smart way.” 

He is quiet. 

“I’ll try with Letlali. I’ll do my part and support you. But please just think about us possibly leaving this place for the sake of our family. Please.”

…

Today is such lazy day and I love it. I love waking up and having nothing to do. Khotso and Oluremi have gone to South Africa for a few days to sort out some stuff with Oluremi’s parents’ house. Ona has gone out to meet up with Maboko and his boys. They have a play date of some sort. That leaves me with time on my hands in Ona’s apartment. I think about just sitting here and watching TV all day. But I prepare some snacks and make my way to the main house to search for Ona’s mother. I think I’ll spend the day with her today. 

I find her in her living room reading a book. She’s such a beautiful woman. She’s been through so much, yet she carries her strength so beautifully. I worry about her. I wonder who is taking care of her. I know that morena would do anything for her – would even kill for her. But I also find myself wondering sometimes if he knows how to be there for her emotionally at her own level. 

“Mofomahadi”, I announce myself as I stand at the door. She looks up and sees me, smiling at me already. 

“I brought snacks and thought we could disrespect our trainers behind their backs just for one day”, I say. 

She laughs aloud and says, “I haven’t had any of those in over seven years. You are going to be the cause of my relapse”. 

I just laugh. 

She stands up and leads me to the cinema.  I guess we will be chilling in there. As we walk there I say, “Should I order coke just to top up the cheating?” 

“Absolutely not! It took me the longest to get off coke. One mistake and I’ll be addicted again.” She says and we laugh. 

As we get into the cinema, I see the screen has a picture of all of us from Mohale’s one year photoshoot. This is so beautiful. 

We settle on some seats and dig into the snacks. We opt to drink juice instead of coke. I guess we can’t cheat all the way.

“Is everything okay?” She asks me. 

“Yeah. I’m just enjoying my last few days of being your only daughter-in-law. I’m going to be sharing you from now on and I’ll probably miss being your only baby girl”, I say. 

She laughs and says, “Ncaaawww… don’t worry, I won’t neglect you. You’ve done amazing at looking after us and making sure that we come out of very difficult situations intact. You are unforgettable and irreplaceable, baby girl.”

I smile at her. 

“What are your thoughts on Oluremi?” She asks me. 

“I like her. She’s a nice and humble woman who is also hardworking and smart. Khotso has taken such a liking to her, he’s even changing his approach to relationships and his seriousness in building with a partner. She makes him happy and honestly, that’s all I care about. Plus she’s Teboho’s friend, so that tells me that she has a lot of substance.” I’m being honest here. 

“Yeah, I hear what you are saying. But do you think she’s strong enough to handle being a Mohale wife? You and I both know that you need to be a soldier to withstand the rain that comes with this life. The victories are often short-lived and the trials will have you wanting to sprint out of here. Do you think she can handle it?” She asks me. 

“She saved my son from Ngono-Mathabo. She’s grasped the core of what will be required of her.” I say. 

She nods her head. 

“Why do we choose this life as if we are not pretty enough or smart enough to explore other options? Okay, nna nekishobedisitswe, so I didn’t have much of a choice. But you and Oluremi? Why?” 

I honestly don’t know what to say. 

“You gave birth to incredible men – charming and incredible men. They are irresistible when you first meet them. Then their depth draws you in. The more you learn about them, the more you want to sit next to them everyday, enjoying everything that they bring to the table and marinate in the love that they are not afraid to show. You lie next to them for one night and the next night that they are not next to you when you wake up, your bed feels too big and unnecessarily empty. You want them next to you every night to be completely naked with you, then wake up every morning and pray that God’s mercy leads them back home at the end of the day no matter what they face during the hours that they spend away from you.” I find myself saying this, dozing off into my own thoughts. When I snap out of it, I catch her smiling at me. 

Then she says, “Are we speaking about my Onaleruna and my Khotso? They actually do that to women?” 

I laugh and say, “More than you know.” 

She just laughs. 

Then she says, “My biggest fear was that they’d lost Reahile before they even met him. He would have taught them so many qualities that I know Mohato wouldn’t be able to teach them.”

“But mme, you know… I’ve seen morena with them and when he is with them, he himself becomes a sensitive version of himself. He laughs more. He smiles more. When he looks at them, there is this twinkle in his eye that he raised them and they have become men who will proudly and adequately lead this kingdom using all that he has taught them. He teaches them responsibility and accountability. Do you know how difficult it is to teach a child the value of suffering and hard work when they grow up having everything? Within the midst of giving them everything, morena taught Khotso and Onaleruna how to work hard for everything and be adequate providers that can survive even when he is no longer there to protect them from themselves.” 

She looks at me in awe. 

“You’ve picked all of that up?” 

“Mofomahadi, I found a letter the other day. It’s an old letter that is wrinkled and the ink is almost drying out. It’s addressed to Onaleruna and Khotso and it’s dated two weeks after they had been born.” 

I see her getting emotional. 

“Can I read it to you?” I ask.

She nods her head. 

I pull the letter out of my pocket and open it. It reads:

“To my boys:  

Your worth has crowned me. Your worth has truly sealed my title as a queen. I am no longer lost in “what could have been” or “what it may be like to be crowned by people that I have given birth to”. You are here – and that is all the reality that I need. 

Khotso and Onaleruna: The connection that I share with your father is beyond an understanding that can be grasped by human nature. It is something only he and I can understand because it is only he and I that have felt it – it is he and I that created the two of you. 

You are loved, my kings. The power of love that has conceived you and brought you into this world has brought peace somehow in a situation that would have never seen peace (Khotso). That is exactly how I am reminded each day that your father, Reahile Mohale, is with us (Onaleruna). 

Khotso and Onaleruna – I need to talk to you about love. I feel that as your mother, you will learn it best through my actions and not through my preaching. I will start off by saying to you: when it is finally your turn to be loved, to love, and to be in love, I pray that you will understand why the wait is important. 

Had you been born under a different circumstance, you would not be Khotso and Onaleruna. Had you been born from Thapelo’s violation of my body, or medical solutions to Mohato’s infertility, you would not be my light in this dark mess that I have been in two seconds before your birth. You are perfect. With you, the cycle at Tholoana Kingdom has come full circle: your father’s rightful position on the throne will be awarded to one of you – his sons. He will rule through you. 

I need you to understand the curse of this throne – both of you. I pray that this is a letter you get to read before you spill each other’s blood at the mercy of the throne. 

My mother, your grandmother Maphodile, turned her back on the throne. She then sold me to the throne because life for her outside of the throne had no greener grass. My mother broke the tradition of networking across when she networked down and married my father. Lobola was not accepted therefore it remains a mystery of who actually is my father’s first wife; the one who married first in civil law or the one who is married according to customary law. Our life, wealth and all that came with it has never really been legitimate after that. My mom tried to fix that error by marrying me off to a king. I suppose there was something in her that truly believed that she could get it all back through me; the royalty, the status, the respect, etc. she believed she would get it all back. But she married me off to a king who usurped the throne from its rightful heir. Even he was not really a king because the throne came under attack when my grandfather’s ruling fell into the hands of colonialism. The Mohales fought the hardest to gain back the kingdom as it was under the rule of the Tau royal bloodline. The battle in itself was flawed because the man who demanded the throne could not produce any heirs. His sons were born through arrangement and it trickled down to he who usurped your father’s throne. His flaw was his failure to produce an heir too. It was thus planned for me to go through the setup of an arranged conception of an heir. It broke me. It broke my home. It broke the family. From that brokenness, your dad found me. He too came from a broken place; a broken family and a broken love. Everything between your father and I was broken – including the spirit to understand and comprehend the circumstance we found ourselves in and consequences of the choice we made to be broken together. Everything was broken anyway. From the bit that life and circumstance had not taken away from us, we breathed love for one another and we created the two of you. May it be different with the two of you. May it be more than this kingdom has ever seen.   

Stay true to each other. Stay supportive to each other. Know that no matter who is awarded the gift of sitting on that throne, the queen in me and the king in your father lives in both of you. You are a product of two unstoppable forces. You are a product of two royal bloodlines that have ruled in Tholoana Kingdom. Most importantly, you are the two sons created in love, with love, and for love. I expect you to bring nothing less than peace when your time comes. 

I will forever pray that you never have broken hearts. But the truth is that you will get hurt and sometimes, your hearts will break. But please my boys, please never give up on love. To give up on love is to give up on life. Everything amazing is attached to love, starts with love, and centres upon love because God is love. The world may be cold but never forget who you are. I will always pray that you never have a rainy day. Although the reality is that rainy days will come. Never feel bad for wrapping yourselves in the fact that you are the sons of unstoppable forces – made with love.” 

“I was in such a bad state when I wrote that. I was happy and sad at the same time. I longed for closure because their father had just died and I was forced back into this place. I don’t even know how to begin to explain what I was feeling. And then Mohato gave me a letter that Reahile had written for me and had left with his lawyer.”  

I take out another piece of paper and say, “this one?” 

She looks at me. I start reading it as well. 

“My beautiful and dear Kearabetswe – Mrs Mohale, queen of my heart. What a wonder you are. I have never met anyone quite like you. It is when I met you that a song began in my heart, the song by Maxwell, this woman’s work. It is only when I was with you, that the song defined itself in my heart and my understanding. 

I have never met a woman who can genuinely smile, laugh, and love past pain. I worried about you, you know. I worried about you a lot. I had this fear that one day you will birth pain because you have been exposed to it so much that you ended up learning how to nurture it instead of letting it go. 

I have always known that everything that you have been through is beyond my human capabilities to try and fix. Every time you cry, it becomes too difficult for me and I know that my part is complete. My purpose is to poke the wound that refuses to heal inside of you. I need to evoke the emotion that needs to be released because it is drowning your heart – your beautiful and big heart. Once the tears start falling, my love, the craft of the Father begins because it is only Him that can ever heal you. When my time comes and I must head back to God, I need you to let me go so that you can fully, honestly, and faithfully be a mother to the squad of children we will have, and the two children you mothered even though you did not birth them – Kefentse and Pule. My prayer, since my divorce has always been to find love – true love – before I kick the bucket. And I did. I found love in you. You are my rib and you are my love letter from God. If there truly is such a thing as an after-life and spirits truly do live on, my spirit will forever carry you and love you, constantly whispering in God’s ear to make sure that you laugh at least three times a day. Your laugh completes my day no matter what. My love… the only thing that will make me rest in peace is you truly moving on. Those who are still alive and are in your life need you – especially our children. No matter how sad you get or how much you miss me… smile my love. Laugh my angel. Smile and laugh in memory of me. 

All my love, your Riri” 

“I gave those to Ona and Khotso the night before Ona married you.” She says. 

“He told me”. 

She nods her head. 

“Mme, they are happy. They are good people. I know you feel like morena has no right to call them his sons, but he loves them and he has done so well with them. Both of you have done well. I’m sure wherever Ntate Reahile is, he is happy and is smiling down on what his sons have become.” I say.

“He used to visit me in my dreams. When he would do that, I’d feel like he’s still with me. Now, he doesn’t come anymore.” She says. 

“He’s allowing you to move on.” I say. 

She nods and says, “I suppose.” 

We sit in silence for a few minutes, just eating junk. Then I ask her, “How are you coping with Aunt Nosi’s death?” 

She shakes her head and raises her eyebrows. 

Then she says, “I miss her everyday. I really do. I still talk to Ntuthuko, Nompumelelo and Luhle. They miss her and they just feel as if their father has robbed them of their space to mourn her. Her memory lives in everything that I do. I feel like I’ve lost a sister.”

“Yeah… it’s weird watsiba. The fine line between life and the afterlife… and just how that line can be crossed within an instant. Then all you have to carry you through the mourning period are your memories. There are constant reminders that we have to live our lives to the fullest. Because tomorrow is genuinely not promise to anyone and no crying contest on this planet will make the reality less real.” 

She takes a deep breath. 

“We love you, mme. And if you ever need a friend or someone to talk… I’m no Aunt Nosi, but I’m here for you.” 

“Thank you, baby girl. Seriously, thank you.” She says then hugs me. 

Morena walks into the cinema as we eat junk and chat. He stands at the door and is unsure what to do at first.

“Hello”, Mofomahadi breaks the awkward silence. 

“Hey. One of the helpers told me that I’d find you here”, he says.

“Yeah. We’ve been sitting here and gossiping about you while eating junk.” Mofomahadi says. 

“Gossiping about me?” Him. 

“Yep. We were just talking about how fine your ass is, how warm your arms look and just how beautiful your smile is… capturing and – 

“Kearabetsoe, stop it.” Morena says as he BLUSHES like hell. 

I’m extremely uncomfortable, but I’m definitely giggling. Morena is so uncomfortable. 

“Are you going to kiss you wife and say hi?” Mofomahadi says. She’s really having fun with this. 

“Can I see you for a few minutes?” Morena says. 

He’s probably initiating sex here. 

I just get up and take my snacks with me. 

“Dumela morena”, I say as I walk past him.

“Makoti.” He acknowledges me. Then, I am gone. I giggle to myself because wow, I’ve never seen them in that flirty state before. I’m glad that she’s finding a way to help him through Ngono-Mathabo’s death. She is bringing the smile back to his face every day and it’s beautiful. 

I get outside and find Khotso walking into his room. 

“I thought you guys were in South Africa”, I say. 

“Yeah. We just got back.” He says. He looks extremely exhausted. 

“Where’s Olu?” I ask. 

“At her place. I dropped her off. I’m just getting a few things then I’m going to meet up with her there”. He tells me. 

“You are super exhausted, Khotso. I can drive you there.” I offer. 

He just smiles at me. 

We are on the road now and I’m driving Khotso to Olu’s place. Olu has this thing of not coming to the royal house until they are married. She’s been very strict with it and she really hasn’t set foot here since they got together – even when they got engaged. I thought Khotso and I would catch up on this drive, but he passed out the minute I started driving. I can’t wait for them to get married. We need a happy environment and event for this family and I’m looking forward to having a sister. 

I get to the gate of Olu’s place. I wake Khotso up and ask him to give me a code or something. He just puts his finger on the gate entry thing and the gate opens. Wow!

“So, are you guys going to live here after the wedding?” I ask him as we drive in. 

He laughs and says, “Nah, we will move to the royal house. Lulu is having some separation anxiety about her house, but she will be fine.” 

“So, what will you do with this place?” I ask. 

“Probably rent it out or find a way to make money out of it. I don’t know. But I want my wife with me at the royal house from our wedding night”. 

“Your wife, huh? I love the change in your language, abuti.” 

He blushes. He even blushes like morena when morena is around Mofomahadi. Ja neh… love is a beautiful thing. 

…

Kids are actually a headache. They really are. Mason, Bane and Mohale have exhausted the life out of Maboko and I. Now the demons get to fall asleep on the backseat while we have to drive them back home. I had invited legoa to bring his boys and join us, but moringa said no. I don’t know what it’s going to take to fix that situation. But it really does have to be fixed. There’s no question about it. Regodise is right… Moringa is smart as hell. We need her in our corner and I’m hoping that Dise will pull through for us by getting through to her. 

I get home and as I park my car, I see morena chatting to Uncle Shaka outside Uncle Shaka’s car. I take Mohale out of his car seat and let him sleep on my chest. This kid is beginning to feel heavy now. I lock the car and greet the men. 

“Where are you coming from?” Morena asks me. 

“A play date with Maboko and his boys”, I say. 

Well, one of them is halfway to being Uncle Shaka’s step-kid. I guess one of these days, we’ll be play-dating with the old man. Lol. 

“Let me take him from you. Your mother and I miss him.” Morena says. 

“Really?” I’m genuinely shocked.

Uncle Shaka and morena both laugh. 

I hand Mohale to morena. I tell morena that, “You are getting soft, old man.” 

These old men laugh. 

Morena cares so beautifully for Mohale, letting him sleep on his chest while he rubs his back. Mohale has this effect on everyone.

“Are you ready for the wedding?” Morena asks me. 

“I mean, we are already married. It’s just a waste of money on an event that holds no meaning to me. But if it makes the wife happy, I’m prepared to suffer through it.” 

Morena laughs then says, “You do realise that once you’ve gone through this, you can’t take on another wife, right? She’s going to make you sign a contract for a civil marriage and that means no other woman can be your wife. Are you ready for that?” 

I actually didn’t think about that. Damn, Dise is good. 

“I know right now, you have no plans of having more than one wife. Are you sure that will never change in the future? Especially when you become the king?” Morena asks me. 

“I’ll be good, morena. I love her and if this is the security that she needs that I’m not planning on hurting her, then I’m prepared to give it to her.” 

Morena nods his head. 

“Anyway, let me go and greet the wife. I’ll bring this young man’s pyjamas and bath things to the main house just now. He has no problem being bathed while he is fast asleep, so you’ll be fine.” I say. 

“Okay. I’m headed back inside anyway.” Morena says. 

I say goodbye to Uncle Shaka then I make my way to my flatlet. I unlock the door and I find Dise busy with the table seating plan for our wedding. There is a big ass chart on my entire dining table and she is busy sticking stuff and writing people’s names on these things she’s sticking and playing around with. 

I just hug her from behind and she embraces me. 

“Where’s my son?” She asks me. 

“The grandparents asked for him”, I say. 

“So, it’s just you and I tonight?” 

“Yes, Mrs Mohale. It’s just you and I.” I say.

“You know, there is something that I wanted us to practice.” She says. 

“And what’s that?” 

“You removing my wedding gutter from underneath my dress at our reception.” She says. 

“Me doing what?” 

What does that even mean? I clearly have a lot to learn about white weddings. I’ve never cared about them because I honestly never thought that I’d ever have one. Now I must learn how to undress my wife in front of people? Hai!

She pulls me to the TV room and sits me next to her. She puts on a movie called The Best Man and she plays me a scene of the groom shoving his face underneath his wife’s wedding dress then removing this gutter using his teeth. 

“You want me to do that to you? In front of people? You? The same person who won’t even kiss me because my parents are in the room?” 

She giggles then says, “So, will you do that?” 

“I could. I don’t mind.” 

“Show me how you’ll do it. I’m wearing a practice gutter underneath my dress now”. She says. 

I go down on my knees and I slide my face underneath her dress. But instead of just pulling down the garment, a slide her panty aside and use my tongue to play with her clitoris as well as slide my tongue in and out of her vagina.

“Ona –

She tries, but she cannot complete her sentence. 

“Baby, you can’t do this in front of our wedding guests.” 

She says through her panting. 

I take my time with her, brushing her thighs with my kisses while my finger plays around her vagina.

She tastes so good. Wow.

She gives in. She lets me have my way with her and this leads to me making explosive love to her. As we both reach our happy ending, my mom knocks on the door. Thank God I locked it. 

“Ona, I need Mohale’s pyjamas and bath stuff.” My mom says. 

Eish!

Dise and I are still recovering from loving each other. I’m out of energy and breath. I can’t even roll out of bed. Dise rolls out of bed and she wraps a gown around her body. She quickly packs an overnight bag for Mohale then goes to meet my mother outside. 

As she’s outside, my cellphone rings. It’s an unknown number. 

I answer it. 

“Hello?” 

Silence. 

Mxm! I hang up. 

My phone rings again. 

“If you don’t say something, I’ll stop answering your –

“Ona, it’s me.” 

“Who’s me?” 

“Maphito”. 

“Why are you calling me?” 

“I need your help. Please.” 

“You’ve had morena’s dick. You’ve had Khotso’s dick. Why am I the best suited person to help you again?” 

“Mohato wants to kill me and Khotso has blocked me on all his platforms of contact and communication. I’m desperate. Please, Ona”. 

“How the hell am I going to help you? You want me to talk morena out of murdering you?” 

“I need money and a fake ID. I’ll disappear, change my identity and you’ll never hear from me again.” 

I laugh. I cannot help it. The fact that she actually sat down and thought I’d be the one person who would do this for her makes me roll on my stomach and laugh. 

“Ona, I’m serious.” 

“Goodnight, Maphito. And don’t ever call this number again.” 

“Ona, I have no one else. Please.” 

I hang up. I don’t have time for nonsense. 

Dise walks back into the bedroom and she sits next to me. I start kissing on her when my phone rings again. 

“Answer it”, she says. 

“No, it’s no one important.” 

“How would you know that?” She asks me and her tone has changed. 

I’m not getting into shit with my wife because of Maps. It’s not happening. 

“Babe, it’s really nothing important.” 

“Onaleruna Mohale, answer that damn phone”. 

How am I even going to explain who Maps is to my wife? Eish, this bitch is a problem for someone I’ve never even touched. 

“What?!” I answer my phone. I’ve even put her on speaker. 

“Are you going to help me?” She arrogantly asks me. 

“No. The answer is no.” 

“He’s going to kill me, Ona!” 

Dise is confused. She can think anything…as long as it’s not along the lines of me cheating on her. 

“I don’t care. It’s none of my business.” 

“If you don’t help me, I’m showing up at the royal house and I’ll tell your mother everything about my affair with Mohato.” 

“No wonder he wants to kill you. We don’t do crazy bitches.” 

“I’m not going down alone, Ona.” 

“And I’m not helping you. Now stop calling me!” 

I hang up. 

“What does she want?” When did my mother and morena get into my room and even make their way to my bedroom? Where I’m naked under these blankets and next to my wife. 

“Well?” My mom asks me as no one answers her. 

“She says she needs my help.” I say.

“With what?” Morena. 

I really wish they could let me get dressed at least.

“She wants money and a new ID to skip the country. Apparently morena wants to kill her”. I say. 

“Nx!” Morena says then walks out of my bedroom already on the phone with someone. 

Obviously, this was the last phone call that Maps would ever make alive. 

My mom is a bit annoyed. 

She also leaves the bedroom now. 

I get out of bed and run to my door naked, to lock the damn door. I lock the door then as I turn around to make my way back up to my bedroom, I see Dise standing at the top of the staircase staring at me. 

What have I done now? 

“If you ever cheat on me or humiliate me by dipping your penis into another woman, I’ll chop that thing off your balls and fry them on a pan while you watch me do it. Then I’ll make you eat it the same way another vagina had it being eaten inside of her. Do you understand me?” 

I just hold onto my dick and suddenly feel so scared for it. Why would she threaten me like that? We were having such a beautiful night together. 

She just turns around and makes her way back to the bedroom. I find myself on the couch, going through my phone. I know I’m not cheating on her, but now I must double-check each chat on my phone  to make sure that I haven’t given anyone the wrong idea through our interactions.