After that first weekend with him, we met for months, and I got pregnant. When I informed him of my pregnancy, he only said those words, which gave me sleepless nights. He then started ignoring my calls. Eventually, his number was no longer in service. I was patient until my pregnancy reached six months.
On that Saturday, I wanted to see him face-to-face and hear his side. For sure, I was still in love with him.
He gave me a choice about the child in my womb, and I opted to see my child grow rather than go for an abortion. I wanted to have his child so that I would've been inseparably tied to him, if the cosmos permitted.
In no time, I was in the Southern part of the Drazen region, in the core of Blockside town. I was standing in front of his workplace. My anger and confusion were pushing me to the brink of madness. I was determined to confront him when I laid my eyes on him.
His child was kicking violently in my womb.
I stood still as a statue outside the fence, too afraid to enter his workplace perimeter. Inside, everyone seemed busy for me to approach.
My mind was already clouded with confusion. However, there was no other way I was going to find him without asking around. So, I looked to the security team.
Everyone was wearing a serious face and busy every second. Every area that seemed busy had guards—some on phone calls, and others in vans. I wanted to speak to Menzi, so I gathered my courage and entered the gates of the compound.
Before I even stepped further, the security guard stopped me. He told me I was trespassing in a voice that made me tremble.
The gate siren sounded.
I didn't move an inch after that. The guard came straight to me.
He stood in front of me.
Before he could talk, two men approached. He told them to search me, which they instantly did.
After they found I had nothing threatening, they asked for my identification. I complied as the bitter cold seeped into my bones, my body racking with shivers.
"This is a restricted zone. What do you want?" the guard asked.
"Menzi—I'm looking for Menzi Mabuyani," I responded, zipping up my fluffy jacket.
The guards exchanged glances.
"The Bull Boss," one of them whispered.
They paused and looked at each other.
"Who are you to look for someone here?" the guard asked, looking at my identification card again.
"Lisa Koko!" I responded.
The old-looking guard dismissed the other two with a wave. He then took my hand and led me outside the perimeter.
"I'm helping you—go away, by my words," he warned, looking concerned. "Mabuyani is—he's no longer working here as of thirty minutes ago."
I puzzled.
Menzi had once showed me his workplace, and I knew that was undoubtedly the right place to look for him.
The man realized I was confused, so he gripped my arms and told me to look him in the eye, which I instantly did.
"Little girl, you share my surname. You're like my daughter. I'm confused—how can a little kid like you seek a big man like Mabuyani?" he asked and sighed lowly. "Anyway—Menzi resigned today. He won't step inside the perimeter again."
After hearing those words from him, I felt paralyzed. He then left me standing, and when he was about to get inside the perimeter, he told me to never come back there because it was too dangerous for me.
I called Viola, notifying her everything, and she advised me to go to Menzi's hotel room.
Though I knew he had moved from the one I remembered to a new location, I still knew where to find him.
Sheila House was my best lead.
On most occasions, he called me there, and we spent most of our time there when our love was an unstoppable fire. The place meant a lot to him—quiet, almost disguising the fact that alcohol was served there.
I took a taxi.
In forty minutes, I was standing outside. There were a few people inside the Sheila House. I entered and first took a turn that led me to the alcohol bay, but he was not there. I thought otherwise and headed to the bay, which was loved by most people who were not drinking whiskey. Beef, chicken, pork, and some drinks were all there. The place offered a wonderful space that led to a well-mowed park.
Without wandering too much, I saw Menzi. He was sitting with a very light-skinned woman. I stood for seconds, watching them. They were smiling and laughing as if they knew each other.
Jealousy flared—I had never seen him smile like that at anyone else. To make things worse, the woman gave Menzi a phone, and I was so confident that he was giving her his number.
In frustration, I went straight to them. I grabbed Menzi's hand and took the phone. I didn't even look at what he was doing on the phone—I just threw it on the floor.
"Lisa!" he screamed in disappointment and pulled me to him.
The smiles I witnessed on their faces faded. Only traces of anger appeared on Menzi's face as it veined. I froze in shock at how tightly he gripped my arms. It was as if he was going to crush me.
His grip loosened as he gauged the woman's reaction. The way I threw her phone angered her.
"She lent me her phone to call you, and you didn't receive your phone," Menzi explained why he was with the woman.
"What?" My throat tightened—I couldn't meet the woman's eyes. "I'm truly sorry. I don't know what to say."
"You know what—forget it," she snatched the phone after Menzi picked it.
"I'm sorry. It just shattered the screen. Take this money. You can repair your it," he thumbed the bills from his wallet, avoiding my eyes.
The woman took the money and left.
Thereafter, Menzi looked at me from the toes to the forehead.
"I didn't expect you here," he said and commanded, "Follow me!"
"But you wanted me—you said you were calling me," I stammered, trailing behind him as I was checking the missed call on my phone.
For sure, there was a missed call from a new number.
He waited for me and responded, "Yes, I called you, miss dummy girl."
Heat rushed to my cheeks—I had made a fool of myself.
He held my hand as we went outside the building despite the cold.
"What do you want? You're calling me after six months of silence. To make things worse, your phone is always unreachable," I asked him.
"Yes, Lisa, I had a lot to do. Do you remember my words when you first told me about the pregnancy?" he asked.
"Yes, I remember. Your words haunted me a lot. I couldn't sleep," I responded in confidence.
He looked at me, expecting me to repeat them.
"You said, 'Yes, Lisa, take it off—but keep it in mind. We could go big with this.'"
"Exactly," he smiled, squeezing my hand. "I'm glad you kept my word."
"But I'm confused. I didn't understand what you meant by going big," I confessed.
Truthfully, I had no clue of what he meant—I needed him to explain.
"Relax, that's why I was trying to call you," he told me.
I punched his chest with my fists and told him how stressed I was. He said his words were deliberate to force my decision about the child.
We were going to his new place, where he would tell me everything about himself. I was pressuring him to open up for me by making me understand him better.
He confessed he wanted a future with me despite my age. His words gave me more hope in life than waking up for college every day.
When we were about to go to his car, he grabbed me, and my momentum crashed me into his body. His gaze locked on mine, and in that moment, I knew he loved me.
"I can't wait to call you by my surname," he whispered, kissing my soft lips, "And—my little child in your stomach—better be carrying a boy because… "
Before he finished talking, a crimson dot flickered on his shoulder—one heartbeat before the shot. I felt his heart beating louder, and he looked at me so hopelessly.
He pushed me down, and in seconds, I couldn't believe it. His cream jacket bloomed red, soaked through. Blood pooled on the ground. Horror swallowed me whole.
I screamed until my mouth went dry.
No one came to help me. My pulse thundered in my ears—then I blacked out.
The sniper's bullet stole my future—my husband, my child's father.