Thulile had left without saying goodbye. The house was absolutely silent. Gone was the laughter or the splashing sounds of Femi diving in the pool. Lars didn't leave his room. His cowardness ate up.

Another type of silence reigned in the taxi that took Thulile and her family home. It masked the anxiety and fear of what awaited them.

Dust and dirt crackled under their shoes as they entered the house that seemed abandoned for a decade.

"Femi, open the windows. This place needs to be aired out," Thulile said as she noticed the basket of shriveled onions and rotten tomatoes.

Thulilie sighed; this was the reality of her existence. How could she let her think she could escape her life and that Lars would be her exit out of the township?

She fell into the trap that made men the heroes of the damsel in distress, and now she cursed her naiveness.

Images of the night came to haunt her. Everything was a mirage. Thulile felt played by her recipe. She was angry and wanted to clear her mind, but her inner theater wished to screen the same scenes on repeat. She had the habit of running to Lars when she desired to flee her issues. What was she to do now the man had become the problem?

"Femi, bring the broom."

The boy sighed at the sentence he thought he would not hear again. In Lars' house, the hoover bot aspirated without anyone's assistance. The dishwasher did the dishes. One could let themselves live without thinking about hard chores.

Femi's dream ended there as well.

Thulile cleaned relentlessly without stopping. She scrubbed the floor as if someone sentenced her to face the floor.

"Thulile, Thulile, my child," she didn't hear her gran. She kept her head facing the ground as the tears fell.

Why was she crying?

It wasn't worth it. Lars wasn't worth it.

Why did it hurt so bad?

Thulile clinched her tee. She was unable to lift her head from the cold floor. Why did her heart explode?

The feeling was unknown. Even Elije didn't cause such havoc within. At the same time, it made sense. Elije cheated while Larsㅡshe imagined he had sincere feelings for her.

Femi shook his head and went outside. The boy was tired of hearing his sister cry. Thulile, like many women of their township, spent a lot of time distributing tears in the wind. Femi bet Lars never shed tears. People like him were happy. They could only be satisfied with their life in their white skin.

Femi couldn't guess that though they didn't have the same issues, Lars had his fair share of bad karma. And that he spent his life facing up to as though it were ransom of a past life.

"Lars, what happened?" Steven asked when the man finally emerged from his room at nightfall.

Lars sighed, went to the fridge, and took out a water bottle. He served himself a huge glass and said, "I lied and hurt her feelings. You know the usual asshole stuff."

Steven pushed up his glasses, "you slept with her."

Lars took three huge gulps of his water and set his glass down on the counter with a bang.

"Okay," Steven said before beginning to assess the situation. He suddenly frowned, "you like her. Why be the asshole?"

Lars took a deep breath and expulsed his response, "because it's a trademark. What can I give her, Steven? I wanted to work with her, make loads of money and go back to rub my richness in my brother's faces like, look at me now. I wasn't supposed toㅡI can't fall in love. ㅡAt least not with her."

"Why?"

"Because I'll hurt her, again and again. It's what I do. I don't know how. It isn't my intention, but that's how it always ends, and it's the only way it will end with Thulile. ㅡI hurt, always."

"Man, aren't you being a tad pessimistic here?"

Lars walked out of the kitchen, "my visa is expiring soon."

Steven followed, "and how did you count running your business?"

"I was going to ask Dalai to help."

Steven chuckled, "Dalai isn't a valet. He'll ask you huge commissions and probably launder half of your money. Dude, don't tell me that was your plan."

Lars shrugged," listen, I don't know, okay. The only thing I'm sure of is I don't see myselfㅡI don't know. I just want Thulile to finish the recipes for exploitation."

"Wait," Steven stopped in his tracks, "Lars, don't tell me you were going to drop her once she gave you the recipes."

Lars dropped down on the couch, tilted his head back, and took another deep breath.

Steven nodded in disapproval again, "that's what you wanted to do."

"Listen, it isn't as machiavellian as you make it out to be. I counted on paying Thuile gracefully."

"Oh, come on, Lars. We all know exploitation rights are businesses' holy grail. The creators touch peanuts in comparison to the person who retains such rights. You've been playing her from the beginning. You'reㅡ."

"I told you, I'm an asshole."

Steven threw his hands up, "I can't even. I don't even get why I worry about you. You're inconsistency and carelessness never ceases to blow me away." Steven left Lars to his self-loathing and retired to his bedroom.

Lars didn't find sleep that night. He didn't drink one of Thulile's brews. Thus he tossed and turned. Harassed by memories, the man turned to TikTok for distraction. His feed was still stuck on his latest search. All the videos that surfaced were of girls dancing Amapiano. Lars remembered how desperate he was to find Thulile and his constant desire to see her.

Could his phone read his mind? Lars thought as the following video was one of Thulile. She was a star in the South African database in dancing tags.

Lars touched his screen. Would she ever forgive him?

On her side, Thulile wasted no time and noted the job offers she found. She needed something to fall back on if her project with Lars was over.

Was it over?

She had to speak to Lars to know, but it wasn't something she wished to do then. Instead, she let the days pass, and before she knew it, a week had passed.

"Wait, my baby, so you're telling me that after your slow boat, you let him operate you, and now you two aren't talking. What lame novella is this?" Nandi asked as she twisted Thulile's passion twists.

"It was a mistake, Nandi. It wasn't supposed to happen. He was under influence."

"Eish, the influence of what? Coffee? Sista, sometimes one lets themselves go to influence. Are you drunk every time you dance? No, you let yourself go, and people say you're a drunken dancer."

It was true; rare were the times Thulile was drunk. A few beers or vodka weren't enough for a knockout. Thus she thrived on the little adrenaline the alcohol procured. It was always easier to put the blame for any mindless behavior on the alcohol.

Did Lars do the same?

Did he use the beverage as an excuse?

Thulile could conceive it, but she could not understand why the man would lie.

While Thulile tried to find answers, Lars wondered if the woman would ever come around. He had invested too much money to abandon the project.

Lars decided to call. He had a professional reason to do so. Thulile was tied by their contract. They had obligations. Also, she needed money to move out of her township. The man doubted she could stay without income for long.

All the elements added up made his choice a legitimate one.

Thulile couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the caller's number.

"It's him."

Nandi tapped on her head with the comb, "answer."

Thulile hesitated, but Nandi's slap on her head made her swipe her screen to answer, "hello."

Phew, thought Lars. Thulile answered it was a good sign, "eh, em, how are you?"

Lars ignored the raw silence and pursued, "ㅡwe need to talk."

"Then talk."

No, Thulile had no intention to make it easy, and Lars hated giving long explanations over the phone. "ㅡLet's do it face to face. Are you free?"

"No, not today," Thulile replied while cringing as Nandi pulled on her hair.

"When are you free?'

"Tomorrow."

"Okay, let's meet tomorrow. I'll pick you up at noon."

Gone was the time when Thulile gave him rendezvous far from her address. Lars didn't care about going to her place, and Thulile knew there was no use stopping him.

They hung up. Nandi observed her friend's reaction. To her deception Thulile said nothing.

Her resilience drove Nandi up the wall, "say something?"

"What can I say? He called, and you heard everything."

Nandi kissed her teeth, "don't be such a chop. Express yourself. What are you going to tell him when you meet?"

"I don't know, Nanda. I don't even know what he wants to talk about. Knowing him, I doubt he'll want to discuss what happened between us. He made himself clear."

"But was it clear enough for you?"

Thulile sighed, "no, it isn't, but I can't refute it. So I guess,ㅡ I have to accept things as they are."

No matter how Nandi tossed Thulile's story in her mind, she found no sensible meaning. It was evident to her there was no play between Thulile and Lars. Nandi could not understand how Thulile's and Lars' story could end this way after everything she witnessed. She forgot that not all tales ended with the protagonists walking away hand in hand or riding on a horse towards the sunset.

Hi friends,

The chapter is here and things are still a mess between Lars and Thulile.

I wish I could say have no fear they'll fix it, but well, fixing things isn't Lars' forte.

Thank you for reading

Take care!