C6 Six: Dangerous games

Sinikiwe sat on the hard ground unshed frustrated tears glistening in her eyes. She stared at the broken bottle piece that was logged in her foot and as bright red liquid tricked to the ground. She reached out to pull the clear glass shard out of her flesh and winced at the pain that ensued. She gave up and held her foot on both ends to lessen the pain and blood flow. She looked around her desperately. She was surrounded by thick Mukwa trees.

She had no one to blame but herself for her current dilemma.

She had run out of the house barefoot with no idea where east or west was. Her only thought had been to get away. Her kids had suffered enough at the hands of the Njolomba's. The thought of them living on the same grounds had overwhelmed her and was safe say, had robbed her of her senses for a while.

She wanted one thing only. To hear the voices of her kids to reassure her all was well. With her purse still in the house and no way of getting in touch, she had run in what she had hoped was the right direction.

It had taken her five minutes into her flight to realize she was lost.

Good going, Sinikiwe, what are you going to do now? She asked herself. She had no idea where she was and how to retrace her footsteps. She could yell for help but that was not an option she was willing to take. She wanted nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the Njolomba's.

She reached out to pull out the glass shard when she heard footsteps on the dry twigs and leaves. She looked up and found George glaring at her. Sinikiwe's heart plummeted to the bottom of her stomach and her shoulders sagged. He was the last person she expected and wanted to see.

~~~

George knelt by Sinikiwe's foot and stared at her wounded foot. He could tell she was in pain and the tears in her eyes said it all.

"I'm going to have pulled the shard out," he told her," It's going to hurt."

"I'm fine. Just leave me alone," she gritted.

He looked up at her rubbing his brow." Do you think now is the time for your pride?"

She stared at him defiance in her eyes.

Despite himself, George chuckled amused. If he could have flipped a double somersault to express his joy on seeing her after so many years, he would. Yes, he had been taken aback and maybe he had been a little bit angry at seeing her on his property. The truth was, he had been more surprised than angry. Seeing her after so many years had brought back a wave of emotions he would have rather left unexplored.

But never did he wish harm on her. After she had fled from the house, he had discovered her bag and shoes. He had called the guards at the gate and they had told him, she hadn't left the premises.

A quick look at the surveillance had shown her heading into the forest. Lost and upset.

Sinikiwe flinched back when he tried to touch her foot.

"Please just leave me be," she whispered.

George looked at her in disbelief. He got her being scared and in pain, it was the anger radiating off her that he didn't quite get. George sighed letting it be.

"I'm sorry I can't do as you ask. Your foot needs medical attention," he told her taking off his shirt.

Despite her resolve to bury her feelings for him six feet under, somewhere in her heart, Sinikiwe found herself blushing and shyly looking away from his bare chest. Apart of her wanted to run her fingers over his firm and strong muscles.

"I will pull the shard out and cover the wound with the shirt. There is a doctor on the farm. He will take care of you."

He waited for her to pull away but when she didn't, he sighed in relief. He edged closer, pulled the shard out and quickly wrapped her foot in his shirt. Silent tears rolled down her face.

George stared at her tear-stained face, he reached out and wiped them away," Come on, I have to carry you back."

"I can walk on my own."

"I don't doubt that," he told her and lifted her off the ground to her dismay.

"Hey, put me down," she protested, her arms locking around his neck.

"I will," he said." Once we get to the doctor."

George carried her back to the mansion despite her protests.

With her warm body in his arms and her soft squishy chest in the light blouse she wore, rubbing against his bare chest, George felt his blood rush down south of his belt. He was no teenager who was controlled by his sexual urges but when it came to Sinikiwe, it was a whole different ball game.

The woman George despised always had the ability to make him lose self-control. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to calm down but with her chest right in front of him and his hands on her thighs; it was proving to be quite a difficult task.

When they reached the edge of the forest, he took her to the nearest chalet and luckily, the doctor was already waiting.

*

For someone who had just been caught with her hand in the cheating, Gwendolyn was rather calm and composed. To her, Constance was an irritating speck of dust waiting to be gotten rid of.

She adjusted the clothing and folded her arms over her voluptuous chest and sat on the armrest of the sofa. Her Masai braids fell over her shoulders.

"Should I give you two some privacy?" she asked Abel who struggled with holding back his petite wife against his naked body from attacking his lover.

"Let go of me," Constance hissed at her husband desperately trying to pry his strong arms from her waist," I said let go of me!"

"Only if you promise to not go berserk," he said tightening his hold.

"Like you are in a position to demand anything! Let go, I said let go!"

" Abel. Let her go already," Gwen commanded. She stood up and walked over to the minibar barefoot.

Abel loosened his grip on his wife who pushed his arms away. She turned to him and slapped him on the face.

"How could you both do this to me?"

"If it's of any consolation," Gwen said pouring herself a drink, "It's nothing personal just business."

Constance looked from one to the other in disbelief. The scent of sex hung in the air, nauseating her.

"You sleep with my husband and you call that business?"

"Calm yourself down before you do something stupid," Abel cautioned her.

"Don't tell me what to do," she yelled, "I'm going to ripe you both to pieces!"

"Eish, how uncivilized," Gwen murmured as she sipped on her Caribou Lou and watched her friend above the rim of the glass.

Constance beelined for Gwen but Abel pulled her back. She growled at him scratching at his arms her feet kicking in the air. Abel dumped her unceremoniously on the white sofa.

"Look," Gwen began, "You can keep your husband in this life and ten others if you so wish as long as he gives me what I need from him."

Constance stared in disbelief at her friend as she told her what she wanted from Abel.

"You are sick," she whispered in disbelief, "And you? Are okay with this?"

Seven years married into the family she had seen her share of crazy stuff. But this? No. It was just sick.

"Of course he is. Besides he has no choice. I am simply collecting an old debt."

"Debt? What debt? What is she talking about? What has this got to do with her anything?"

Constance didn't understand anything. They were the ones in the wrong yet acted like she was the guilty party. How could they drop such an absurd Idea on her and expect her to roll with it?

"We all have ambitions," she told her moving away from the bar, "Just as yours got fulfilled and you got your happily ever after," she said a tiny smile on her face," I too need to fulfil mine."

Constance shook her head at her, "No. No, I won't allow it. I won't consent to it."

"He doesn't need you to give him your permission. This is between us. You, not so much."

Constance jumped up from the sofa," I don't care what you agreed to. He is my husband. Mine. Not yours."

Gwen scoffed behind her glass, she looked Abel and gave him a dismissive appraisal," Oh honey, that you can keep," she told her truthfully. Abel was not her type. She liked her men confident and in control. Abel was anything but that. A charmer who could knock and the melt the pants off any woman. And he had the looks and money to go with it all.

Giving credit where it was due, he was better in bed than his cousin. But that was not what she was after. After all, at some point, the libido would go down as they age. Besides she could always fix that problem one way or another, it wasn't like there was a shortage of men after her.

George might have been a disappointment in bed but he was the brains that made the money and kept the family afloat. She was going to secure her future one way or another and no-one was going to ruin her plans. Not even her so-called, best friend.

"Does George know?" Constance demanded," No right. Of course, he doesn't. If he did, he would kill you both! How can you sleep with your brother's wife?"

"Hey, isn't that jumping the gun a little? It's not like he has paid her bride price yet," he joked. Gwen glared at him, he shrugged his shoulders at her, "Till then, she is fair game."

"Betrothed or not, she is your brother's woman. Sacred to you!"

She began to rummage through her bag and fished out her phone.

"Don't go getting funny ideas in your head. Why don't you worry about Sinikiwe instead of issues that do not concern you?"

The couple turned to her at the same time panic and shock on their faces. Gwen smiled and gave herself a mental shoulder pat.

"I see that got your attention faster than if your husband did manage to knock me up already."

"What about that slut?"

Suddenly Gwen wanting to get pregnant by her husband to secure her future with George seemed like a trivial thing.

She turned to look at Abel. He too seemed to be in shock. But she wasn't sure if it was genuine. She knew he had loved her. She had been the one that got away. The one who forever had his heart. She tried to gauge his reaction, was he for real or playing her.

"What about Sinikiwe?" she asked saying the name through clenched teeth, the question directed to Gwen but her eyes on Abel. Her name felt foul in her mouth.

"What? Did your aunt not tell you?"

Of course, she hadn't, Gwen mused cause she had asked her not to.

"Mother," she had said as they had sat cooped up in the back of the Elgrand. It had been a hot afternoon, the African skies were blue with the unforgiving sun glaring on them with no signs of rain. It was mid-November, it ought to have started raining already. Gwen had rolled down the window on the driver's side to get a better view. Sinikiwe had been seated under a mango tree sipping on an ice-cold freezit and chatting with some colleagues, "Let's not tell Constance for now or the rest of the family. It just might upset them for nothing."

"You sure?"Eliza who had to sort her help to deal with Sinikiwe.

"I will deal with her. Soon enough she will crawl back to the hole that she has been hiding under for the past seven years."

Of course, that hadn't been entirely true. She could have cared less about how they were all affected by the reappearance of that girl. Keeping it a secret was her ace up her sleeves against them. And today was that day.

The mere mention of Sinikiwe drove them berserk.

"Where is she?"

"It's all taken care of," Gwen said Innocently," I just brought her up so you could be aware. She is sneaky. Who knows what she is up to?"

"I...I...have to go, I will deal with both of you later," she said grabbing her bag and walked out dazed.

"Is it true or did you say that to get her worked out?" he asked going over to close the door.

"What do you think?"

"I think your manipulative skills are getting sharper by the day."

"Yes?"

"You know, you should be more worried about her yourself. You may have gotten Consi, all worked out for nothing. It could work against you."

"I don't see how. From where am standing I'm not the one shaking in my boots. Tell me what is going through your mind? Is she back for revenge? Will she reopen the case and have me sent to jail or..."

"Have you ever wondered why George had a strong dislike for someone with serene beauty like Sinikiwe?" he asked going to her and began to careless her arm.

"She was a slut. She dated you and yet wanted to bed him. What other reason could there be?"

Abel chuckled softly against her skin as he began to trail kisses on her arm, "No, my love. Sinikiwe was and is a Yvonne incarnate," he whispered into her ear.

He kissed her roughly and stepped back as she stared back at him in shock.

"Even if I did manage to get you pregnant and you did manage to fool him into believing that it's his, you will never have his heart. Cause the day he laid eyes on Sinikiwe, she stole his heart."

"Shut up," she hissed.

He began to head to the bedroom," He loves her and just doesn't know it yet. If I were you, I would do my best that they never meet," he stopped at the door and turned to her," Or all that work," he said nodding to her tummy," Would have been for nothing."