Suspects: murder case

Chapter 62

Chapter 62

I have been pacing back and forth in this hotel room trying to find a way to clear my name but to no avail, the evidence against me is overwhelming, I wanted to do a live video but I am scared people will call be names and crucify me, if Nkoli’s aim was to ruin my life then she has successfully done that, currently I have even been put on a 4 weeks suspension at work.

I am not even worried about me, I am more worried about my wife and how she is holding up. I have been reading the comments on f*******: and the people who have been calling her names are now sympathizing with Nkoli. Trust Zambians to quickly switch camps when drama presents itself. These are the same people who were praising her and saying she inspired them.

Knowing how much her social media following means to Stella, I know this will break her. I wish I can be by her side but apparently she wants nothing to do with me, she has actually blocked and black listed all my numbers on her phone. For now, I guess I have to wait until the dust settles before I can try to get through to her again.

Lord, I was naïve, I should have known Nkoli was setting me up, I should have known nothing good can ever come of a conversation with her but then what’s done is done, I just hope Stella forgives me someday. Deep in thoughts, my phone rings, shaken awake by the loud tone I slowly reach for the phone and place it to my ear.

‘’Hey sweetheart,’’ the familiar voice says on the other end of the line and a wild anger sweeps through my mind.

‘’Why in God’s name are you calling me?’’

‘’But why do you sound upset?’’

‘’You want me to sound excited after everything you have done? You have ruined my marriage Nkoli.’’

‘’What marriage? That thing was fake in the first place, I just saved you.’’

‘’I love my wife Nkoli I have fallen in love with her.’’

‘’Oh please, you were mine before you were hers, I want you back.’’

‘’I will never get back with you.’’

‘’But why? You once loved me and we had plans of getting married.’’

‘’You left me and our child when we needed you the most, I can never forgive you for that. And even if Kristy leaves me, you are the last person I would want to end up with, I would rather die single than get back with you.’’

‘’That hurts Daniel.’’

‘’I will get back at you for what you have done mark my words.’’

These are the last words I say before hanging up on her.

‘’Blood bastard!’’ I yell before throwing the phone on the bed.

*

Kristy

‘’This woman has always been full of herself, I never even liked her m God she has been exposed, Lesa wabonse,’’ a comment from one of my top fans reads. I am sitting on my bed going through the comments on Kachepa news media and Lord must I say they are awful. I have people posting my wedding and honeymoon photos, talking trash and making memes out of them. ‘’She is such a disgrace to womanhood, how could she force that man to marry her because he wanted money for his daughter’s hospital bills, no wonder that man never said much in their videos, kanshi yenze ni beans,’’ another comment reads.

‘’Stella!’’ My mother knocks at my door before pushing it open.

I quickly wipe my face with the palm of my hand before putting my phone aside.

‘’You have been reading those silly comments again?’’ she frowns.

‘’I can’t help it.’’

‘’And I thought you were sleeping.’’

‘’I just woke up,’’ I lie because I didn’t even sleep one bit, the last few days have been hard on me, the last thing on my mind has been sleep.

‘’Give me that phone,’’ she says. I don’t feel like arguing so I give it to her.

‘’You will not be on social media until this thing passes.’’

‘’Will it pass? Will people forget?’’

‘’This will definitely pass baby, this is Zambia something new will happen and people will shift their attention from your issue.’’

‘’Hopefully this passes, I am so drained.’’

‘’You need to rest, for my grandchild’s sake.’’

I place my hand on my tummy and slowly rub it, ‘’I am so worried about my child mummy, how will I do this alone? And I can’t help but feel sad when I realize she/ he might have to grow up with a father.’’

‘’I raised you alone and you turned out just fine, we will get through this.’’

‘’Thank you, have you called the lawyer for me?’’

‘’No, I haven’t. I want you to meet up with Daniel and talk to him, hear his side of the story at least and only then will you file for a divorce. You can’t just walk away from your marriage like this.’’

‘’There’s nothing to talk about mummy, I want a divorce and I want it now.’’

‘’I hear you child.’’

‘’Thank you.’’

‘’Anyway, your daddy P and Palesa are here to see you.’’

‘’What? I am not ready to face them mummy? I can’t, the shame is too much.’’

‘’I know how you are feeling baby but this has to be done, you need to face them, the sooner the better.’’

‘’Do they look angry? Do they have a g*n?’’

She laughs, ‘’Baby girl, It’s not as bad as you think it is.’’

‘’Okay,’’ I get out of bed. ‘’Let me freshen up.’’

‘’I am waiting for you.’’

‘’Thank you mummy, thank you for being here, I don’t know how I would have done this without you.’’

‘’You are my child and I love you so much, It’s always been us against the world, we will get through this together.’’

‘’I love you.’’

‘’I love you even more.’’

*

With a racing heart, I walk into the living room and freeze at the sight of daddy P and Palesa. These two have been nothing but good to me, they welcomed me not only in their company but their home too. They didn’t deserve this kind of betrayal, I am ashamed to even look both of them in the eyes, what do I even say to them? Where do I even start from? I have probably caused a lot of damage to their company with this news. I will not be surprised if they decide to fire me from the company.

‘’Stella! How are you?’’ Palesa says looking up at me.

I clear my throat, ‘’I am fine mum, how are you?’’

‘’I am great, please take a seat, your mother just made some tea for us, I think you should grab a cup for yourself too.’’

‘’Thank you,’’ I take a sit before I look at daddy P, clearing my throat I say, ‘’I am really sorry, I…..’’

‘’No greeting for daddy P?’’ He chuckles.

‘’How are you?’’ I say. I don’t know if I still have the right to address him as daddy P.

‘’A little disappointed but I am fine, how are you holding up? How is my grandchild? Have you been eating and sleeping well?’’

‘’We are trying, the last couple of days have been rough.’’

‘’I understand but you need to take it easy for the sake of my grandchild.’’

My heart melts when he calls my child his grandchild, it means he still considers me his child.

There is a brief silence before I say, ‘’I am sorry for all the shame I have put you guys through. I will not even deny the story trending on social media, Daniel and I were not even dating when I came to look for that job. We got married because I wanted you to accept me into Sondashi Inc. It wasn’t even his fault, this was my idea from the beginning. I am really sorry for the embarrassment I have caused you and the damage this has done to the company. I know no amount of words can ever repair the damage caused but I hope you both find it in your hearts to forgive me.’’

‘’If I say I am not disappointed with what you, Daniel and Jada did then I would be lying,’’ Daddy P says. ‘’I am not here to throw shade at you, I think people on social media have done more than enough of that, my wife and I are here to offer our support to you and to show you that we are standing with you, you are still my little girl and even if I am angry with you, I will not join the crowd in bashing you, like I told Jada I will punish you both when all this passes, a little whipping can do,’’ he laughs.

‘’Thank you so much daddy P.’’

‘’What’s important now is to get to the bottom of this mess, we haven’t talked to the media about any of this but we have been getting phone calls from different media houses, they all want an exclusive interview with me.’’

‘’What do you mean get to the bottom of this?’’

‘’Do you that Nkoli works for your father’s company?’’

‘’She does?’’

‘’Yes, she recently got a job there and from the information I have on my table, she and Kenzie are pretty close.’’

‘’Are you thinking what I am thinking?’’ Mum asks.

‘’I am not saying that Daniel is innocent in all this but he was just a pawn in this game, It wasn’t even him they wanted to hurt, you are the main target, these are just my assumptions but I think Kenzie had something to do with this arrangement.’’

‘’That makes perfect sense,’’ Mum responds.

‘’I know Kenzie hates me but would she go that far to hurt me?’’

‘’She would,’’ Mum and daddy P respond in unison.

‘’But how will we prove she was part of this?’’

‘’Leave everything to me, I will get to the bottom of this.’’

‘’Thank you so much.’’

‘’You should get some days off work and try to relax your mind, take a vacation if you have too but stay away from social media.’’

‘’You mean I still have a job?’’

‘’Oh yes,’’ he smiles. ‘’You are so good at what you do, I would never let you go and you know the policy for my company, we are family and so we stick together even through the shame and pain.’’

‘’Thank you so much, I really appreciate.’’

‘’You are welcome child, I hope next time you stick to the truth and not cooked up lies.’’

‘’I have learnt my lesson.’’

‘’Great.’’

I feel a whole lot better now that I have talked to Daddy P and Palesa, it’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

‘’And when you get back on social media be cautious with what you share, those people who shower praises on you are not your friends, I am sure you saw how quickly they change camps,’’ Palesa says.

‘’Thank you mum.’’

We are talking and joking about random stuff when a loud knock sounds on the door.

‘’Jessie! Please check who is at the door,’’ I say.

‘’Alright.’’

She walks to the door and a few minutes later, Mr. Msizi and his wife march into the living room.

‘’What is the meaning of this? What is the meaning of this?’’ Mr. Msizi yells throwing a newspaper with my picture on it on the front page. There are also some photos of Daniel and Nkoli, It’s one of those newspapers that feed on gossip.

‘’Why are you yelling? Can’t you see we have guests?’’ Mum asks.

‘’Shut up, this is all your fault, look at the embarrassment that your child has caused us.’’

‘’Oh so now she is my child?’’

‘’She has always been your child, birds of the same feathers,’’ he clicks his tongue.

‘’What do you want?’’ Mum asks.

‘’How could you stoop so low Stella? So you wanted to get back at your sister and me? Well see who had the last laugh, in the end you still lost, I am so disappointed in you. You have dragged my name into the mud with your stupidity, I am so ashamed to call you my child, I should have known you were not so different from your mother.’’

His words hurt, I blink my eyes several times to keep the tears from falling. I don’t want to break down, at least not in front of him.

Mum rises to her feet so she can respond to him but Daddy P signals for her to sit down and he stands up instead.

‘’I think you should leave,’’ he tells Mr. Msizi and his wife.

‘’And who are you?’’ his wife asks.

‘’Yes who are you? This is a family affair, you shouldn’t even be here.’’

‘’You two should leave,’’ he says a little louder this time around.

‘’What if we don’t?’’ His wife asks.

‘’If you have read my story you should know what I am capable off, I am not afraid to kill for those I love. I love Kristy as though she were my own child and yes she made a mistake but crucifying her is not the best option, the best we can do is help her get over this and forge ahead but if you are not willing to do that then please leave.’’

‘’You are threatening us?’’ His wife asks.

Palesa laughs, ‘’daddy P doesn’t threaten, he acts.’’

‘’So will you leave or should I force you out?’’ Daddy P asks, stepping closer to them.

‘’I think we should leave babe,’’ Mrs. Msizi holds his hand.

‘’We shall be back,’’ Mr. Msizi says before we rush out of the house and we all burst out laughing.

‘’I think everyone needs a daddy P in their life,’’ I mumble under my breath.

Monday, the rays of the sun shining brightly into my room awaken me, rising to my feet, I kneel at the side of my bed and say my regular morning prayers, I pray in a soft and quiet voice for several minutes and when I am done I open my YouVersion Bible app and start reading my devotion for the day, today’s devotion is titled ‘’the best way to start and finish your day.’’

‘’don’t begin your day by scrolling through your phone or listening to the news. And don’t end your day by filling your mind with something on TV. None of those things are going to feed your soul,’’ I read out loud.

The devotion emphasizes developing a habit of starting and ending your day in God’s words. Robert downloaded this bible app for me and for the last couple of weeks I have going through several devotions in the morning and at night- I must say the devotions have blessed me and helped me get closer to God. With everything that was happening on social media, Robert challenged me to join him on a 30 day social media detox. We both had to delete and deactivate our social media platforms.

And guess what? Today is day 30 of the social media detox. I still can’t believe I made it this far, you know social media has always been a huge part of my life, I built businesses there being a brand ambassador for different brands plus my entire life was literary been showcased on social media. There was a time when I could never put down my phone because I was always trying to create content and please my audience but when I started this challenge, I had to change my entire routine.

Back in the days I would wake up and instantly get on f*******: but now when I wake up, I start my day with a prayer, read through my devotion and head straight to the kitchen to get myself a cup of tea without touching my phone. I am glad I took Robert up on this challenge, I feel refreshed and there’s just this sense of freedom that has swept through me that I can’t begin to describe in words.

Chat MartinMartino on zero eight one eighty thirty fourteen twenty one to be added to his w******p group of stories

When I am done with my devotion, I stand up then I put on my robe and slippers, I am about to walk out of my room when my phone rings so I turn and pick it up from the table, stare at the screen before putting it to my ear.

‘’Hey Robert!’’ I exclaim.

‘’Child of mine!’’ He says and I roll my eyes like I always do when he calls me that. So my relationship with Robert has improved considerably over the last month and I now appreciate him. He is a great guy and my mum is lucky to have him, aside from the Sondashi’s, he has been there for me and has helped me get back on my feet.

‘’Isn’t it too early to be dramatic?’’ I roll my eyes again.

‘’I know you just rolled your eyes.’’

‘Don’t I always do that when I am talking to you?’’ I laugh.

‘’How are you?’’

‘’I am great, how are you daddy?’’

‘’You just called me daddy?’’

‘’Mistake number one.’’

‘’My heart is melting.’’

‘’Oh please.’’

‘’Slept well?’’

‘’Yes, you?’’

‘’I did, how is my grandson?’’

‘’Your granddaughter is fine.’’