{"id":537,"date":"2026-01-21T15:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/?p=537"},"modified":"2026-01-21T15:57:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:57:21","slug":"a-bride-for-hire-novel-chapter-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/a-bride-for-hire-novel-chapter-8\/","title":{"rendered":"A BRIDE FOR HIRE Novel Chapter 8"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A BRIDE FOR HIRE<\/div>\n
CHAPTER EIGHT<\/div>\n
Sponsored By Lelo Cele<\/div>\n
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Bungobakho \u2018Mr X\u2019<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
He\u2019s sitting on the chair in the far end of his bedroom, his hands rubbing together before his face as he watches her sleeping.<\/div>\n
She could have ended her life today all because of him, he hates this side of him \u2013 the side that can\u2019t get it together and stick to his word.<\/div>\n
Lord, she\u2019s only 26 years old, her whole life still waiting to be explored and it could have ended in a flash tonight because of him. He can\u2019t get that out of his head, no matter how many times MaNgcobo tries to steer it out of his head.<\/div>\n
\u201cWill you be like this whole night?\u201d her hands sit above her waist.<\/div>\n
He called her here after catching Nqobile on a ledge of the bridge ready to swing herself over. The most traumatic image his mind has ever processed.<\/div>\n
If they had been even a minute short, they could have lost her forever, over what? One slap he gave Beauty?<\/div>\n
Surely she didn\u2019t come with the truth to her daddy, his father would have never spun such drama from something so miniscule.<\/div>\n
But what did she say? What lie did she fabricate this time around?<\/div>\n
\u201cYou have to stop being hard on yourself, Bakho.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m failing her, Sibahle. I\u2019m failing the woman who hasn\u2019t been failing me. Most of the time I always know what\u2019s best, my instincts form natural to my relationships but with her \u2013 I just can\u2019t get anything right.\u201d He\u2019s stuck for once in his life, there is no answer that he can come up with. No solution.<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy did I start this, MaNgcobo?\u201d Bakho blows into his hands and holds onto his cheeks, his fingertips turn red from being pressed against his jaw.<\/div>\n
\u201cYou know why we did this. You can\u2019t do it alone, Bungobakho. You can\u2019t hold your siblings on your own and still hold yourself as well, you need someone that can take care of you too. Someone who can be the one aspect of your life that doesn\u2019t require you to fight the demons of this family\u2019s history. Perhaps we were wrong to think Nqobile could be that for you but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that you need someone.\u201d This is also her own little way of telling him she can\u2019t do things on her own anymore, the cross this family bares is too heavy for her to carry alone.<\/div>\n
The madams of the other brothers barely give a shit about the man their husbands and boyfriends look up to as a paternal figure. Myalezo for instance was taken by Bungobakho to raise and foster until he could stand on his own two feet and yet his father, Bab\u2019omdala has never once uttered the word \u2018thank you\u2019 to him.<\/div>\n
Minenhle would have been a junkie for life, Baba had already given up on him yet Bungobakho refused to do so. Sure he punched him a couple of times, some days landed him in hospital but in the end Minenhle walked away from that life alive.<\/div>\n
Their sisters weren\u2019t allowed to continue tertiary because Bab\u2019omdala\u2019s ideology of a woman begins in the kitchen and ends in the bedroom. Bakho fought for the girls to be their own independent women, he went as further as assisting Kholeka run her business from the ground up.<\/div>\n
He has always been a guardian angel to his siblings even before he knew the difference between Mzwakhelwe and him. He was the mistake his father should have never committed in his marriage and Mzwakhelwe wasn\u2019t.<\/div>\n
He\u2019s 40 years old and still pouring from an empty cup, he\u2019ll collapse one day and MaNgcobo is here to make sure that day doesn\u2019t come sooner than they\u2019re prepared for.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Bakho cranes his neck, letting it hang back as he runs his hands over his face. Sometimes the pressure doesn\u2019t settle in until the adrenaline is over. When there is nothing else to motivate him but the probability of losing all they have managed to be as a brothers. The girls aren\u2019t so much of a problem anymore, they\u2019ve found good men, whom he still keeps an eye on but they\u2019re happy and living healthy lives. The main problem is the bunch in his living room right now.<\/div>\n
His fathers hate him today mainly because of the role he assumed in his brothers\u2019 lives not to mention the respect he gained from them for it. In his fathers\u2019 eyes, that\u2019s an insult to them.<\/div>\n
\u201cI hate lying to her, and I watching her fall apart in my hands MaNgcobo. It\u2019s dangerous to sustain lies, Fuzelihle.\u201d Maybe he avoids Nqobile for that reason, the fear of eventually saying enough is enough and spilling every bean in the bag.<\/div>\n
Sibahle places her hand over his shoulder and rubs him gently, \u201cWe can\u2019t afford her knowing everything so soon. You\u2019ve seen the damage it causes, give her some time. In the meantime try to be home more frequently and make conversation.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLike what, MaNgcobo?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, world peace or her family history. You have to offer her your hand as well, you can see she\u2019s heavily burdened so lend her your ear or something.\u201d She giggles at his tensed up muscles.<\/div>\n
Phew boy! There is a long way to go over here.<\/div>\n
\u201cChanging Makabongwe\u2019s diapers was easier than maintaining a relationship nowadays, I could never do it.\u201d Yes he has tried before, numerous times and none of those attempts made it past the talking stage. He just has no time.<\/div>\n
\u201cOf course you can, they are grown men now Bakho. They can handle life on their own.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cNot all of them, Makabongwe is becoming a problem. I think whoever introduced him to street cred created problem for us. Sosha is still a lose canon and bab\u2019ommcane has given up on talking sense to him.\u201d He pinches his nose bridge.<\/div>\n
This family has too much potential to let it all slide over minor tensions. Bit by bit he has watched the Ximbas chip away from that unity there once was. Seeing that is the worst thing to chug down, once all is said and done this family name will be carried to greatness. He bets his life on it.<\/div>\n
\u201cIm just saying, maybe stop looking at Nqobile as an arrangement bhuti and start forming something with her. Something meaningful.\u201d<\/div>\n
Bakho curtly shakes his head, \u201cShe wouldn\u2019t want anything to do with me for the rest of her life.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHave faith in yourself, you managed to keep a crumbling home together for so long. You know what you\u2019re doing way more than you give yourself credit for, Bhuti.\u201d Or maybe she just gives him too much credit.<\/div>\n
He doesn\u2019t fight her on it though, just a low yet deeply felt \u2018thank you Fuzelihle.\u2019 As she exist the main bedroom.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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What could it hurt to try? Absolutely nothing. If she rejects his attempts then so be it, and what if she doesn\u2019t?<\/div>\n
Deep sigh.<\/div>\n
Finally, at about 01:46 am, four hours of being on this chair and starring at a woman sleep. He decides it\u2019s time to call it a night. On his way to the door, Bakho stops on his tracks.<\/div>\n
She didn\u2019t just call his name out did she? It must be the sleeping tablets he made her drink.<\/div>\n
\u201cMr X, come to bed, please. I don\u2019t want to feel alone right now.\u201d Her voice sounds dripped in slumber, he hears the covers shuffle.<\/div>\n
And her feet squeaking on the wooden floors ignite the heat his body long abandoned. It\u2019s not the sexual fire, but something else, far dangerous and distracting. Attraction.<\/div>\n
\u201cCome, we\u2019ll do our Ted talks in the morning.\u201d She yawns and carries pulling him to his own bed.<\/div>\n
This isn\u2019t right, it\u2019ll be like taking advantage of her \u2013 for the second time.<\/div>\n
\u201cI can sit on the chair and watch you if you\u2019re scared, Sobahle.\u201d This is a next level jump scare for him.<\/div>\n
\u201cNo! I want you where I can feel you\u2026 so you don\u2019t wake up and leave me in the morning. I wasn\u2019t you know\u2026 thinking of adult stuff or anything.\u201d She quickly corrects herself.<\/div>\n
Nqobile removes the covers and lays him on the bed, lifting his legs up for him and pushing him away from the edge of the bed while at it because the man has turned into a statue out of the blue.<\/div>\n
\u201cYou are so tall, you need a bigger bed you know Mr X.\u201d she goes around the bed and throws herself on it as well, then covers the both of them up.<\/div>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to act brave, Sobahle. I know you\u2019re hurting.\u201d<\/div>\n
He\u2019s still a log beside her, his back turned on her.<\/div>\n
The room is quiet for some time, he even concludes that he won\u2019t get a response, maybe the wound is still fresh.<\/div>\n
Lo and behold, he thought wrong.<\/div>\n
\u201cA wise witch once said to me, if there is nothing you are going to do about something you\u2019re complaining about, then don\u2019t complain at all. And I agree with her, I never thought I ever would but it\u2019s true. So allow me to just make the best of what I\u2019m given.\u201d She clings on his arm and rests her head on his chest.<\/div>\n
Sweat trickles around his neck.<\/div>\n
It\u2019s just a girl, Bakho! It\u2019s just a girl!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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><\/div>\n
><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nqobile.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The bed is empty, besides me and the scent of the century, there\u2019s nothing else on this bed. I thought we made a deal, that we were finally going to have one peaceful day!<\/div>\n
My lips start trembling, I\u2019m no longer burying my emotions. If I feel hurt, I will cry. If I\u2019m angry then I will scream, anything to avoid what almost happened yesterday. My heart had taken too much, I was going feral. Nothing seemed to make sense except \u2018I\u2019ve carried more than enough\u2019 \u2013 the emotions just boiled out of the blue. And weirdly, I don\u2019t recall what happened once I got to the bridge.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There\u2019s some shuffling coming from the bathroom joint with the bedroom, a shower?<\/div>\n
I get off the bed and walk over there to see who that is, although I have an idea.<\/div>\n
\u201cGood morning, Sobahle.\u201d<\/div>\n
Good morning indeed! I\u2019ve never seen him bare, only a towel is wrapped around his lower body.<\/div>\n
His abs aren\u2019t that visible, his chest carries the muscle tone of his arms and broad shoulders. He\u2019s sexier than I pictured him to be.<\/div>\n
My brain wakes up to him already standing toe to toe with me, I\u2019m thinking he\u2019s gonna push me aside like the pest that I am. No, you know what he does? This man places his hands on my shoulders and presses his lips on my forehead.<\/div>\n
\u201cHow are you feeling this morning? If you need therapeutic assistance, let me know and I will have a word with Doctor Shaker.\u201d Why is he acting weird this morning?<\/div>\n
\u201cI will get better as the day goes, still, thank you for offering me a helping hand.\u201d<\/div>\n
I wonder if we are going to talk about yesterday, for my sake I really wanted to. Just to get that out of my way and know it won\u2019t ever be an issue for me.<\/div>\n
\u201cI had made reservations for the whole family last night, to finally introduce you as my wife. What happened, has happened but the restaurant owner still has the booking open for us. If you wouldn\u2019t mind, I\u2019d like to \u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d I speed up to it.<\/div>\n
I\u2019ve been waiting for this for two whole days!<\/div>\n
Damn bitch, you\u2019ve only been here for two days? How is that even possible? It feels like I\u2019ve known Xolani for a good week or two.<\/div>\n
He looks nerved. Wasn\u2019t he expecting a yes?<\/div>\n
\u2026 Oh! That?<\/div>\n
\u201cI apologize for ukungena emlomeni.\u201d I forgot it was his pet peeve. But at some point he has to tell me these things so I\u2019m fully aware which boundaries aren\u2019t to be crossed.<\/div>\n
\u201cMaNgcobo will assist you in getting ready.\u201d He says.<\/div>\n
I nod, my neck starting to feel a little painful from staring up like this because he\u2019s so close to me. My hands are literally hunched on his muscles, it\u2019s hilarious because I was one of those village girls who used to think men with amadobolo (Muscled arms) are ridiculous.<\/div>\n
Now not only does this one have amadobolo but he has grey hairs too. Zinhle needs to know about this, I\u2019ll just breeze over the suicide bits. I really don\u2019t understand what had gotten me to that point.<\/div>\n
And if I tell my friend about that, she\u2019d start hating Mr X for no apparent reason.<\/div>\n
\u201cSobahle.\u201d His lips tilt to one side a little bit.<\/div>\n
\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCan I have my arms back? They can be yours once we have gotten ready.\u201d<\/div>\n
I drop my hands faster than I blink, oops.<\/div>\n
That was embarrassing. I blame the shimmer of his skin, and the fresh smell coming from him.<\/div>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one other thing I was meaning to give you yesterday, mami.\u201d He says passing me and walking back inside the bedroom.<\/div>\n
What did he just call me? I can\u2019t help but do the kwasakwasa dance, it feels nice to be in this end of the bargain.<\/div>\n
I like feeling like this.<\/div>\n
\u201cWhenever you are done with the Jika\u2019maJika moves ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/div>\n
Gosh!<\/div>\n
Why am I so embarrassing!?<\/div>\n
I calm myself down and discipline myself internally before turning around and following him to the bedside drawer.<\/div>\n
He takes out a small net bag and lowers himself on the bed. There\u2019s a box inside, red velvet box we all know right?<\/div>\n
I still refuse to think it is what I think it is.<\/div>\n
It can\u2019t be right?<\/div>\n
\u201cYesterday I came across a watch that I thought would look beautiful on you. That\u2019s when I laid eyes on this, it made me realize it wouldn\u2019t make sense to say \u2018my wife\u2019 if there is nothing to show for it. May I have your hand?\u201d he opens his big palm to me.<\/div>\n
Ain\u2019t no fucken way!<\/div>\n
I slide my hand on his palm, still struggling to remember which part of my body is responsible for breathing.<\/div>\n
\u201cMami.\u201d He tilts his head to the side, and a throaty chuckle comes after.<\/div>\n
I look down. Ugh, I gave him the wrong hand!<\/div>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d I mumble and bring the right one.<\/div>\n
Is it engraved? It looks engraved, but I can\u2019t see the writing.<\/div>\n
It\u2019s such a cute ring, a champagne Toi et Moi stack diamond and emerald cut.<\/div>\n
\u201cAt least now I\u2019ll twice about suicide huh?\u201d I\u2019d rather just sell the ring and live a good life in Paris.<\/div>\n
\u201cNqobile, never do that again. If you can\u2019t take being around here tell me, I wouldn\u2019t stop you from leaving. Taking your life is not on the table, are we clear?\u201d<\/div>\n
I dribble my eyes and hope he didn\u2019t see the eye roll.<\/div>\n
\u201cYes Mr X.\u201d I grab my ring box and walk out his bedroom to get ready in mine.<\/div>\n
I need lunch with the girls for this bombshell. We haven\u2019t caught up in a while.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
MaNgcobo helped me tie up this dress from the back and the beautiful slick back on my head right now. She was about to lay make up on me when I called it quits, powders and things have never looked nice on my skin.<\/div>\n
\u201cIs that\u2026 is that what I think it is?\u201d she comes towards the box I\u2019ve left on the floor by mistake.<\/div>\n
\u201cI was going to put it on after getting ready, I don\u2019t know which shoes to wear. I think I want us to match, what shoes do you think Mr X is wearing?\u201d<\/div>\n
An ear-piercing scream erupts in my room.<\/div>\n
Woman!<\/div>\n
\u201cAskies, did he give this to you?\u201d her eyes sparkling all of a sudden.<\/div>\n
First off, that ring is nothing compared to her brick.<\/div>\n
\u201cYes, this morning.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWait, what did he say?\u201d she\u2019s too excited about this.<\/div>\n
\u201cNothing special. Do you think he will be wearing sneakers?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAwwwwwe, look at the text?\u201d okay, I don\u2019t have energy for her anymore.<\/div>\n
I leave her in the room squealing over the ring and head to Mr X\u2019s bedroom again. It\u2019s slightly open, I halt when I see him talking to someone else inside.<\/div>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need this right now, where is he? Get someone to fix it Kwame.\u201d He looks stressed to the core.<\/div>\n
\u201cNah bafo, I say we let him be for a days in the cell. Today is about our MaGoqo no one else. He\u2019ll learn his lesson after this.\u201d Kwame steps forward to fix his brother\u2019s tie.<\/div>\n
I see, Kwame is the waves guy. The one who walked out of my kitchen carrying a knife and my dishcloth.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Bakho and I\u2019s eyes meet, he tenses almost immediately.<\/div>\n
He\u2019s seen me anyway, I may as well go inside. His brother gives me a full smile as he walks out and shuts the door behind him.<\/div>\n
\u201cI was wondering which shoes would look better?\u201d Now I just feel stupid. This man is here stressing over serious things and I\u2019m still stressing over shoes?.<\/div>\n
\u201cI like the red bottoms.\u201d He says and brings me to the chair he sits on, lowers me down and gets on his knee.<\/div>\n
What is he doing?<\/div>\n
Bakho picks up my left foot and starts strapping the heel on my foot. What the heck are we doing? He does the same to the other foot.<\/div>\n
\u201cBungobakho, what are we doing?\u201d it\u2019s a depressing whisper.<\/div>\n
That fear that rises out of the blue, that hurt that invites itself even when not needed. All the things I can\u2019t control.<\/div>\n
\u201cMaking the best of what we have right now, that\u2019s what a beautiful woman once told me anyway.\u201d He places my feet back down and stands up.<\/div>\n
His eyes don\u2019t dwell on me, he doesn\u2019t give off \u2018searching your soul\u2019 vibe but he\u2019s intent with the moment, that\u2019s the look he is giving me right now.<\/div>\n
\u201cMy beautiful wife. I think I like that nickname better.\u201d<\/div>\n
I do too, I won\u2019t tell him that though. What if some day I can\u2019t handle being beautiful anymore and I return to being just an undesirable 50 cents?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u2206\u2206\u2206<\/div>\n
Like. Share. Comment.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A BRIDE FOR HIRE CHAPTER EIGHT Sponsored By Lelo Cele . . Bungobakho \u2018Mr X\u2019 He\u2019s sitting on the chair […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-bride-for-hire-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":545,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions\/545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}