Chapter 41 - Chapter 41: The Noise

Last night was a nightmare.

The worst possible thing that could have happened, happened.

Well, almost the worst. The one saving grace out of that mess on my steps is that nobody got a shot of Vuyi's face. Every picture doing the rounds shows the back of her, though my own face is in plain view. Her long coat covered the uniform, thank God, but those chestnut curls are on full display for the whole country to look at and guess about.

Nobody is asking whether she's just another one of my nights. Between me trying to cover her with my body and the look of pure shock on my face, it's obvious she matters more than that. GIRLFRIEND was sitting next to our picture inside the hour, and by the time the Sunday World had it up, that was the word above the photograph.

I barely slept.

Given hasn't reached out, and he and that Sandton agency I pay a retainer to did fuck-all for me when I needed them most.

But the worst part of all of this isn't what it might do to my contract, or to Vuyi's job. The worst part is the trolls hiding behind their keyboards, filling comment sections with hateful words about my girlfriend.

Right now my biggest worry isn't my future in Joburg football. It isn't losing my image. What's eating every thought I have is that I'm letting my favourite person get dragged in public because people love to talk about me.

I've become overly protective of Vuyi, especially with the way she thinks about herself and her body. Now, because of me and my messed-up image, there are endless comments online tearing her down and confirming every ugly thing she already says to herself in the mirror.