Chapter 2 - The First Choice

CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST CHOICE

She was the first woman he'd ever wanted to keep. She left him the way he leaves everyone — with a checklist and a clean exit.

THE WRONG ONE: HIS SIDE — Part 2 of 5: THE FIRST CHOICE

The N4 stretched out ahead of him, the bushveld rolling golden-brown on both sides, and Langa drove with the windows cracked because the evening air smelled like warm grass and red soil and something opening up.

He was thinking about Refilwe Moloi. Not the version of her he was about to see — the attorney, the woman in the fitted dress who ordered wine without looking at the price. He was thinking about the version from before. Mbongeni Ngema Secondary. She sat two rows ahead of him in English class, her school shirt always pressed sharp, her handwriting so neat it looked printed. Even at sixteen she carried herself like she was already somewhere better. He'd watched her for two years and never said a word.

Three weeks ago, she appeared in his LinkedIn inbox. She'd seen his name on a property listing, recognised it. "Langa Mkhize. Still building things?" Four words and fifteen years dissolved like sugar in hot water.

Coffee first. Then drinks. Now this — dinner at her flat in Nelspruit. But it didn't feel like a third meeting. It felt like a continuation of something that started in Mr. Moyo's English class and just... waited.