Tinashe could see the people surrounding the fire looking at her in awe when they saw her in different clothes. She didn't think it was that strange but now looking back to how their impression of her must have been, she understood. She had always worn bright colours so that she would attract Jin but now she didn't dare to anymore. She didn't want to anymore.
When she threw the dress into the fire she felt a relief she didn't even know she needed. She hadn't realised just how burdened she had been feeling lately by the love she felt for Jin. Everyone around was shocked and she pretended not to see as she settled next to Gavriel thinking that if everyone was this shocked then it was no wonder why Jin had completely lost his cool earlier and kissed her for the first time so passionately. If only he had done it for the right reasons she would be completely smitten right now but she was so much calmer than she thought she would be.
Amy was glaring at her silently even though she was trying by all means to hide it but Tinashe just smiled at her. Most of the bitterness she had felt for her had somehow turned to dust.
"What a makeover." Kylie looked impressed, "Wow, thank God you burnt that ugly thing. That dress didn't do any part of that beautiful body any justice. It was sin."
Gavriel sized her up from top to bottom nodding in agreement with Kylie, "You are so beautiful." It was almost as he remembered her. The confidence and beauty.
Tinashe had never been short of compliments growing up and was a little narcissistic. She shrugged, "I know." She smiled, "It seems I still got it."
"Why did you hide that hot body under that pretentious style you had?" asked Kylie then scoffed then turned to look at Amy briefly then back at her again, "You could have done better."
The other woman rolled her eyes then smiled, "I just feared unintentionally seducing Jin's friends that's all." She shrugged and the others laughed while Gavriel gave her a thumbs up.
Amy rolled her eyes and said bitterly, "Jin's friends have class, you think you could catch their eyes? According to Jin's words, you're just a pathetic tomboy who can never catch his eye."
"Good thing I wasn't just trying to catch his eye." She flashed a sexy smile, "When we were alone I was always trying to seduce him. Changing in front of him, wearing sexy lingerie." She shrugged, "He always looked at me and when I touched him he just let me." Then pushed me away when I thought I was succeeding and mocked me. She finished the sentence silently. A bitterness rose in her heart. She had the urge to seduce that man and then leave him high and dry for her revenge or make him fall for her before finalizing their divorce. Today she wasn't even trying to seduce him yet he seemed to have lost all control and kissed her even when he had said she was disgusting before.
"When you did that disgusting thing he told me that he pushed you away, you snake." Amy seemed like she was holding herself back from attacking her, "He was so distracted and disgusted by your shameful behaviour for the whole week, how shameless."
Tinashe shrugged her slender shoulder, "Well, if I was seducing my husband I don't think that should be called shameless. Whether you like it or not I'm am still Tinashe Jera Han, the one and only Mrs Han, wife of Han Jin Nan so if I get naked for my husband and he is distracted then that's his own problem." She said. "If his mistress is annoyed with it, that's even better."
"Excuse me? You dare call me a mistress?" Amy scoffed, "What happened to your little rabbit ways? Didn't you always behave in front of me knowing that your husband is always by my side?" she sniggered, "He always takes me out to business parties and for shopping and business trips. You know why?"
Tinashe raised her legs and leaned her chin her knees looking nonchalant, "You're his secretary, who else is he supposed to take if not his secretary."
Amy laughed mockingly, "That's not what the media thinks and that's definitely not what you think either. You know why he takes me everywhere even at dinners where there is no business at all." She scoffed victoriously, "He hates you, he hates your marriage and you may have a marriage certificate but nothing else. Jin is only staying with you because his parents said they will not give him full shares of the company if he doesn't marry you. He is mine at the end of the day."
"You can have him, dear, you know why? You are poor so you have to hold onto my husband's golden thigh and it's me that let you." She said then looked squarely at her, "Look, Amelia Jones, I just pity you that's why I let you be most of the time because I lack nothing. My parents alone have mines, jewellery businesses, luxury hotels including the one we booked in Cape Town." She smirked, "What do you have? You grew in the slums and was mistreated there. My husband was nice to you in college. You have nothing but your job." She scoffed, "You don't even have parents so why wouldn't my husband be nice to you? Why wouldn't I pity you?"
Jin walked back on Tinashe's cold words and saw Amy's eyes turn bloodshot. "Tinashe?" he walked to her but before he could get close to his wife, Amy ran into his arms causing him to drop the fruits he had found, "What's going on?"
Seeing Jin's concern for her, Amy cried. "You see how she is bullying me? Is it my fault that I'm an orphan? Is it my fault that I'm poor and she is a rich heiress?"
"What happened?" he gently pushed her out of his arms and looked at her, "What's going on, Tinashe?"
Tinashe shrugged, "Why ask, Han? If I'm always wrong in your eyes then I must also be wrong this time too but really, keep your mistress in check. If I am to upset your pure maiden how will she forgive and accept a second-hand husband like you?" she looked up at him with a seductive smile then crawled to take the two wild fruits from the tied blazer he had put them and then handed one to Gavriel.
"I just asked." He helped Amy sit back on her spot and gave the others the fruits before walking to sit next to Tinashe with his own, "There is more fruits if you want some." He said to the others then turned back to Tinashe, "Did something happen while I was gone?"
Tinashe just didn't care about impressing him anymore and now just wanted to annoy him so she finished chewing before saying, "Didn't you hear? I was bullying her." She said proudly.
Instead of getting angry Jin chuckled. "You can be childish sometimes you know."
The woman frowned, "Who? Me?" she sneered, "You have only been with me for a few days for a few minutes. If we add the time we were together before the plane crush it would be less than five hours excluding our wedding day. You even spend our wedding night with your mistress."
Gavriel turned to look at Jin then at Tinashe, "What? Were you guys forced into your marriage? Family pressure?"
"Arranged marriage." She answered as if she didn't care.
"I didn't spend our wedding night with any woman. I assure you, it's not what you imagine."
Tinashe just scoffed and rolled her eyes ignoring him. 'Not what she imagined' was delusional because he himself had called her when he was in bed with Amy. She even had the recording of them making love so how could she have imagined it?
"Stay close to me and keep your attention only at me." He peeked at her face and knew she was pretending to be asleep just to ignore him.
*
Jin watched Tinashe sleep while lying next to her and even though they had been married for months they never shared a bed so he never knew just how bad her sleeping habit was. He remembered after their wedding when her mother called him aside. She looked a bit worried when she said, "Please be patient with my daughter. She is a restless sleeper and moves a lot when she sleeps so she is used to a three by three metres bed we got custom made for her so that we would avoid her rolling off." She had raised her hand and patted his cheek with a smile, "Please bear with her, my child."
Now seeing just how bad it was he found it funny and cute. Now that he knew how tough she was it was difficult to understand how she could be unable to control herself in her sleep. He had to pull her back to his side every time she moved or rolled away, ignorant of the burning gaze directed at him from the woman lying across them. When he took her into his arms making her immobile, Amy's eyes reddened and tears shone in her eyes in the deep night.
It didn't take long and Jin also fell asleep. Later the woman in his arms stopped moving so much and even snuggled into his arms and leaned on his chest obediently.
It was almost midnight when Jin woke up feeling a strange presence approaching. In this place everything and anything could be a predator because it was not their area. When he looked up he saw Ash and Kylie seemed to also have been woken by the same sounds but Amy was no longer where she was sleeping earlier. When he looked around he saw Tinashe's gaze on him with a complicated expression even though it was just for a few seconds. Strangely she was about eight metres from the place she had fallen asleep while somehow it was Amy in his arms.
A feeling of annoyance rose in his heart but it was not the place nor the time to address the situation because from where Tinashe was, he saw four spotted hyenas approaching. When she turned and saw the predators her instinct told her to stay put but her body reflexively backed away in her sitting position.
"Don't run!" said Jin as he slowly walked to her. "Just get up slowly." The hyenas were less than four metres from her and he was sweating, afraid that she could run away and that was the worst mistake to do when facing a predator. Their instinct is to chase anything that runs.
Suddenly they heard a loud giggling from the hyenas and Tinashe, even though she had learnt hunting and had faced some wild animals with her father before, it was nothing like facing four giggling hyenas from such a close proximity. She had only ever seen these animals from afar. She was about to step backward again but she fell on Jin's hard chest. Before she even turned to look up at him he whispered, "Don't look away from them."
"They are coming closer." Her voice was shaky and Jin stepped next to her and pulled her forward, "What are..." before she even finished speaking the man suddenly growled loudly and it was so sudden and she screamed after being startled. When she turned to look at the man she was shocked to see a teasing smile on his face. It was shocking how he was still in the mood to joke around at this moment. She couldn't tell he was just trying to make her feel a bit relaxed even though he was so scared himself.
The man growled again and he stepped forward and covered her body with his. He turned to the others and nodded. The others behind, especially Amy seemed to be screaming in fear and frustration. Tinashe just stepped aside and watched the hyenas stop. When the hyenas stepped forward again Amy and Kylie screamed while Kylie hid behind Ash stopping him moving forward. Jin stepped forward and Tinashe did the same. The spotted hyenas seemed threatened and didn't hang around much longer before running away.
When the animals disappeared into the night Tinashe fell to sitting position looking the way they had gone. Jin had never thought he would ever feel so scared in his life and not for himself but for the woman he had disliked for the past three months. Now more than ever he knew he wouldn't know how to live on without her. He knelt and wiped the cold sweat off her face then dropped a kiss on her forehead, "You did well." He whispered pulling her into his arms. "You're fine now."
Tinashe nodded as tears fell from her eyes. "Thanks, I don't know if I would have managed without your help." She cried, "I know you did it because you feel responsible for me and you'll have to answer for it to my parents but thanks anyway." She pulled away from him, "Maybe you were right. Maybe I am the bad luck." She slowly got up and was about to walk when she felt a pain on her leg and she took a step away limping slightly.
"Tinashe, are you ok?" he stepped forward to support her, "What happened to your leg? Let me take a look."
"I think it's just a scratch. I'm good." She assured him as she got to the fire and sat there. Jin sat next to her.
"I told you to keep close to me. Don't loiter around." He gave her no chance to refuse and pulled her into his arms. Nobody spoke for a long time after the shock until others started falling asleep again and it was almost morning.
****
Thanks for reading.
❤Millie