Chapter 10 - THE LAST ARGUMENTI watched the video until my eyes hurt.
There was no sound.
Only the gas station, my SUV, Sphandla's dark jacket, and the unmistakable tension between us.
He stood beside the driver's door.
I was pointing toward the road.
At one moment, he reached for my arm.
I pulled away.
Then I got back into the vehicle and drove off.
Sphandla remained beneath the lights.
Less than twenty minutes later, I crashed.
I couldn't escape that sequence.
And I couldn't understand why he'd hidden the encounter.
The following morning, I met Mara and Detective Nkosi.
Bhejane transferred the complete footage directly to the investigators and agreed to provide a formal statement.
For the first time, I began to feel that the truth might exist somewhere beyond conflicting memories and frightened whispers.
But it wasn't a comforting truth.
Detective Nkosi replayed the video.
“Do you recognize the gas station?” she asked.
“No.”
“Do you remember the conversation?”
I shook my head.
“Nothing.”
She turned toward Mara.
“We'll request the original camera footage from the station if it's still available. It may contain another angle.”
I watched the screen.
“Why would Jason lie about seeing me?”
The detective closed the laptop.
“That's something we'll ask him.”
I looked at her.
“Will you arrest him?”
“Not based on this video alone. Being present at a gas station isn't evidence that he caused the collision.”
Part of me felt relieved.
Another part felt ashamed of that relief.
I didn't want Sphandla to be guilty.
But I wanted the truth more.
That afternoon, I went back to the studio.
I needed somewhere familiar, even if I couldn't remember why it was familiar.
Leila had placed fresh flowers on my desk.
Beside them sat a small bag of groceries.
I laughed.
“What's this?”
She shrugged.
“Mara said your refrigerator looked tragic.”
I stared at the bag.
There were crackers, fruit, soup, and the exact tea Sphandla used to make for me.
For some reason, that almost made me cry.
Leila noticed.
“Too much?”
“No.”
I smiled.
“It's perfect.”
We spent an hour reviewing old sketches.
I wanted to remember how to work.
Not just how to uncover secrets.
Leila showed me an unfinished design for a community library.
I studied the plans.
Something felt wrong.
“The windows,” I murmured.
She looked up.
“What?”
“They're facing the wrong direction. The afternoon heat will make the reading area unbearable.”
Leila froze.
Then she smiled.
“Oh, thank God.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“That's exactly what you said when Theo first brought you this design.”
I looked at the drawings again.
A tiny spark of pride moved through me.
Perhaps my memories were missing.
But my abilities weren't gone.
The woman I used to be had left pieces of herself in the way I saw the world.
For the first time, I believed I could build a future without recovering every second of my past.
That evening, Sphandla asked to meet.
I refused to meet him privately.
He came to Mara's office instead.
The moment he saw the still image from the gas station, his face changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“Bhejane.”
He closed his eyes.
“Of course.”
I felt anger rise.
“Don't blame him.”
“I'm not.”
“Then tell me why you lied.”
He sat down.
For a long moment, he stared at the floor.
“I was following you.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because you'd told me you were going to the police. I wanted one last chance to convince you to let me bring the evidence in myself.”
“Instead of me?”
“Yes.”
“Because you didn't trust me?”
“Because I was afraid of what the investigation would do to my family.”
I stared at him.
“So once again, the company mattered more.”
He looked up.
“No. But I didn't understand that until it was too late.”
“What happened at the gas station?”
He rubbed his face.
“I asked you to come home. You refused.”
“Did you threaten me?”
“No.”
“Did you touch me?”
“I reached for your hand. You pulled away.”
“What did I say?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“You said that love wasn't supposed to make you smaller.”
I went completely still.
He continued.
“You told me you were tired of asking permission to be the person you wanted to be.”
Something moved inside my head.
A sudden image.
Bright lights.
A wet road.
Sphandla standing beside my car.
His face twisted with desperation.
I gripped the table.
“Ndoni?” Mara asked.
I barely heard her.
A voice echoed somewhere inside my memory.
My voice.
You don't get to call this protection anymore, Jason.
Then the image disappeared.
I gasped.
Sphandla leaned forward.
“What happened?”
“I remembered something.”
His expression changed.
“What?”
“The gas station.”
He looked terrified.
I stared at him.
“You begged me not to go.”
“Yes.”
“And I told you something.”
He nodded slowly.
“What did you say?” Mara asked.
I closed my eyes.
The words came back in fragments.
If you won't stand beside me, at least get out of my way.
I opened my eyes.
“That's what I told him.”
Sphandla covered his face.
The room fell silent.
Then he whispered, “Yes.”
I watched him for a long moment.
“Why did you tell the police you were home?”
His voice broke.
“Because when I found out you'd crashed, I knew everyone would think we'd fought. And I couldn't stand the thought of being blamed for what happened.”
I felt something inside me go cold.
“So you lied.”
“Yes.”
“And because you lied, they didn't investigate properly.”
He looked at me.
I could see the realization settling over him.
“Yes.”
I stood.
There was nothing else I wanted to hear.
As I reached the door, my phone rang.
Judith.
I answered.
“Sisi Ndoni?”
Her voice was trembling.
“Judith, what's wrong?”
“There's a woman here asking for your things.”
“What woman?”
“Mrs. Celia.”
My blood ran cold.
“Don't give her anything.”
“I haven't.”
“Where is she now?”
Judith began crying.
“She's upstairs. And Sisi...”
“What?”
“I heard her talking on the phone.”
I pressed the phone harder against my ear.
“What did she say?”
May you like
Judith lowered her voice.
“She said the hospital mistake had made everything worse—and now they would have to finish what they started before you remembered the rest.”
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