Thulani stood in the garden, his back slightly hunched as he worked. The sounds of the world seemed distant, his mind consumed with thoughts of the woman who owned the mansion. Nisha. Her presence was an enigma, a force that both thrilled and terrified him. She was beautiful, undeniably so - her striking features and fierce confidence were enough to stop anyone in their tracks. And it wasn't just her beauty that haunted him; it was her power, her ability to command and control everything around her.
Thulani could never forget that, no matter how often his gaze wandered her way. He was beneath her, a garden boy, nothing more. Yet, in the quiet moments, when her voice was just a whisper in the distance, he couldn't help himself. He stared.
Her beauty was a curse.
His heart would race, his breath catching in his chest as he looked at her. But he always reminded himself of his place. He was nothing - nothing compared to her.
That afternoon, as she walked past, he could feel her eyes on him. It wasn't just the usual glare of someone used to being in control. It was different today. It felt like she saw through him, her gaze cold and unforgiving.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Nisha's voice cut through the stillness of the air.
Thulani froze, his heart hammering in his chest. He hadn't meant to get caught. He hadn't even realized he was staring until she spoke.
"Stop staring at me, you fool!" she snapped, her voice sharp with disdain.
Thulani immediately dropped his eyes to the ground, too afraid to say anything. The weight of his humiliation pressed down on him, and for a moment, he wondered if he might disappear entirely into the earth beneath his feet. His shame was thick, suffocating.
But Nisha wasn't done.
In a flash, she grabbed a cup from a nearby table and hurled it at him. The ceramic hit him square in the forehead, sending a jolt of pain through his skull. He staggered back, disoriented, but the sting of the physical blow was nothing compared to the raw ache of humiliation that seared through him.
"Don't you ever look at me like that again," Nisha's voice was cold, devoid of any empathy.
Thulani stood still, barely able to hold himself together. His head throbbed, his thoughts spinning. He almost felt tears in his eyes, but he swallowed them down. He couldn't cry, not in front of her. He wasn't allowed that weakness. He was nothing.
The next day, his misfortune only deepened.
Thulani, trying to do his job without drawing attention, entered Nisha's room to fetch some cleaning supplies. It was a mistake. She was there.
Before he could retreat, she was on him. She moved with a speed and precision that left him no chance to react.
Her karate boots slammed into his ribs, sending a shockwave of pain through his side. He gasped for air, but before he could recover, she punched him - once, twice, each blow precise and punishing.
"Didn't I tell you to stay in your place?" she spat. Her voice was venomous, each word a reminder of his inferiority.
Thulani stumbled back, but Nisha wasn't done. She grabbed him again, her hands tight on his shirt as she shoved him hard against the wall.
"Who do you think you are, walking into my room like you belong here?" she mocked, her eyes cold and calculating.
Her next words were cruel, meant to wound more than just his body.
"You eat too much, don't you? How can someone so useless consume so much?"
Her words cut deeper than any punch or kick. Thulani was used to hunger, used to being overlooked, but hearing it from her, hearing it as an insult, left him feeling small, less than human.
With a sudden, almost effortless motion, Nisha kicked over a glass table, shattering it on the floor.
"You're nothing," she sneered. "Don't forget your place."
He stood, his body aching, his pride shattered. He wanted to fight back, to scream, to show her that he wasn't as weak as she thought. But he couldn't. He couldn't fight her - he couldn't even stand up to her anger. He had no right.
Over the following days, Nisha's behavior took a different turn. Thulani tried to avoid her, to keep his head down and his heart locked away. But something was changing.
She was watching him.
It wasn't subtle. It wasn't the usual cold indifference she showed him. She was noticing him - whether it was the way his hands moved as he worked, or the way his eyes dropped in the presence of her friends.
Nisha's jealousy wasn't something he could ignore.
One afternoon, when her friends arrived, Thulani thought he would be left to his duties. But Nisha moved swiftly, positioning herself between him and her friends. Her gaze never wavered from him, not even as she spoke with them. She didn't want them near him - he could feel the possessiveness in the air.
Her friends, once warm and kind, seemed uncomfortable around her. They paused when she cut off their conversation, their eyes flickering to Thulani. They knew - no one was allowed to get too close to him.
Thulani knew then that something had changed. She had gotten used to him. But it wasn't just that. She was starting to see him. Really see him, not as the servant boy she had dismissed, but as someone she couldn't control entirely. And that terrified her.
She wanted him in his place, but something told Thulani that her emotions toward him were becoming as complicated as his feelings for her.
