The ID book read: Lesego Chabedi, born 1978. This meant that he was thirty-eight years old, and to think that I was only twenty-one! He grabbed me by both my arms and shook me.

“Keep your nose out of my business, Charlotte!” he shouted angrily. “Or else I’ll…I’ll…”

His words trailed off and tears rushed down my face. “You’ll what, Lesego?” I demanded to know. “You’ll what?”

I got out of the car, leaving the shopping in the boot. I started to head in the direction of home. He stepped out of the car and called out for me. People from my street were staring, so I decided to run to avoid everyone.

I walked into the house, only to find everyone in the sitting room. The first person to talk was my aunt.

“Keng wena?” she sneered. “Did your sugar daddy dump you?”

I had heard enough from my aunt. Every time she opened her mouth I felt annoyed. I ran to my room and locked the door. Mum came banging on the door, begging me to open up. My phone kept ringing. It was Lesego. I didn’t answer. I was mad at him. How could he be so vicious and secretive? It was only an ID book. He knew so much about me. Why would he hide his identity from me?

After a few days of not seeing Lesego and refusing to answer his calls, I met him on my way home from the store. He stepped out of the car and walked with me. He apologised about what had happened the other day, and explained that it was because he didn’t want people to know who he was, for business reasons. I told him I’d think about accepting his apology. He asked me to get into his car because he had something to show me.

I loved surprises, so I got into the car. He took a case from the backseat. He opened it and all I could see were stacks of money. Thousands and thousands. The money still had a bit of ink on it. It was as if he had just gotten it from a deal or something.

“It’s all yours,” he said to me. “For your varsity fees and for your family. This will cover all your needs.”

My eyes were wide open. I couldn’t say a word. I knew what good the money would do for my family and I. It would cover everything. I wanted the money with all my might, but 10% of my body said no.

“Lesego,” I said to him, “this is too much. I can’t take all of this.”

My heart was saying to me: Charlotte, you know you need it. I ignored this voice, and shoved the case of money back at Lesego. He put the case on my lap.

“Your future lies in there,” he said to me. “You know that you need it.” It was as if he was reading my mind.

“Can I at least think about this?” I asked him. I couldn’t believe that I had just said that. Lesego understood and told me that I should take my time.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I kept wondering if I had made a mistake by refusing to take the money. I got an SMS from Lesego that said: Run away with me Shaz.

What? This was getting out of hand. This guy had offered me thousands, and now he wanted to run away with me? I mean, yes, I wouldn’t mind running away with a guy like Lesego, but I felt like we were moving too fast. I barely knew him, but he had offered me thousands, and now he wanted to run away with me. I switched off my phone and slept.

The next day, I woke up with a plan. I did a Google search for the name “Lesego Chabedi”, but no results came up. I felt confused. He was a businessman. Didn’t businessmen usually appear on Google? I tried calling him but his number didn’t exist. I tried it again a couple of times but still the number didn’t exist.

I ran to the internet café and started asking them questions. To my surprise, they didn’t know any Lesego Chabedi. I felt weak in my knees, as if I was drugged. I asked them if they knew the guy who drove the BMW. They told me that they knew him as Aaron Moloko. I didn’t ask any further questions. I ran back home and did a Google search for “Aaron Moloko”. To my horror, I discovered that he was a wanted criminal. He was wanted for robbing banks and importing drugs.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was shocked. I deleted Lesego’s numbers and cleared all of his texts. I couldn’t believe that I had been such a fool. I had let flashy cars and cash blind me. Everything made sense now. I understood why he hadn’t wanted me to know who he was. I decided to let it all go, to forget that I had ever met Lesego. I prayed and thanked God for opening my eyes. I had almost been swallowed into a life of crime, lies and deceit.

***

Tell us what you think: Charlotte is in a difficult and possibly dangerous situation. What should she do? Do you think she will see Lesego again?